OKLAHOMA CITY – After pulling off a dramatic overtime win over Evangel on Friday, the Mid-America Christian women's basketball team will face another tough non-conference opponent on Tuesday night as the Evangels will host their north side rivals Oklahoma Christian for a 6 p.m. tip-off at the Gaulke Activity Center.
LAST TIME OUT
Mid-America Christian (2-0) faced a tough test on Friday night when Evangel led by 2019 NAIA All-American Lexie Vaught came to town for its season-opener.
The Evangels had their backs against the ropes when a Crusaders free throw put EU up 77-73 with 1:24 to play in regulation, but MACU was able to rally behind a Loralei Siliga bucket and a pair of Alexis Shannon free throws to tie the game at 77-all. Mid-America Christian had the opportunity to win the game on a buzzer beater, but Aaliyah Endsley's game-winning three-point attempt from the right corner bounced off the back iron, sending the contest into overtime.
MACU had to rally from a deficit in the overtime as well, as Siliga put the Evangels in-front for good on a layup in the paint from a fantastic feed from Rachel Tapps with 55 seconds left to make it an 85-84 game. After getting a big defensive stop, Shannon was able to make a crucial layup on a drive down the left side with 11 seconds left to extend the advantage to 87-84. Following an EU bucket, Lexi Hernandez was able to knock down a pair of free throws with three seconds left to seal an 89-86 victory.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Oklahoma Christian will be playing its second exhibition game of the 2019-20 season after pulling out a 78-56 win over York College at home on Nov. 2. The NCAA Division II squad from the Lone Star Conference enters the campaign after closing out last season with a 12-16 record.
The Eagles will have some big shoes to fill with the graduation of NCAA Division II All-American Addy Clift, but do return a big piece to their team with junior forward Katie Mayo. The 6-0 junior forward from Newcastle, Okla. was an All-Heartland Conference Honorable Mention selection after averaging 16.2 points per game while leading the team in both rebounds (176, 6.2 reb/g) and blocked shots (46).
OC also returns its starting point guard in junior Madison Collyer, who led the squad with 133 assists, was second on the squad with 56 steals and ranked third on the team at 7.9 pts/g.
HISTORY WITH THE EAGLES
Mid-America Christian will be facing its former Sooner Athletic Conference rival for the first time since the 2013-14 season as the Eagles hold a 9-4 edge in the series since 2016. The last time the two teams duked it out was on Mar. 15, 2014 as OC came away with an 83-73 win in Edmond. MACU will looking for its first win against the Eagles since pulling out a 72-71 nail biter at Oklahoma Christian on Dec. 6, 2012.
SLINGING IT TO SILIGA
Senior forward Loralei Siliga is coming off her finest game in an Evangels uniform against the Crusaders. In the overtime victory over Evangel, Siliga recorded her second career double-double while reaching three career-highs with 18 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. The Oakland, Calif. product came up with two of the biggest shots in the contest for the Evangels while knocking down 8-of-12 from the field.
Through the first two games of the regular season, Siliga is averaging 17.0 pts/g, 9.5 reb/g and is shooting at a 72.7 percent clip from the floor.
LONG RANGE LEXI
Junior guard Lexi Hernandez has made her presence felt from the perimeter in her first two career games with the Evangels. The Seward County Community College transfer has knocked down 10-of-18 (55.6 percent) from the three-point arc, including a 5-for-8 (62.5 percent) clip in the win against Evangel. Hernandez also turned in five assists in her MACU debut against Manhattan Christian on Oct. 25.
