The Lowdown: No. 23 John Brown University @ Mid-America Christian University
Time: Jan. 28 @ 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 wrapped up their four-game road swing in positive fashion by rallying big in the second half to upend the Southwestern Christian University Lady Eagles 70-54 Thursday evening (Jan. 26) to improve to 14-6 overall and 5-4 in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
It was definitely a tale of two halves, with the proof being in the shooting percentages.
The Lady Eagles shot 50 percent (13-of-26) overall and 40 percent (6-of-15) from three-point distance in the opening half, while the Lady Evangels shot only 24.3 percent (9-of-37) and 27.8 percent (5-of-18) from beyond the arc.
The second half told a vastly different story, as the Lady Evangels warmed up to shoot 53.8 percent (14-of-26) and 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from the perimeter, while forcing SCU into only a 23.3 percent (7-of-30 clip and 1-of-11 from three-point range
Sarai Rodriguez has been the offensive catalyst for the Lady Evangels, whose 21.0 points per game leads the team and ranks second in the Sooner Athletic Conference and fourth in the NAIA. Rodriguez has earned three National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Player of the Week awards along with one OklahomaSports.Net honor this season.
Rodriguez has also hit a team-high 54 threes and is second on the team with 74 assists on the season.
Jamie Lamb ranks second in scoring with 11.5 ppg, while Mikki Flores is scoring 11.3 ppg, while ranking third in the conference with 119 assists. Her assists per game (5.9 apg) is also third in the SAC and sixth in the NAIA.
Brittany Thompson leads the Lady Evangels in rebounding with 7.3 boards per game.
As a unit, the Lady Evangels are third in the NAIA in total rebounds per game (47.2), fourth in defensive rebounds per game (31.3), sixth in scoring offense per game (82.7) and 10th in total rebound margin (8.8).
The Dish on the Golden Eagles: The No. 23-ranked John Brown University Golden Eagles have won four straight overall and are 13-6 and 5-3 in the SAC.
Baily Cameron is leading the Golden Eagles in both points (15.2 ppg) and rebounds (6.8 rpg), while Kodee Powell is second in scoring with 11.9 ppg and has team-highs in both assists (73) and threes (52). Powell is also second in the NAIA in three-point percentage (.473).
JBU is currently first in the NAIA in threes per game (10.7), third in free-throw percentage (.773), fifth in assists per game (17.8) and sixth in assist/turnover ratio (1.1).
The Series: The Lady Evangels are now 8-11 against JBU since joining the NAIA in 2007. The Lady Evangels have gotten the best of matchup recently, winning the past four meetings, including an epic 98-90 double-overtime victory over the Golden Eagles at home last season.
Welcome Home: The Lady Evangels return home for the first time since Jan. 12 following a four-game road trip. MACU has fared well at home, going 7-2 inside the Gaulke Activity Center this season.
The Coaches:
Hannah Moeller has begun her first season 14-6 as head coach of the Mid-America Christian University women's basketball program, including matching the team's best-ever 10-game start as an NAIA school at 9-1.
Moeller is no stranger to MACU; she served as the assistant women's basketball coach during the 2010-2011 season for current Yale University assistant coach Roman Owen.
Moeller takes over the program after a four-year tenure at Hillsdale Free Will Baptist College, now Randall University. During her time at Hillsdale, Moeller was named the 2016 NCCAA National Coach of the Year, won two national championships, was twice named Southwest Regional Coach of the Year, coached nine All-American players and touted a 105-28 coaching record.
In her four seasons working with Hillsdale Free Will Baptist, Moeller accomplished the following:
2016 NCCAA National Coach of the Year
2016 NCCAA National Runner-Up
2013, 2014 ACCA National Champions
2015 ACCA National Runner-Up
2013 and 2016 NCCAA Southwest Region Coach of the Year
2016 season spent 14 weeks ranked #1 in the country
In addition, Moeller was responsible for the recruitment and development of the following student-athletes:
2016 NCCAA/ACCA National Player of the Year
Five NCCAA All-Americans, three for repeating years
Nine ACCA All-Americans, five for repeating years
Three NCCAA Southwest Region Most Valuable Players
Nine NCCAA All-Southwest Region players
14 NCCAA/ACCA Scholar Athletes
Moeller served as the associate head coach at Hillsdale Free Will Baptist during the 2011-2012 and helped lead the Lady Saints to the 2012 ACCA National Championship. Moeller is no stranger to MACU; she served as the assistant women's basketball coach during the 2010-2011 season for current Yale University assistant coach Roman Owen.
After signing to play basketball at the University of Louisiana-Monroe as a senior in high school, Moeller finished her playing career at Rogers State University where she was named the 2009 Rogers State University Female Student Athlete of the Year, a 2009 NAIA Academic All-American and the 2009 Distinguished Graduate of the Sports Management department.
Moeller holds an Associate of Arts from Southwestern Christian University and a Bachelor of Science in Sports Management from Rogers State University. Her graduate work is in physical education from the University of Central Oklahoma.
Hannah, her husband Marcus and their 10-month old son Owen reside in Oklahoma City and attend Frontline Church Downtown.
Jeff Soderquist is in his 20th 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 play at Texas Wesleyan University next Thursday evening (Feb. 2) at 6 pm in Ft. Worth, Texas.
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