OKLAHOMA CITY – The Texas Wesleyan University Lady Rams used a 59-32 rebounding edge to overcome 32 points from Sarai Rodriguez and defeat the Mid-America Christian University Lady Evangels 78-66 in Sooner Athletic Conference action today (Jan. 30) inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
The bulk of the rebounding advantage for the Lady Rams came in the second half, as TWU outrebounded the Lady Evangels 38-14 overall and 22-3 on the offensive glass in the final 20 minutes.
That was enough to offset Rodriguez's career-high tying scoring output that included 11 points in the third quarter and three treys.
Behind Rodriguez, MACU showed some fight in the third, outscoring the Lady Rams 21-11 to come within one at the end of the period after being down by 11 at the half. The Lady Evangels also got a pair of treys from Lindsey Mann in the quarter to help fuel the rally back.
After Rodriguez nailed another three to start the fourth that put the Lady Evangels on top 51-49 and then a layup that kept the lead at 53-51, Chervelle Cox and Katelynn Threats teamed up to score the next eight points before Cox capped a 12-0 spurt with a score inside that suddenly put the Lady Rams up by 10 at the 6:41 mark.
The Lady Rams maintained control from there, as the closest the Lady Evangels came was six when two free throws each from Janaya Hines and Kelli Tolar made it 72-66 with 35 seconds left.
To close it out, the Lady Rams made six of their next eight attempts at the charity stripe down the stretch.
In the opening half, the Lady Rams closed each quarter strong, as a pair of threes from Alycia Louallen and two scores by Threats helped TWU end the first quarter on a 12-4 run to lead 20-13 after one.
The second quarter saw the Lady Rams extend the lead to 10 two minutes in when treys from Rodriguez and Tolar brought MACU within six at the 6:55 mark.
But the Lady Rams went on an 11-4 spurt to stretch the lead to 13 before Rodriguez drove in for a layup with five seconds remaining to bring the Lady Evangels within 38-27 at the break.
Rodriguez hit 11-of-23 overall from the field and six-of-15 from the perimeter. She also hit all four of her free-throw attempts along with six rebounds and five assists. Tolar scored 15 and Mann chipped in with 11. D'Shala Culberson pulled down a team-high nine rebounds for the Lady Evangels.
Threats powered the Lady Rams with a double-double of 30 points and 15 rebounds, while Cox also recorded a double-double with 23 points and 17 boards.
The dominance on the glass for the Lady Rams led to a 44-14 edge in points in the paint and a 16-6 advantage in second-chance points.
The Lady Evangels will next play at No. 14-ranked Oklahoma City University Thursday evening (Feb. 4) at 6 p.m. MACU gave the Stars all it could handle much of the way in the first meeting before falling 81-73 (Jan. 14).
