MUSKOGEE, Okla. - The Mid-America Christian University women's basketball team headed east for the final time in the 2018-19 regular season on Saturday with a chance to keep the pressure on teams above them in the Sooner Athletic Conference standings as the season winds down. They did just that with a big win at Bacone College, and thanks to some help, MACU has vaulted into the top four in the SAC standings with two games left to play before the conference tournament.
MACU (19-7, 13-7) scored at least 32 points in three of the four quarters of their game at Bacone (0-23, 0-20 SAC) as the Evangels rolled to a 124-66 win. Coupled with a loss from Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) at Langston University in double overtime, and a University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma win at John Brown University, the result give MACU the inside track to a home game in the SAC tournament quarterfinal.
MACU opened the game on a 15-2 run, and Alexis Shannon scored eight of the points in that span. Shannon posted her ninth double-double of the season in the game, finishing the night with 26 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in just over 17 and one-half minutes of action.
Bacone closed the game to 32-22 at the end of one quarter, but MACU took command in the second frame. The Evangels out-scored Bacone 27-5 in the second quarter, and the centerpiece of that quarter was a 21-0 run that spanned nearly seven minutes of the frame. The MACU defense held Bacone to 1-for-17 shooting in the quarter. On the otner end of the floor, MACU shot 40% in the frame, led by Shaylan Coleman's nine points, and at the half, MACU led 59-27.
From there, the result was academic, and MACU cruised in with the 124-66 win. The 124 points equalled a MACU single-game record, which was set by the Evangels earlier this season against Bacone.
Six different Evangels scored in double figures, and Shannon and Loralei Siliga posted double-doubles. Siliga had 12 points and 10 rebounds for her first double-double at MACU. Coleman scored 16 points in the game, Nevada Denton added 15, and Jennah Coffman and Ossyana Ozoani each netted 10. Coleman added six assists and Denton and Jessica Fairley each had a pair of blocked shots.
With two games left in the regular season, MACU is now in a tie with SAGU for fourth in the SAC standings, but the Evangels hold the tiebreaker over the Lady Lions.
MACU will be back in action on Thursday night for their final road game of the regular season. The Evangels will head to nearby Bethany, Oklahoma to take on the Southwestern Christian University Eagles (10-16, 7-13 SAC). The game will tip-off at 6 p.m.
