OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian University women's basketball team returned home for the first time in 2018 on Thursday night, and before them was an opportunity to build momentum heading into the second half of the Sooner Athletic Conference season. The Lady Evangels were balanced offensively in the game, and when the final horn sounded, MACU had edged closer to the top of the SAC table.
MACU (11-6, 5-4 SAC) had five players in double figures, led by 32 points from Alexis Shannon and double-double efforts from Chelseah Savage and Ossyana Ozoani, as they battled past Bacone College (11-7, 3-6 SAC), 87-75.
Bacone struck first, but MACU quickly regained their footing. The first quarter proved to be a back-and-forth affair, with four ties and seven lead changes. Neither team led by more than three in the frame, and after the first 10 minutes, MACU held the lead, 20-19.
The second quarter was controlled by MACU, with the Lady Evangels leading for much of the frame. Shannon had a big frame, with 11 of her 21 first half points in the period. She helped the Lady Evangels close out the half on an 8-0 run, capping off the half with a 3-pointer to give MACU a 42-34 halftime lead.
MACU quickly opened a nine point lead in the third stanza, as Nevada Denton converted in the paint with 6:26 to go in the period, but Bacone rallied to take the lead. A 15-3 run from the Warriors that spanned just less than three and a half minutes, gave Bacone the 56-53 lead, but Savage answered 25 seconds later to tie the score with a long range bucket. That bucket ignited a 7-0 run for MACU that gave the Lady Evangels a 60-56 lead, but in the final minute of the period, Bacone trimmed two points off that margin, and with 10 minutes to play, MACU held a slim 61-59 edge.
The Warriors recaptured the lead just 24 seconds into the fourth frame, and they held the 65-63 advantage with 8:33 to play, but Denton scored on a mid-range jumper just 22 second later to tie the score at 65. This time, the Lady Evangels used that shot as a springboard to a 9-0 run, and they did not look back. A pair of free throws from Denton gave MACU a nine point lead with 3:17 to play, and Shannon scored at the 1:11 mark to push the lead to double-figures as MACU pulled away to the 87-75 win.
Shannon was 12-of-16 from the floor in the game netting a game-high 32 points. Denton added 18 tallies. Savage and Ossyana Ozoani each notched double-doubles in the game, with Savage scoring 11 points and dishing out 11 helpers, and Ozoani scoring 10 points and grabbed a team-leading 10 rebounds. Jennah Coffman also scored 11 points in the game. As a team, MACU shot 31-for-57 (54.4%) from the field, and 7-for-20 (35%) from long distance. At the foul line, MACU was 18-for-24 (75%), and the Lady Evangels won the battle of the boards 46-34.
MACU will have another opportunity to move up in the SAC standings on Saturday, but it will come in the form of a tough road test. The Lady Evangels will head to Siloam Springs, Arkansas to take on the John Brown University Golden Eagles (12-6, 6-3 SAC), who are receiving votes in the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Poll. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
