Women's Basketball 10/22/2020 3:22:00 PM Adam Stanek - MACU Sports Information

Women’s Basketball Ready To Open Season Against Oklahoma Wesleyan

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian women's basketball team will be looking to tip-off the 2020-21 season on a high note as the Evangels will host Oklahoma Wesleyan at 6 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Friday.

LAST SEASON AT A GLANCE
Mid-America Christian is coming off its fourth straight 20-plus win season after going 21-11 overall and finished fourth in the Sooner Athletic Conference with a 12-8 league mark. The Evangels advanced to the SAC Semifinals for the first time since the 2016-17 season after defeating Texas Wesleyan 80-75 at the Gaulke Activity Center in the SAC Quarterfinal on Mar. 3. MACU put up a strong fight against the No. 2 team in the country in Oklahoma City before falling 74-59 in their last game of the season.

The Evangels were selected to compete in their fourth straight NCCAA National Championship Tournament after receiving the automatic berth from the Central Region, however, MACU had its opportunity at a third straight national championship cut short with the tournament being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Senior forward Alexis Shannon ended her MACU career as one of the greats to ever play in the program, wrapping up her three-year Evangels career as the program's second all-time leading scorer with 1853 points, the most of any player during the NAIA era (2007-present) while also setting the program records scoring average (18.7), rebounds (757), made field goals (702) and made free throws (345) during that time frame. The Evangels graduated one of the winningest classes in program history with Jessica Fairley, Nevada Denton, Loralei Siliga, Rachel Tapps and Avery Gregory wrapping their MACU playing careers.

THIS SEASON AT A GLANCE
While the Evangels graduated a strong 2020 class, expectations are still high for the 2020-21 MACU women's basketball team. Junior guard Lexi Hernandez highlights the returners after finishing second on the team in scoring a season ago, averaging 11.7 points per game while sniping a team-leading 82 three-pointers on a 35.8 percent clip while defensively leading the team with 51 steals to go with 57 assists.

MACU features a deep backcourt that is also highlighted by senior point guard Aaliyah Endsley, who recorded 105 assists and 42 steals while offensively averaging 7.3 ppg on a 40.3 percent shooting clip. Junior guard Sydney Wycoff will also provide some experience for the MACU backcourt. Despite missing some time due to injury last season, Wycoff had a stellar 2018-19 campaign where she recorded 85 assists as a backup point guard to All-American Shaylan Coleman. Sophomore guard Anna Kash will also be looking to expand her role in the MACU backcourt as she developed into a strong midseason scorer for the Evangels. From Jan. 9 to Feb. 15, the Bentonville, Arkansas product scored in double-figures in eight of the 13 contests, including a 22-point performance against Bacone (Okla.) on Feb. 1.

One of the newcomers to the backcourt who is expected to make an immediate impact is junior McKenzi Lamer. The 5-8 transfer from NCAA Division II Northwestern Oklahoma was the Rangers' top three-point shooter a season ago, knocking down 65-of-165 (38.2 percent) from beyond the arc while averaging 8.4 ppg.

Senior forward Ossyana Ozoani will be looking to lead the frontcourt in her fourth season with the Evangels. Last season, the Oklahoma City product had a strong return from an early season injury, ripping down 161 rebounds in 24 games, averaging 6.1 per contest while averaging 7.1 ppg on a blazing 48.8 percent shooting. Incoming junior forward Presley Payahsape should also provide some strong experience for MACU in the low post. Another solid transfer from Northwestern Oklahoma, Payahsape averaged 7.0 ppg last season for the Rangers and was NWOSU's top free throw shooter at 83.8 percent from the charity stripe.

Another incoming forward that could make an immediate impact is true freshman Shelby Kraus. A 6-0 graduate of Westmoore High School comes to the Evangels as a strong defensive presence in the paint after helping lead the Jaguars to a conference title in 2018.

SCOUTING THE EAGLES
Oklahoma Wesleyan is coming off a 16-15 season and finished with a 11-13 league mark in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) during the 2019-20 campaign.
Last season, the Eagles averaged 69.9 ppg as a team and bring back their leading scorer in senior guard Danae Goodwin, who averaged 11.5 ppg on 38 percent shooting and converted a team-best 64-for-85 (75.3 percent) from the free throw line. Senior guard Amanda Hart could also provide a scoring option for OKWU after averaging 8.8 per game in 24 games last year.

In the paint, senior Essence Tolson is a big six-foot forward who ripped down 258 boards at an 8.6 rebounds per game clip. Junior point guard Makayla Watkins also returns to the squad after leading her team with 111 assists during the 2019-20 season, averaging 3.6 per contest. Watkins was also the team's best on-ball defender with 48 steals while Tolson controlled the block with 30 rejected shots last year.

HISTORY WITH THE EAGLES
Mid-America Christian and Oklahoma Wesleyan will be playing each other for the first time in 12 seasons and will be meeting for only the second time since MACU joined the NAIA in 2007. In that previous matchup, the Evangels went to Bartlesville and came away with a big 67-57 road win. The last time the two teams played in the Gaulke Activity Center was on Dec. 2, 2004 with MACU coming away with a 69-61 victory.

RETURNING STAT LEADERS