OKLAHOMA CITY – Conventional wisdom in sports is that games are not won in the first half, let alone the first quarter. On Saturday afternoon, the Mid-America Christian University women's basketball team scoffed at that traditional wisdom.

MACU (18-9, 12-7 SAC) roared out of the gate to a 22-point lead at the end of the first quarter, and they never looked back as they cruised to a win over Oklahoma Panhandle State University (14-12, 6-12 SAC) 84-61.

The first quarter was punctuated by a sizable run for the Lady Evangels. MACU opened the game on a 20-2 run, and that set the tone for the night. MACU ran their lead to 28-6 at the end of the first frame. OPSU closed the gap to 18 with 2:58 to play in the opening half, but a 12-0 run for the Lady Evangels pushed the lead to 30, and at the half, MACU led 60-30. The second half saw OPSU whittle away at the deficit slightly, but MACU never led by fewer than 23 points in the second half, and when the final buzzer sounded, MACU had claimed the 84-61 win.

Chelseah Savage led all scorers with 19 points in the game, and Jessica Fairley added 16 tallies. Alexis Shannon poured in a dozen, and Nevada Denton reached double digits as well, chipping in 10. Brittany Thompson grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, and Shannon added 10 boards for her seventh double-double of the season. Shannon also had four assists, and Savage added three helpers, and Fairley picked up three blocked shots in the game. MACU made 28-of-66 (42.4%) shots in the game, including 8-of-19 (42.1%) from beyond the arc. MACU was also 20-for-28 (71.4%) at the foul line in the game.

MACU will wrap up their 2017-18 regular season on Saturday, February 24, when they welcome the Southwestern Christian University Eagles (11-14, 6-12 SAC) to the Gaulke Activity Center for Senior Day festivities. The Lady Evangels will honor their two seniors, Savage and Thompson, after their game, which is slated to tip-off at 3 p.m.