The Lowdown: St. Gregory's University @ Mid-America Christian University
Time: Feb. 6 @ 3 p.m.
Location: Gaulke Activity Center, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Live Video:
Live Stats:
The Dish on the Lady Evangels: With the game in a 54-54 gridlock after three quarters, the No. 14-ranked Oklahoma City University Stars outscored the Mid-America Christian University Lady Evangels 16-8 in the final period for a 70-62 win in Sooner Athletic Conference action Thursday night (Feb. 4) at Abe Lemons Arena on the OCU campus.
The Stars took the lead for good on a jumper by Catherine Kruschke that began a 7-0 spurt during the first five minutes of the fourth quarter.
MACU fought back within two on a three by Sarai Rodriguez and a layup from D'Shala Culberson, but the Stars again scored seven straight points to extend the lead to 68-59 with 1:03 remaining.
Kelli Tolar led the Lady Evangels with 19 points and seven rebounds, while also hitting 5-of-11 from three-point distance. Rodriguez scored 16 with five boards and six assists.
The Lady Evangels are now 8-11 overall and 5-6 in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
Tolar leads the Lady Evangels with 21.4 ppg and has hit a team-high 62 threes. Rodriguez is second in scoring with 18.3 ppg and has dished out a team-high 72 assists on the season. Culberson has a team-best 8.3 rebounds per game.
The Lady Evangels are all over the map in the NAIA national rankings, ranking second in threes per game (9.1) and sixth in both three-point field-goal percentage (.373) and assists per game (16.8).
Individually, Tolar is first in the NAIA in threes per game (3.4) and third in points per game (21.4).
The Dish on the Cavaliers: The St. Gregory's University Cavaliers had lost five of six games before defeating Southwestern Assemblies of God University 57-55 Thursday evening (Feb. 4). SGU is currently 7-13 overall and 4-7 in the SAC.
Denisha Lundy leads the Cavaliers with 13.8 ppg, followed closely by Kylee Tatum at 13.4 ppg. Courtney Leach is averaging 11.6 ppg, while Ebony Harrison and Kelsie Howgard each have a team-high 4.9 rebounds per game. Ashleigh Sparks has recorded a team-high 96 assists on the season.
The Cavaliers are fourth in the NAIA in threes per game (8.2) and seventh in three-point defense (.258).
Individually, Leach is second in the NAIA in three-point field-goal percentage (.514), Sparks is eighth in assists per game (4.8) and Lundy ranks ninth in threes per game (2.8).
The Series: The Lady Evangels have gotten the best of the Cavaliers since joining the NAIA, winning the first eight meetings between the two schools and 12 of 15 overall after winning 71-67 at SGU in this season's first outing (1/16/16).
Long-Distance Connections: This matchup pitting the Lady Evangels and Cavaliers will feature two of the top five three-point shooting squads in the NAIA. The Lady Evangels are making the second-most threes in the NAIA (9.1) while the Cavaliers are fourth in threes per game (8.2).
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).
Jenone Bell is in her first season as head coach of St. Gregory's University. Last season, Bell served as an assistant coach for the Cavaliers. Bell has amassed nearly 20 years of coaching experience, most recently a three-year tenure as head coach at Southern University-Shreveport.
Up Next: The Lady Evangels will host USAO Thursday evening (Feb. 11) at 6 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center. MACU took the first meeting from the Drovers 79-70 on the road (Jan. 26).
