MCPHERSON, Kan. - The Mid-America Christian University women's basketball team hit the road on Saturday to complete the first half of their Sooner Athletic Conference schedule with a date at Central Christian College of Kansas. The game was sluggish at times, but a huge fourth quarter helped MACU take the victory.
MACU (12-4, 6-4 SAC) had some trouble shaking the pesky Tigers of CCCK (2-16, 3-8 SAC), but Alexis Shannon and Ossyana Ozoani each put up double-doubles in the game and MACU cruised in with the 89-68 victory.
Jennah Coffman got the Evangels on the board first 48 seconds into the game with a 3-point bucket, and the Evangels led for much of the first five minutes, but the lead stayed within a single possession for that entire time. Central Christian took a 12-11 lead on a made free throw with 3:05 to play in the opening quarter, but a bucket from Darby Price at the 2:20 mark put MACU back in front. CCCK tied the score one final time with 1:43 to play in the opening period, but a pair of free throws from Price and a bucket from Jessica Fairley gave MACU an 18-14 lead after the first period of play.
Price opened the second quarter with a 3-point play, and while it took the Evangels some time to get a little separation in the period, MACU eventually put together an 8-2 spurt to stretch their lead to 31-20 on a bucket from Shannon with 3:30 to play in the half. Central Christian closed the gap to five at 31-26 with 1:46 to play, but MACU answered with a 7-0 run that was capped off by a Coffman 3-pointer on their way to a 38-29 halftime lead.
MACU scuffled a bit in the third quarter. MACU made only six shots in the frame from the floor, and CCCK buried four three pointers, but an 8-for-8 frame at the foul line helped MACU minimize the damage. The Tigers whittled away and got the deficit down to six twice, and the game headed to the final quarter with MACU holding a 59-53 lead.
In the final period, MACU took the game oveTigers tried to keep themselves in the game, but MACU's offensed was too much. The Evangels made 12 of 21 shots in the quarter, and on the glass, MACU out-rebounded CCCK 15-6 and the Evangels pulled away to the 89-68 win.
Shannon led all scorers with 28 points, and she posted 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the year. Ozoani scored 14 points and also grabbed 10 boards to notch her first double-double of the season. Price (15) and Coffman (13) also scored in double figures for MACU. Shannon dished out five assists, Nevada Denton and Sydney Wycoff each had four helpers, and Denton, Shannon, and Ozoani each had three steals.
MACU made 30 of 83 (36.1%) shots from the field, and 8 of 29 (27.6%) from long distance. At the foul line, MACU was 21 for-25 (84%), and the Evangels won the battle of the boards 53-49. MACU also controlled each scoring breakdown, bettering CCCK 10-0 on the fast break, 25-7 off turnovers, 60-26 in the paint, 20-13 on second chances, and 18-3 off the bench.
MACU will face a stiff test on Thursday night as they try to extend their winning streak to three games. The Evangels will play host to the NAIA #5 Wayland Baptist University Flying Queens (17-2, 11-0 SAC) at 6 p.m.
