The Lowdown: No. 19 John Brown University @ Mid-America Christian University
Time: Jan. 7 @ 6 p.m.
Location: Gaulke Activity Center, Oklahoma City, Okla.
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Live Stats:
The Dish on the Lady Evangels: The Mid-America Christian University Lady Evangels split their past two games, winning 87-75 at Avila University last Thursday (Dec. 31) before falling to No. 5-ranked (NAIA D-II) College of the Ozarks 89-70 last Saturday (Jan. 2). Point guard Sarai Rodriguez put in quite a pair of games for the Lady Evangels, averaging 30.5 points per game and 6.5 assists while hitting 8-of-13 from beyond the arc. Rodriguez poured in 32 points and dished out 10 assists in the win over Avila and was named the Sooner Athletic Conference, NAIA and OklahomaSports.Net Player of the Week.
Kelli Tolar leads the Lady Evangels with 22.4 ppg and has hit a team-high 28 threes. Rodriguez is second in scoring with 16.8 ppg and has dished out a team-high 47 assists on the season. D'Shala Culberson has a team-best six rebounds per game.
The Lady Evangels are all over the map in the NAIA national rankings, leading in threes per game (10.2) and three-point field-goal percentage (.432). MACU is also sixth in the nation in assists per game (17.1) as a unit.
Lindsey Mann leads the NAIA in three-point percentage (.537), while Tolar is second in points per game 22.4) and threes per game (3.5). Rodriguez is also fourth in the NAIA in both assists per game (5.8 apg) and three-point percentage (.500) while ranking sixth in free-throw percentage (.879).
The Dish on the Golden Eagles: The No. 19-ranked John Brown University Golden Eagles are 9-5 overall and 2-0 in the SAC following a 72-51 setback to NAIA D-II No. 1-ranked Saint Xavier (Ill.) on Dec. 20. JBU has now dropped two straight overall following a five-game winning streak.
Brooke Barker leads the Golden Eagles with 15.7 ppg and has also pulled down 5.7 rebounds. Baily Cameron is second in scoring with 12.9 ppg along with a team-high 6.4 rebounds per game. Kodee Powell is third in scoring at 11.2 ppg and leads JBU with 51 assists. Jana Schammel is also scoring in double-figures at 10.9 ppg.
JBU is third in the NAIA in threes made (123), fifth in assists (243) and seventh in total offense (1071).
The Series: The Lady Evangels are 6-11 against JBU since joining the NAIA in 2007. However, MACU swept the two meetings with the Golden Eagles last season, winning 56-53 here and then 76-63 in Siloam Springs, Ark.
Thrice as Nice: If you're a fan of shots aplenty from beyond the arc, then the Lady Evangels and Golden Eagles should be happy to oblige you. Both schools rank at the top of the NAIA from the perimeter, with the Lady Evangels ranking first in threes per game (10.2) and JBU fourth (8.7).
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).
Jeff Soderquist is in his 19th season as head coach of the John Brown University women's basketball program. Soderquist is the winningest coach in program history and has guided the Golden Eagles to four appearances in the NAIA National Tournament, including a Fab Four finish in 2013-14 that featured a program-best 28 overall wins and 15 conference wins.
Up Next: The Lady Evangels will continue their three-game homestand Saturday afternoon (Jan. 9) against Wayland Baptist University. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
