Oklahoma City, Okla. - The No. 25-ranked Rogers State Hillcats took full control with a 29-4 explosion that bridged the final minute of the first half and the first seven minutes of the second stanza to cruise to an 87-57 win over the Mid-America Christian Lady Evangels in a Sooner Athletic Conference matchup Saturday afternoon (Jan. 7) at the Gaulke Activity Center.

The Lady Evangels trailed only 32-31 at the 1:23 mark of the first half when the Hillcats scored the final seven points of the first half and then opened the second half with a 15-2 run that was capped by consecutive treys by Ariani Silver for a 21-point lead with 15:12 remaining.

After a field goal by Parris Price stopped the run, another three by Silva and a trey by Brittani Smith fueled a 7-0 run that put the Hillcats comfortably ahead 61-35 at the 13:06 point.

RSU went on to extend the lead as high as 32 and never looked back from there. 

The opening half was close much of the way, featuring three ties and five lead changes. 

MACU led early 7-4 on a bucket by Chelsea Key, but fell behind by four at 14-10 on a score by Gianna Woods and a trey from Leah Smith. 

Consecutive baskets by Kourtni Williams and Nicole Wittman followed by a score from Price helped the Lady Evangels even the score at 16-16 at the 12:40 mark. 

The Hillcats extended the lead as high as four on four occasions over the next six minutes before a layup by Nicole Wittman and a free throw make by Key made it a one-point game with 3:45 remaining.

That when RSU took off by ending the half on a 7-0 spurt, capped by a three-point play by Larrielle Giles with 38 seconds left to take a 39-31 advantage into the locker room. 

Price led the Lady Evangels with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. Williams scored nine and had a team-high seven rebounds.

Silva paced five Hillcats in double-figures with 18 points on 6-of-11 from the field, all from three-point distance. She also had a game-high six assists, while Logan Froese led the Hillcats with six boards.

The Hillcats shot 42.9 percent (33-of-65) from the field, but a blazing 60 percent (18-of-30) in the second half. RSU also out-rebounded the Lady Evangels 40-32 overall and 16-10 on the offensive glass.

The Lady Evangels will continue their six-game homestand on Thursday evening (Jan. 12) against Wayland Baptist at 6 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center.