OKLAHOMA CITY – It has been said that one of the hardest things to do in all of sports is to beat the same team three times in a season. On Tuesday night, the Mid-America Christian University women's basketball team found out just how difficult that task can be.
MACU (20-10) opened the second half of their Sooner Athletic Conference quarterfinal game against John Brown University on a 12-0 run, but the Evangels were unable to take the lead back from the Golden Eagles (19-11) as JBU took the win 83-69 to advance to the SAC Tournament semifinals.
MACU scored the first five points of the night, but JBU quickly rallied with a trio of 3-pointers, and that barrage set the tone for the game. The Golden Eagles made a total of five threes in the first quarter, but MACU held close, and after one quarter of play, MACU trailed 19-13.
The Golden Eagles quickly stretched their lead in the second frame. JBU opened the second quarter on a 12-2 run to grab a 31-15 lead with just 3:55 elapsed in the period. MACU rallied to trim the deficit to nine points at the 3:39 mark, but JBU managed to push the lead back out to 13 at the break, and they took a 40-27 lead into the locker room.
MACU came out on fire in the third. Alexis Shannon scored four points in the opening 26 seconds of the second half, and that ignited a 12-0 run that spanned the first 3:16 of the stanza. After the teams traded 3-pointers, The Evangels had a chance to take the lead with a pair of free throws, but both went begging, and JBU continued to lead. MACU had another chance to take the lead moments later, but MACU was unable to do so, and JBU answered the charge with a 9-0 run to take a 60-49 lead, and after three quarters, JBU led by nine, 60-51. MACU twice cut the deficit to six in the fourth frame, but they were unable to get closer than that, and JBU pulled away to an 83-69 win.
Chelseah Savage led the Evangels with 18 points in the game, and she was one of four Evangels to score in double-figures. Jessica Fairley added 16, Jennah Coffman added 11, and Shannon had 10. Coffman also led the Evangels with seven rebounds and three assists, and Shannon added five steals. MACU made 23-of-62 (37.1%) from the floor, and 11-of-28 (39.3%) from long range. At the foul line, MACU was 12-for-18 (66.7%).
The Evangels must now await their fate as a potential at-large team to the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship in Billings, Montana. The Lady Evangels are on the bubble for the NAIA tournament, but if they don't advance to the NAIA Tournament, the team will participate in the NCCAA Division I Central Region Championship at Central Christian College (Kan.) from March 7-10. Please stay tuned to macuathletics.com for updates on the postseason schedules for the MACU basketball teams.
