OKLAHOMA CITY -- In a game that featured 16 ties and 10 lead changes, it was the Southwestern Christian University Lady Eagles who made the deciding run to defeat the Mid-America Christian University Lady Evangels 84-76 in a Sooner Athletic Conference matchup Thursday evening (Jan. 16) inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
The Evangels were on top 71-68 with 5:39 remaining when the Lady Eagles ripped off 11 straight points over the next four minutes for an eight-point edge with only 1:43 left.
Maclayn Massey halted the spurt by driving in for a score, but Adrianna White hit two free throws to push the lead back to 81-73.
After Massey hit a three to keep the Lady Evangels alive, Kim Hayes hit two at the charity stripe and then another freebie following a defensive stop to put the game away.
Up until the Lady Eagles' decisive spurt, there were eight ties in the second half and neither squad led by more than five.
It was SCU in front 62-57 when Cheyenne Been scored 10 points to fuel a 12-3 spurt that gave the Lady Evangels a 69-65 lead at the 6:47 mark.
The Lady Eagles got off to a quick start and scored the first nine points of the game before a three-point play by Lauren McKinney got the Lady Evangels on the board at the 17:49 mark of the first half.
It was an 11-3 deficit when five more points from McKinney and a three by Been brought the Lady Evangels into an 11-11 tie.
The Lady Evangels then took their first lead of the game on scores from Ashlee Ferguson and McKinney that made it 15-13 with 13:23 remaining in the opening period.
MACU was on top 17-15 when a trey by Kim Hayes and a bucket fueled a 7-1 spurt that put the Lady Eagles back in front 22-18.
It was again McKinney that brought the Lady Evangels back with seven of her 18 first-half points that sparked a 9-4 run that put MACU back on top 27-26.
With the score at 29-29 for the eighth tie of the half, White hit two free throws and Hayes nailed a three to help SCU carry a 36-34 lead into the break.
McKinney put together a monster double-double with career-highs of 24 points and 17 rebounds. Been scored 15 and had a team-high four assists. Ferguson also scored in double-figures with 13 points.
White paced the Lady Eagles with a game-high 28 points. Vanessa Bledsoe led the Lady Eagles with 11 boards, while Brittany Hamilton scored 14 with a game-high six assists. Hayes chipped in with 13 and Lydia Ross added 11.
The Lady Evangels dominated the boards overall, out-rebounding SCU 57-42 and a whopping 26-7 on the offensive glass.
However, the Lady Evangels could muster only a 33.8 percent (27-of-80) shooting clip game, while the Lady Eagles shot 43.1 percent (25-of-58).
Next up the Lady Evangels will face a challenging road tilt at No. 3-ranked Oklahoma City University on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 18) at 3 p.m. at Abe Lemons Arena on the OCU campus.
