CHICKASHA, Okla. – The short-handed Mid-America Christian women's basketball team overcame some adversity on Friday night as the Evangels picked up a crucial 75-73 overtime win at Science & Arts in a battle of two undefeated Sooner Athletic Conference teams.

Mid-America Christian (8-2, 3-0 SAC) remained as one of three undefeated teams in the SAC, knocking USAO (7-4, 2-1 SAC) from the ranks of the unbeatens with their first victory over the Drovers since Jan. 15, 2018.

Senior forward Loralei Siliga led four Evangels into double-figures with a career-high 19 points on 7-for-16 shooting and made a career-best 3-for-5 from the three-point arc while finishing just a rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards.

Early in the first quarter, the Drovers jumped out to a 6-2 advantage, but the Evangels were able to quickly overcome the early deficit on an Aaliyah Endsley layup on the left side followed by a three-pointer from the left wing by Siliga on a kick out by Rachel Tapps, giving MACU its first lead of the game at 7-6 with 2:51 left.

USAO took the lead back on a Reyna Ammons three-pointer, but the Evangels had an immediate answer on the ensuing possession, draining a three from the left wing on a kick out by Shannon.

The Drovers briefly reclaimed the edge on a Kaitlyn Johnson bucket, but Jessica Fairley put MACU in-front before the end of the quarter on a three from the left corner to make a 13-11 Evangels advantage heading into the second quarter.

Midway through the second period, Mid-America Christian was able to push the advantage out to five at 18-13 with 5:54 remaining on an Anna Kash three-pointer from the top of the key, but the Drovers fought back to take the lead on back-to-back three-pointers to set the score at 19-18 with just under five minutes to go until the break.

With 4:26 left, Alexis Shannon ignited a huge 10-0 Evangels run with a steal and coast-to-coast fastbreak layup. Shannon added to it with a three-point point play off another fastbreak and Siliga drained a three from the left corner to stretch the edge to seven. Hernandez ended the run with a three-point bomb from the top of the key to set the score at 33-23 with 1:25 remaining.

Neither team was able to score again until the final buzzer when the Drovers robbed a Fairley pass toward the top of the key and lay it in just before the buzzer to close the MACU lead to 33-25 at the break.

The Evangels defense was dominant through the first 20 minutes, limiting USAO to just 27 percent shooting and 20 percent from beyond the arc while forcing 11 turnovers. Siliga led all scorers at the break with 12 points on 4-for-10 from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.

Midway through the third quarter, USAO closed the gap to four with 4:28 left, but Siliga came up with a big bucket on a step through layup through the paint on a fastbreak and Tapps knocked down 3-for-4 from the foul line over the next few minutes to stretch the MACU edge back to 43-34.

A three-pointer by the Drovers made it a six-point game with less than a minute left, but the Evangels finished the period on an Ossyana Ozoani fastbreak layup on a Tapps drive and dish to take a 45-37 advantage into the fourth quarter.

Mid-America Christian struggled to find a rhythm in the fourth quarter as the Drovers opened the period with nine unanswered through the first 5:46 to take its first lead since the 4:58 mark in the second quarter. However, Tapps put Evangels back in-front with a three from the left wing.

The Drovers responded by scoring seven of the next nine, but Siliga tied the game back up at 53 on a crucial three-point bucket from the right corner on an Endsley dish with 2:19 to go.

Shannon put MACU ahead on a pair of free throws on the next possession following a Tapps steal as the two teams went back and forth over the final two minutes.

Leading by one with 13 seconds left, the Evangels came up with a huge defensive stop and Shannon knocked down one of two to extend the edge to 58-56 with 11 seconds on the clock.

On the Drovers final possession, USAO was able to track down an overthrown ball from the left sideline to the right corner and USAO's Kaitlyn Johnson drove into the lane and converted a game-tying layup with six seconds remaining.

Mid-America Christian had an opportunity at a game-winner, but Shannon's 10-footer from the left side was blocked, sending the game into overtime.

Endsley quickly put the Evangels in-front with a back-to-back scores on a layup down the right side and a turnaround jumper from eight feet out to make it a 62-58 MACU advantage.

Science & Arts closed the gap to one on an Ammons three-pointer following a Hernandez bomb from the arc, but the Evangels were able to secure a strong advantage on a Fairley three-pointer from the left corner on a kick out by Endsley. Hernandez pitched in on the run seconds later, coming up with a steal at midcourt and converted a fastbreak layup to extend the Evangels edge to 72-66 with a minute remaining.

The Drovers trimmed their deficit to two by converting four free throws with in an 11 second stretch to make it a 75-73 game with four seconds left, but USAO's half-court heave after a pair of MACU missed free throws with two seconds left allowed the Evangels to come away with the win.

Mid-America Christian outshot USAO by a 39-to-32.5 percent margin, taking advantage of some red-hot shooting from beyond the arc by going 45.8 percent from three compared to just 24.2 percent for the Drovers.

Shannon scored 17 points for MACU, knocking down a season-high 11-for-15 from the foul line to go with six rebounds, dished out a season-best six assists and came away with four steals.

Hernandez poured in 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting and 3-of-7 from beyond the arc while Fairley rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points on 3-of-6 from the arc to go with eight rebounds.

Mid-America Christian will now head into the Christmas break and will return for a challenging New Year's Eve battle against Kansas Wesleyan. The Evangels will usher in the new year with a 3 p.m. tip-off at the Gaulke Activity Center.