OKLAHOMA CITY - Parris Price hit a three and then two free throws to rally the Mid-America Christian Lady Evangels from a five-point deficit and into overtime, but the St. Gregory's University Cavaliers quickly took over the extra session and held on for a 72-64 win on Senior Day Saturday afternoon (Feb. 25) at the Gaulke Activity Center.
The Cavaliers (18-11, 11-11 SAC) scored the first six points of the overtime period to lead 64-58 with 2:34 left.
Price then made two at the foul line to cut the lead to four when a bucket by Kylie Mayes and two free throws by Jalisa Howard pushed the lead to eight at the 1:03 mark.
The closest the Lady Evangels could get from that point was six on two occasions as the Cavaliers made four free throws down the stretch to close out the win.
MACU led by two at the half and by four early in the second stanza. The final 20 minutes was close throughout, with the biggest lead the entire half twice being a five-point edge by the Cavaliers
The Lady Evangels got off to a slow start as SGU jumped out to an early 10 point lead of 15-5 at the 11:45 mark of the first half.
After back-to-back threes by Mayes and Kalie Lucas stretched the lead to 12 at 27-15, the Lady Evangels closed the first half with a flourish by scoring the last 14 points over the last 4:14.
Erica Jones nailed two treys to spark the run and Brittany Woodard capped the outburst by rebounding her own missed three and putting it in as time expired to give the Lady Evangels their first lead of the game at 29-27 heading into the locker room.
Woodard, a senior playing in her final home game, had a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Nicole Wittman had eight rebounds to go along with two assists. Jones paced the Lady Evangels (10-18, 4-18 SAC) with 19 points and hit 5-of-12 from three-point distance. Kourtni Williams chipped in with 13 points.
Lucas was a defensive force throughout, blocking 10 shots while also netting 15 points and six boards. Howard scored a game-high 20 points for the Cavaliers, while Leticia Silva had 13 points and 11 boards. Mayes added 17 points.
The Lady Evangels out-rebounded SGU 47-43 overall and 19-11 on the offensive glass, but were limited to just 30.4 percent (21-of-69) from the floor for the game.
The Lady Evangels will now prepare for the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Central Regional tournament, to be held in Lakewood, Colo. on the campus of Colorado Christian.
