OKLAHOMA CITY -- The No. 3-ranked Our Lady of the Lake University Saints pulled out to a 91-70 win over the previously undefeated Mid-America Christian University Lady Evangels in action tonight (Nov. 18) at the OCU Classic in Oklahoma City, Okla.

The Lady Evangels hung tight in the first half, shaving an 11-point deficit down to just three on a three-pointer by Nevada Denton with 40 seconds left.

But the Saints answered with a Julia Rendon trey to take a 43-37 lead at the break.

After the Saints came out with the first eight points of the third quarter, the Lady Evangels had one more surge left as consecutive jumpers from Sarai Rodriguez capped a 7-0 spurt that brought MACU back to within four at 51-47 at the 4:37 mark.

The Saints then begin to separate for good, as Rendon and Whitney Sandmann each hit two threes to fuel a 16-6 run to end the third period and put OLLU up 67-53 heading into the fourth.

OLLU kept the Lady Evangels at bay in the fourth quarter and eventually extended the lead to a game-high 27 points with 1:27 remaining.

Rodriguez led the Lady Evangels (5-1) with 19 points and seven assists, while Denton chipped in with 14 points.

Denton and D'Shala Powell each had a team-high seven rebounds for MACU.

Rendon and Sandmann paced five Saints (2-2) in double-figure scoring. Rendon scored 18, all coming on 6-of-12 shooting from three-point distance. Sandmann had 16 points and hit 4-of-5 from the perimeter.

Rachel Baity recorded a double-double for OLLU with 11 points and 11 boards.

A key part of the third-ranked Saints' win was forcing 26 MACU giveaways that led to a 26-6 edge in points off turnovers.

The Lady Evangels out-rebounded the Saints 47-44, buoyed by a 38-33 edge on the defensive glass.

MACU will wrap up action at the OCU Classic against LSU-Shreveport tomorrow afternoon (Nov. 19) at 1 pm.