OKLAHOMA CITY – In a battle of two of the top teams in the Sooner Athletic Conference, the Mid-America Christian women's basketball team will travel to Plainview, Texas on Thursday for a 6 p.m. matchup against No. 6 Wayland Baptist before heading to Goodwell, Okla. on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip against Oklahoma Panhandle State.
LAST TIME OUT
Mid-America Christian (11-2, 4-0 SAC) went 3-0 last week, opening the slate with a big time 64-61 non-conference win over Kansas Wesleyan on New Year's Eve. The Evangels followed it up with an 85-48 victory at Bacone College on Jan. 2, holding the Braves to just three points in the second quarter to take a commanding 42-14 lead into the halftime break. MACU closed out the three-game in six-day slate with a hard-fought win over John Brown, rallying from an eight-point deficit to come away with a 73-71 home victory.
The Evangels racked up some major honors following the three-game sweep as senior forward Alexis Shannon was tabbed the SAC Player of the Week while Hannah Moeller was named the WHoopDirt.com Coach of the Week.
SCOUTING THE FLYING QUEENS
Wayland Baptist makes its way into the matchup as the sixth-ranked team in the NAIA, holding a 10-2 overall record and a 3-1 mark against SAC competition with the lone loss coming at No. 3 Oklahoma City back on Nov. 23. Since that loss, the Flying Queens have won seven straight, which includes three wins over nationally-ranked top 25 teams. WBU picked up a 63-57 overtime win over then No. 1 Freed-Hardeman on Nov. 30 and won a pair of SAC matchups last week by scores of 74-55 at Southwestern Assemblies of God on Thursday and 78-64 at Texas Wesleyan on Saturday.
Leading a balanced Flying Queens scoring effort is senior guard Morgan Bennett, averaging 13.8 points per game while leading the team in three-point shooting (22-for-68, 32.4 percent), free throw shooting (33-of-42 (78.6 percent) and is second in the SAC in assists (55, 4.6 apg). Junior forward Kaylee Edgemon is also pitching in 13.2 ppg on a 40.7 percent shooting clip.
Sophomore forward Jenna Cooper leads the WBU rebounding efforts with 88 boards at a 7.3 rpg clip while sophomore guard Payton Brown is team's top defender with 22 steals.
HISTORY WITH THE FLYING QUEENS
The Evangels have struggled against the Flying Queens since joining the NAIA during the 2017-18 season, dropping 20 of the previous 24 matchups to WBU. However, MACU will be hoping to start a win streak against the Flying Queens, as MACU snapped an eight-game losing streak to Wayland Baptist in their last outing. The Evangels picked up an 85-66 victory at the Gaulke Activity Center on Jan. 24, 2019 as Shannon was one of four Evangels to crack double-figures in the victory, tallying 18 points, eight rebounds and three steals in the win. MACU will be seeking its first win in Plainview since Feb. 23, 2008 when the Evangels topped the Flying Queens 84-80 in just their second meeting ever in the NAIA era.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
Oklahoma Panhandle State makes its way into its matchup with USAO on Thursday with a 4-8 record and an 0-4 mark in SAC play. Since picking up a 59-39 win over Randall on Dec. 9, the Aggies have lost three straight, including an 80-58 loss at Texas Wesleyan on Jan. 2 and a 67-41 defeat at SAGU on Jan. 4.
The OPSU scoring efforts are led by freshman forward Shay Audrain, averaging 11.5 ppg on a 45.9 percent shooting clip, including a team-leading 36-of-72 (50 percent) from the three-point arc. Junior guard Naomi Rodriguez is also pitching in 11.1 ppg while leading the Aggies defensive efforts with a team-high 22 steals.
Junior forward Cassia McCaskill is team's most efficient rebounder at 5.4 rpg while sophomore guard Kaylee Morgan and junior guard Laura Moya Demures are team's top passers with 37 assists apiece.
HISTORY WITH THE AGGIES
Since the Aggies joined the SAC in 2017 after moving down from NCAA Division II, the Evangels have won three of the first four meetings, including the last three. Last season, MACU defeated the Aggies 80-70 on Nov. 29, 2018 in Goodwell, Okla. before following it up with an 87-77 victory at the Gaulke Activity Center on Jan. 26, 2019.
HOPPING HOLLEY
Junior forward Alexis Shannon will be in the hunt to move up the MACU all-time scoring list this weekend. Currently with 1456 points, the Noblesville, Ind. product is just 24 points away from tying MACU all-time great Angela Holley for fourth all-time in program history. Shannon has been the model of consistency in her three seasons with the Evangels, as she enters this weekend series with an 18.8 ppg scoring average while converting 45.5 percent of her shot attempts and is also shooting a career-best 38.8 percent from beyond the three-point arc.
FIGHTING FOR FIVE
With the win over John Brown on Saturday, the Evangels got off to just its second 4-0 start to Sooner Athletic Conference play in program history. The last time MACU was undefeated through the first four league games, it was during the 2013-14 season as the Evangels won at Texas Wesleyan 76-67 and at SAGU 65-52 while getting home victories by scores of 88-57 over Science & Arts and 76-66 over Northwood (Texas). If the Evangels can spring the upset at Wayland Baptist on Thursday, it would be the first time that the Evangels start off league play with a 5-0 record since joining the SAC prior to the start of the 2007-08 season.
