OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian University Lady Evangels fell just short of their first-ever victory over Oklahoma City University as the No. 13-ranked Stars pulled out an 81-73 win tonight (Jan. 14) in Sooner Athletic Conference action inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
In a game of twists and turns, it was the Stars with the final push when consecutive scores from Daniela Wallen and Janae Haag snapped a 66-66 gridlock and put OCU on top for good.
Following a three from Sarai Rodriguez that brought the Lady Evangels within one, six straight points from the Stars stretched the lead to seven at the 1:36 mark of the fourth quarter.
MACU twice got within five from that point and had possession down six, but a turnover and two free throws from Wallen closed out the win for the Stars.
The Lady Evangels led by eight at the half and jumped out to a game-high lead of 13 four minutes into the second half when Wallen caught fire, scoring 14 points to fuel a 21-3 lead that put OCU in front 60-55 with 21 seconds left in the third quarter.
Tolar answered with a three and then converted a three-point play to once again put MACU ahead 61-60.
The Stars then responded with six straight for a five-point lead of 66-61 with 7:34 remaining.
The Lady Evangels came out hitting on all cylinders, using a pair of threes from Lindsey Mann and Rodriguez along with a trey by Kelli Tolar to build an early 17-5 lead at the 5:46 point of the opening quarter.
Haag helped OCU climb back into it with six points that cut the deficit to four, but Mann and Tolar each hit a three to push the edge back to double-digits at 25-15.
OCU then got six points from Wallen to key a 10-2 run that bridged the final 54 seconds of the first period and the opening four minutes of the second to pull even, 27-27.
Tolar hit another three to quickly put the Lady Evangels back in front and then nailed another from downtown to cap a 13-5 spurt to close the period and put MACU up 40-32 at the break.
In a matchup of two of the top three scorers in the NAIA, it didn't disappoint as OCU's Wallen scored a game-high 32 points, with Tolar leading the Lady Evangels with 28 points.
Rodriguez had a solid all-around game for the Lady Evangels with 16 points, a career-high tying eight rebounds and eight assists. Jamie Lamb led the Lady Evangels with career-best 11 boards.
To go along with her 32 points, Wallen also tied for the team-lead along with Catherine Kruschke with nine rebounds for the Stars. Kruschke scored 19 and Markeisha Johnson added 10 points.
The Lady Evangels held a 49-43 edge on the glass and outscored the Stars 19-10 in second-chance points. But OCU enjoyed a 48-16 advantage in points in the paint.
MACU will next play at St. Gregory's University Saturday afternoon (Jan. 16) at 3 p.m. in Shawnee, Okla.
