PLAINVIEW, Texas – Saturday's game between the Mid-America Christian University women's basketball team and NAIA #6 Wayland Baptist figured to be a high-scoring affair. The two teams came into the afternoon ranked fifth and sixth, respectively, in the NAIA in scoring average per game, but it would have been difficult to predict just how much offense showed up at the Hutcherson Center on Saturday afternoon.
The teams combined to have 10 players score in double figures, but the Flying Queens (6-0, 2-0 SAC) took control and beat MACU (6-1, 1-1 SAC) 101-82.
Wayland Baptist scored the first six points of the game, and they quickly built a 14-4 lead. MACU closed the gap to 15-10 at the 6:14 mark of the first quarter, but the Flying Queens used a 7-2 spurt to open the margin back to double-digits at 22-12. Jennah Coffman sank a pair of charity tosses with 2:24 left in the first frame to cut the deficit to 26-22, but a 9-4 run for Wayland pushed their lead to 35-26 at the end of the first quarter.
WBU started the second quarter on an 8-0 run and that set the tone for the second stanza. MACU was out-scored 25-15 in the quarter, the Flying Queens led by at least 14 points for the final 8:32 of the first half, and at the intermission, WBU led 60-41.
In the final 20 minutes, the Evangels played evenly with WBU. The teams each scored 23 points in the third period and 18 in the final stanza, but with a lead, the Flying Queens did not take chances, rather electing to run the clock down, and the game ended with WBU claiming the 101-82 win.
Coffman led the Evangels with 21 points in the game on 7-of-10 shooting in the game, including perfect efforts from long range (2-for-2) and from the foul line (5-for-5). Shaylan Coleman added 18 points in the game, Alexis Shannon added 15, and Darby Price and Loralei Siliga each chipped in 10. Jessica Fairley grabbed a team-leading eight boards, and Siliga recorded a pair of blocks.
As a team, MACU made 30-of-71 (42.3%) shots in the game, but only 4-of-13 (30.8%) from deep. MACU also put together an 18-for-25 (72%) effort from the free throw line.
The Evangels will return to Oklahoma City, and on Tuesday night, the Evangels will head up to Oklahoma Christian University for an exhibition contest. That game is slated to tip off at 5:30 p.m.
