OKLAHOMA CITY - The Mid-America Christian University women's basketball team entered Saturday's senior day showdown with NAIA #10 Oklahoma City University knowing that three of the four possible outcomes that could affect their seeding would put the Evangels at home. Unfortunately for MACU, the Evangels were unable to secure the victory over OCU, and a late rally elsewhere left MACU headed on the road to open the postseason.
MACU (20-8, 14-8 SAC) competed well for most of the afternoon, but the Evangels were unable to secure the upset win over OCU (27-3, 20-2 SAC), falling 76-58, and a fourth quarter rally from Southwestern Assemblies of God University over #6 Wayland Baptist University left MACU and SAGU tied for fourth in the final Sooner Athletic Conference standings. The 67-62 win for SAGU gave the Lady Lions the tiebreaker over MACU, and with it, the home court advantage for the SAC quarterfinal between the two teams on Tuesday.
MACU started the game off well, as they built a 13-6 lead with just less than five minutes elapsed in the game. OCU rallied to cut the deficit to 17-15 by the end of the first quarter, and after the lead changed hands twice early in the second stanza, OCU surged in front with an 8-0 run to take a 30-23 lead. A 3-point shot from Alexis Shannon trimmed the MACU deficit to 32-29 with 2:21 to play in the half, but back to back buckets from OCU in the final 1:14 of the half gave the Stars a 36-29 lead.
OCU scored first to open the third frame, but a trey from Shaylan Coleman, and five straight points from Jessica Fairley got MACU within a single point at 38-37 with 7:35 to go in the third. It was at that point, though, that OCU took command with a 15-0 run to take a commanding 53-37 lead. The MACU deficit reached as many as 19 in the quarter before MACU closed the gap to 58-43 heading to the final 10 minutes. The Evangels trimmed the margin to 11 three times in the final period, but they were unable to get any closer, and OCU pulled away to the win, 76-58.
Coleman finished with 17 points to lead MACU offensively, and she added six assists in her final regular season home game. Shannon scored 13 points, and she also grabbed a team leading nine rebounds. Jennah Coffman picked up four steals in the game as well.
MACU made 20 of 63 (31.7%) shots from the floor, including 11 of 30 (36.7%) from long distance. MACU was 7-for-12 (58.3%) from the foul line.
MACU will open the SAC Tournament at SAGU (20-10) on Tuesday night in the conference tournament quarterfinal round. The teams split the regular season series, with each team winning on its home floor, and the rubber match will tip-off at 6 p.m.
