The Lowdown: Southwestern Assemblies of God University @ Mid-America Christian University
Time: Jan. 21 @ 6 p.m.
Location: Gaulke Activity Center, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Live Video:
Live Stats:
The Dish on the Lady Evangels: For the second straight week, the Mid-America Christian University Lady Evangels split a pair of games, giving No. 13-ranked Oklahoma City University all it wanted before losing 81-73 and then defeating St. Gregory's University 71-67 on the road in Shawnee, Okla. Kelli Tolar led the Lady Evangels in the win at SGU with a game-high 23 points and tied her career-high with six assists. Jamie Lamb contributed 14 points and nine rebounds, with D'Shala Culberson scoring 11 points and also pulling down nine boards. Lindsey Mann also scored 11 for MACU.
The Lady Evangels currently have a winning record of 3-2 within the Sooner Athletic Conference.
Tolar leads the Lady Evangels with 22.1 ppg and has hit a team-high 43 threes. Sarai Rodriguez is second in scoring with 17.1 ppg and has dished out a team-high 61 assists on the season. Culberson has a team-best 8.0 rebounds per game.
The Lady Evangels are all over the map in the NAIA national rankings, leading in both three-point field-goal percentage (.401) and threes per game (9.6). MACU is also fifth in the nation in assists per game (17.3) and eighth in defensive rebounds per game (29.7).
Rodriguez ranks first in the NAIA in three-point field goal percentage (.528) and third in assists per game (6.1 apg), with Tolar leading in threes per game (3.5) and second in points per game (22.1 ppg). Rodriguez is also third in free-throw percentage (.892) and 10th in threes per game (2.8).
The Dish on the Lady Lions: The Southwestern Assemblies of God University Lady Lions are 10-7 overall and 3-3 in the SAC following a tough 57-54 loss at OCU on Saturday (Jan. 16). The setback to the Stars halted a four-game winning streak for SAGU.
Taylor Hill and Laken Ward are anchoring the Lady Lions this season. Hill and Ward are tied for the team-lead in scoring (12.1 ppg), with Ward leading in rebounding (8.4 rpg) and Hill in assists (49).
Defensively, SAGU is fifth in the NAIA in both steals per game (13.9) and field-goal percentage defense (.333). Hill is also second in the NAIA in free-throw percentage (.919).
The Series: The Lady Evangels have won five of the seven meetings with SAGU since joining the NAIA. The two schools split the season series last year, with each squad winning on the road. MACU is 3-1 vs. SAGU at home, with the lone setback coming last year.
The Coaches:
Seth Froese is in his first season as head coach of the Mid-America Christian University women's basketball program.
Froese is no stranger to the squad, having served the past two seasons as assistant coach under former head coach and current MACU Athletic Director Marcus Moeller.
Under Moeller, Froese has helped the Lady Evangels record consecutive winning seasons for the first time since joining the NAIA in 2007.
In his first season on the staff, Froese helped the Lady Evangels achieve program-bests in overall victories (18) and conference wins (11) in the competitive Sooner Athletic Conference.
Froese has brought extensive coaching experience to the program that dates back to his days as a student in the late 1990s at Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kan.
During the 2012-13 season, Froese coached at Edmond North High School as the assistant boys' varsity coach. The Huskies posted their first winning season in five years, going 14-11 and advancing to the 6A Area tournament before losing to state semifinalist Putnam City in overtime. Edmond North was also one of only two teams to beat 6A state champion Edmond Memorial.
Froese served as an assistant coach at NAIA Division I and transitional NCAA Division II California Baptist University, in Riverside, CA, from the 06-07 season through the 2010-11 season. During his time at California Baptist, the Lancers advanced twice to the NAIA Division I National Tournament. In the 07-08 season, they advanced to the "Sweet 16" where they lost to eventual national champion Oklahoma City University. The Lancers also enjoyed their first national #1 ranking during the 08-09 season and competed against NCAA Division I programs, UCLA and Seton Hall.
Froese worked as an assistant coach at NAIA Division II Tabor during the 2005-06 campaign in which the Blue Jays finished 15-15 overall and advanced to the championship game of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) Postseason Tournament as the sixth seed. That was Froese's second stint at Tabor as he also served as the assistant women's coach from 1998-2000.
Prior to that, Froese served as a scout for both the California Baptist men's and women's basketball programs during the 2004-05 seasons. The Lancer men advanced to the "Sweet 16" of the NAIA Tournament.
Froese also has experience in the high school ranks. From 2001-03, he served as an assistant varsity boys' basketball coach while teaching at Owasso (Okla.) High School. He spent the 2000-01 season as the head varsity girls' basketball coach at Mission Valley High School in Eskridge, Kan.
In addition to his coaching experience, Froese also served as camp coach at the Roy Williams Basketball Camp at the University of Kansas in 2001.
Froese graduated with a bachelor's degree in biology from Tabor in December 1999 and was a dean's scholar. While a student, he served as student assistant coach for the 1997-98 men's basketball squad. The Blue Jays won the KCAC title.
He also earned his master's in kinesiology with an emphasis in sports management in May 2005 from California Baptist. While working on that, he served an internship in NCAA compliance at the University of California-Riverside.
Froese and his wife, Liberty live in Edmond and have three sons, Noah (12), Kannon (9) and Rayph (7).
Tiffany Phillips is in her first season at the helm of the Southwestern Assemblies of God University Lady Lions. Phillips takes over for Arlon Beadles, who spent 10 years at SAGU.
Up Next: The Lady Evangels will play at Southwestern Christian University Saturday afternoon (Jan. 23) at 3 p.m. in Bethany, Okla.
