OKLAHOMA CITY – Sarai Rodriguez poured in a career-high 36 points for the Mid-America Christian University Lady Evangels, but it wasn't enough as the Wayland Baptist University Flying Queens won 101-88 in a Sooner Athletic Conference matchup tonight (Jan. 12) inside the Gaulke Activity Center.

A couple of keys to surviving Rodriguez's career night for the Flying Queens was shooting 55.6 percent overall from the field (35-of-63) and holding a 43-28 edge in rebounding.

The Flying Queens initially gained separation by outscoring the Lady Evangels 11-3 from the final 1:45 of the first quarter into the opening play of the second.

Deborah VanDijk scored six points during that span and a three by Shawna Monreal began the second quarter and made it 27-15.

13 points from Rodriguez helped the Lady Evangels stay within seven late in the half, but the Flying Queens put in the final five points of the period to once again make it a 12-point WBU lead of 46-34 at the break.

The Lady Evangels appeared to make some headway in the third quarter by trimming an early 16-point deficit down to seven, only to have a three by Maci Merket as time expired ignite an 11-2 push that extended into the fourth quarter and stretch the Flying Queen lead right back to 16 at the 8:34 mark.

Rodriguez wouldn't let the Lady Evangels go quietly though and produced a three-point play followed by a jumper to help MACU claw back within nine with 5:58 remaining. 

With the deficit at 10, the Flying Queens put together a 12-2 run that gave them their biggest lead of the night at 95-75 to put it away with 2:34 left.

Rodriguez's career-high 36 points came on 9-of-18 shooting from the field, 4-of-10 from three-point distance and a career-high tying 14-of-15 at the free-throw line.

Jamie Lamb added a personal season-high of 20 points for the Lady Evangels (12-4, 3-2 SAC), with Mikki Flores scoring 15 points along with a team-high five assists.

VanDijk led six Flying Queens in double-figures with 18 points, followed closely by Nina Sato's 17 points.

Jade Jones had 15 points and a team-best nine boards for WBU, while Merket and Kendrick Clark each scored 14. Morgan Bennett had a double-double of 12 points and game-high 12 assists for the Flying Queens, who won for the eighth straight time to improve to 13-2 overall and 4-1 in the SAC.

The Lady Evangels will next begin a four-game road trip, starting Saturday afternoon (Jan. 14) at USAO. Tip-off will be at 3 pm in Chickasha, Okla.