OKLAHOMA CITY – Coming off a season in which they qualified for the NCCAA National Tournament, the Mid-America Christian University women's basketball team is just more than a week away from opening their 2017-18 campaign, and head coach Hannah Moeller could not be more excited for the season to begin. The Lady Evangels, however, maintain high expectations for this year's team.

"Our expectations don't change from year to year," Moeller explained. "We feel like we have some great players, and we're looking forward to building on the success of last year this season. The experience of getting to play five postseason games after the conference tournament last year was invaluable for our growth and confidence. The opportunity to compete in Indiana in the national tournament was a great one." 

The Lady Evangels return six players from the 2016-17 squad that posted a 23-13 record and a fourth place finish at the NCCAA National Championship, and coach Moeller has added six additional players, while losing only four from that roster. "The two big areas we feel we've improved," she said, "are in our depth and on the defensive end of the floor."

Headlining the returning players is Mikki Flores, a Third-Team All-Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) selection who also earned a Second Team All-NCCAA Central Region nod. Flores scored 12.2 points per game, and she racked up an incredible 206 assists, the second highest total in NAIA Division I women's basketball. Also returning after making significant contributions in 2016-17 are Brittany Thompson, Nevada Denton, and Jessica Fairley, all of who averaged better than five points per contest a year ago. Powell and Thompson led the Lady Evangels in rebounding at 6.2 and 5.9 boards per contest, respectively, and had 27 steals in just 15 minutes per game.

""We expect a lot out of Mikki this year," Moeller noted. "She had a great sophomore year, but having played for us for a year now, she's already made huge strides to get even better. Brittany is a senior who provides a tremendous amount of leadership on and off the floor, and Nevada and Jessica played a ton of minutes as freshmen and I think the move to their sophomore year will be something that really benefits our team on the floor."

Of course, each year, pieces need to be added to the roster, and in that area, the Lady Evangels have made additions of impact talents. Alexis Shannon and Becky Wilson come to MACU as NCAA Division I Transfers, along with Jennah Coffman and Chelseah Savage who transfer to MACU from schools at other levels. Local high school products Shelby Thrailkill and Ossyana Ozoani also join the fold, and coach Moeller notes that the diverse group has already become very comfortable as a unit off the floor, remarking "Our team is extremely tight. It's been fun to see them grow together in such a short amount of time."

On the court, Moeller noted, "Alexis is really versatile and will help us at several positions, while Becky is a presence in the paint and gives us the ability to play inside out. Jennah is another newcomer we expect to be a huge part of our success.  She is a true leader and she will help us in several ways, and Chelseah brings all the intangibles to the table, and she can score the basketball in multiple ways. Shelby and Ossyana are the types of young women who have great collegiate carriers.  We believe they will have great 4 year careers here at MACU."

Of course, no preview would be complete without looking at the strength of the SAC – one of the premiere conferences in NAIA basketball "The SAC is such a tough league, made up of great players," said Moeller. "If you can survive in the SAC, you'll be well set up to compete at the national tournament."

The Lady Evangels are tabbed to finish fourth in the SAC by the coaches in the preseason poll. MACU grabbed 102 points, finishing behind defending NAIA National Champion Oklahoma City University (129), John Brown University (121), and Wayland Baptist University (114). The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (83) edged out Texas Wesleyan University (81) for fifth place in the poll, With Southwestern Christian University (78) and Southwestern Assemblies of God University (65) picked to occupy the final two spots in the postseason tournament. SAC newcomer Oklahoma Panhandle State University (48) finished just one point ahead of Bacone College (47) in the poll, with St. Gregory's University (39) and another newcomer to the Conference, Central Christian College of Kansas (24) rounding out the vote.

MACU will open their 2017-18 slate on Friday, October 27, at 6 p.m. when they welcome the Manhattan Christian College Thunder to the Gaulke Activity Center.