The Lowdown: Mid-America Christian University at St. Gregory's University.
Time: 6 p.m. Location: Shawnee, Okla.
Live Stats: http://www.dakstats.com/WebSync/Pages/Webcasts.aspx?association=10
What's at stake: The winner will clinch the seventh spot in the Sooner Athletic Conference with a victory, while the loser will fall to eight and will be forced to play the 8/9 game on Wednesday night in the SAC Tournament.
The Dish on the Lady Evangels: The Mid-America Christian University Lady Evangels fell 54-49 to the John Brown University Golden Eagles Thursday night (Feb. 21) despite getting a game-high 26 points from senior Kourtni Williams on Senior Night. The Lady Evangels are now 13-13 overall and 4-11 in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
Williams is having a season that is certain to garner SAC Player of the Year consideration. The 5-11 senior forward from Fayetteville, Ark. leads the league in scoring with 17.2 ppg and is third in rebounding with 8.6 rpg. Senior guard Parris Price is second on the team with 12.5 ppg along with a team-high 60 steals. Senior point guard Sabrina McKinney has dished out a team-best 105 assists on the season despite missing the past six games with an injury. McKinney remains one assist shy of the MACU single-season record. Sarah Martin is third in the SAC with 2.2 threes per game and Emilie Schirmer is second on the team in rebounding with 5.3 rpg.
The Dish on the Cavaliers: The St. Gregory's University Cavaliers are 11-18 overall and are also 4-11 in the SAC following consecutive losses to nationally ranked Oklahoma City and Rogers State squads.
Leticia Silva leads the Cavaliers with 16.3 ppg and 6.1 rpg. Kalie Lucas has recorded a team-best 94 assists for SGU.
The Series: The Lady Evangels are 9-2 vs. SGU since joining the NAIA after defeating the Cavaliers 71-64 earlier this season (Jan. 17). MACU won the first eight meetings before the Cavaliers swept the season series last year, including an overtime win on the road in the season finale.
The Coaches:
Roman Owen is in his third season leading both the Mid-America Christian University Lady Evangels women's basketball team and the men's golf squad.
Owen led the Lady Evangels to their most conference wins (8) in the 2010-11 season since joining the Sooner Athletic Conference and their first NCCAA Central Regional title since 2007. Owen then coached the Lady Evangels to a fifth-place finish at the NCCAA National Tournament, losing only an overtime heartbreaker to eventual national champ Bethel College in the opening game of the tourney. He also guided the Lady Evangels to their best start since joining the NAIA last season by opening the year with five straight victories. Owen has produced four All-Conference performers in his two seasons at the helm.
Before MACU, Owen spent two seasons as an assistant for the Oklahoma City University Men's Basketball program, where he worked under head coach Kevin Morrisey and helped lead the Stars to a 32-26 overall record and a berth in the NAIA National Tournament in 2010.
Herman Burge is in his first season as head coach at St. Gregory's University. Before coming to SGU, Burge was an assistant coach at NCAA Division I schools Stetson University, Mercer University and Florida Gulf Coast University.
