The Lowdown: Southwestern Christian University @ Mid-America Christian University
Time: Feb. 20 @ 3 p.m.
Location: Gaulke Activity Center, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Live Video:
Live Stats:
The Dish on the Lady Evangels: The Mid-America Christian University Lady Evangels rallied from 15 down and defeated the John Brown University Golden Eagles 68-65 (2/18) in Siloam Springs, Ark. The Lady Evangels trailed 56-41 heading into the fourth quarter, but made their move by outscoring the Golden Eagles 17-3 during the opening 4:34 of the period to force a 58-58 gridlock.
Following five straight points by JBU, a three by Kelli Tolar ignited a run of eight straight for the Lady Evangels that was capped with a three from Sarai Rodriguez that put MACU in front to stay, 66-63 with 1:54 remaining.
After Brooke Barker scored with 11 seconds remaining for the Golden Eagles' first field-goal since the 4:38 mark, Tolar made one free throw and the Lady Evangels forced a three-point miss as time expired to hang on for the victory.
Tolar scored a team-high 23 points for the Lady Evangels and nailed six-of-14 from three-point distance. Rodriguez added 22 points with a game-high six assists and career-best five steals. Jamie Lamb led the Lady Evangels with a career-high 12 rebounds and D'Shala Culberson added 11 boards. The Lady Evangels are now 10-13 overall and sixth place in the SAC with a 7-8 league record, one game out of the fourth spot.
Tolar leads the Lady Evangels with 20.5 ppg and has hit a team-high 72 threes. Rodriguez is second in scoring with 18.1 ppg along with a team-best 93 assists on the season. Culberson leads MACU with 9.3 rebounds per game.
The Lady Evangels lead the NAIA in threes made per game (nine) and are fourth in assists per game (17.1). MACU is also ninth in both defensive rebounds per game (29.5) and three-point field-goal percentage (.361, while ranking 10th in assist/turnover ratio (1.0).
Individually, Tolar is third in the NAIA in both points per game (20.5 ppg) and threes per game (3.2), while Culberson is eighth in defensive rebounds per game (6.4) and 10th in total rebounds per game (9.3 rpg).
The Dish on the Lady Eagles: The Southwestern Christian University Lady Eagles have won three of their last four games overall and are coming off a 68-50 win at Southwestern Assemblies of God University (2/18). The Lady Eagles are 12-13 overall and rank third in the SAC at 9-6 in the league.
Maranda Janz leads SCU in scoring with 13.9 ppg, while Andi McGill is second with 12.9 ppg and has recorded a team-best 73 assists. Adrianna White also scores in double-figures with 11.8 ppg and Eliora Johnson leads the Lady Eagles with 9.6 rebounds per game.
Johnson ranks fourth in the NAIA in defensive rebounds per game (7.1) and sixth in total rebounds per game (9.6). Janz is also 10th in free-throw percentage (.840).
The Series: The Lady Evangels are 3-5 vs. the Lady Eagles since joining the NAIA after the Lady Eagles captured the first meeting this season in Bethany, Okla.
Boarding School: The matchup between the Lady Evangels and Lady Eagles will feature two of the top 10 rebounders in the NAIA. Eliora Johnson of SCU is sixth in the NAIA in rebounds per game (9.6 rpg), while the Lady Evangels' D'Shala Culberson ranks 10th on the glass (9.3 rpg).
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 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).
Mark Arthur is in his first season at the helm of the Southwestern Christian University Lady Eagles. Although it's his first season as the women's basketball head coach, Arthur is no stranger to the SCU campus. He has worked for the University in some capacity since 1991 and currently serves as the VP of Intercollegiate Athletics. Arthur was also the SCU men's basketball coach for 20 years and won 404 games before stepping down after the 2011-12 season.
Up Next: The Lady Evangels will play their final two regular season games on the road, starting at Bacone College next Thursday evening (Feb. 25) at 6 p.m. in Muskogee, Okla.
