WAXAHACHIE, Texas – Senior guard Lexi Hernandez put together one of the best individual offensive performances since the Mid-America Christian women's basketball program moved up to the NAIA level in 2007 as the Evangels cruised to a 97-76 road win at Southwestern Assemblies of God on Thursday night.

Hernandez scored 39 points, setting the fourth-highest single game scoring mark for a MACU player in the NAIA era as the Evangels picked up their biggest win in Waxahachie since 2006.
 

TOP PERFORMERS

• Lexi Hernandez – 39 PTS, 13-22 FG, 5-10 3FG, 8-9 FT, 9 REB, 6 AST, 1 STL
• Aaliyah Endsley – 6 PTS, 10 AST, 3 REB
• Shelby Kraus – 10 PTS, 5-8 FG, 6 REB

 

GAME SUMMARY

• 1^st Quarter
  • Southwestern Assemblies of God (0-2) got out a strong start through the first 3:11 by jumping out to a 9-5 lead.
  • A pair of Lexi Hernandez free throws followed a three-pointer on the ensuing possession helped Mid-America Christian (3-1) take a 10-9 advantage with 6:14 to go.
  • The two teams exchanged leads twice and tied up twice over the next few minutes until an Aneli Thomsen layup started a seven unanswered run to give MACU the 24-17 edge with a minute remaining. A three-pointer by SAGU's Tamera Derrough was able to knock the lead down to 24-20 heading into the second quarter.
• 2^nd Quarter
  • After trading the first two buckets in the period, MACU strung together a 10-0 run capped off on a Hernandez fastbreak layup to bring the score to 36-22 with 5:41 remaining.
  • A Hernandez three-pointer pushed the Evangels' edge to as much as 16 at 39-23 with 5:03 to go, but the Lady Lions responded with an 11-3 run of their own to close the gap to 42-34 with 1:42 left.
  • Mid-America Christian ended the quarter by scoring seven straight as a Hernandez three-pointer with three seconds left sent the Evangels into the break with a 49-34 advantage.
• 3^rd Quarter
  • SAGU scored the first four points to trim its deficit to 11, but the Evangels built their largest advantage of the period by scoring 13 of the next 17 to make it a 62-42 margin with 6:03 to go.
  • Later in the quarter, SAGU was able to knock the deficit back down to 14 by draining threes on back-to-back possessions, setting the score to 73-59 with 2:15 on the clock.
  • An Aneli Thomsen score in the paint followed by a pair of buckets from Hernandez pushed the edge back out to 20 at 79-59 after three quarters of play.
• 4^th Quarter
  • Mid-America Christian thoroughly dominated most of the fourth quarter, outscoring SAGU 18-7 through the first 8:27 to take its largest lead of the contest on a Hernandez three-point play to make it a 97-66 MACU edge.
  • Southwestern Assemblies of God scored the final 10 points of the contest to wrap up the 97-76 Evangels win.

 

GAME NOTABLES

• Mid-America Christian finished the fast-paced contest by shooting 38-for-80 (47.5 percent), including going 11-of-28 (39.3 percent) from three while also knocking down 10-for-11 (90.9 percent) from the charity stripe. The Evangels defensively limited SAGU to just 26-of-73 (35.6 percent) from the floor and 9-for-28 (32.1 percent) from beyond the arc.
• The Evangels outrebounded SAGU by a 44-38 margin and also held a slight edge in the turnover battle, forcing 20 Lady Lions turnovers while committing 18 of their own.
• Lexi Hernandez's 39-point performance was the most scored by an Evangels player since Kelli Tolar dropped an NAIA era record 43 against Science & Arts on Jan. 26, 2016. Hernandez's 13 made field goals were also tied for the fifth-most made in a single game during the same time frame, matching former MACU teammate Alexis Shannon as well as All-Decade Team honorees Ashlee Ferguson and Shaylan Coleman.
• Hernandez also finished just a rebound shy of a double-double, ripping down a career-high nine boards to go with six assists in the contest.
• Senior guard Aaliyah Endsley dished out a career-high 10 assists, tying the sixth-most by an Evangels player in the NAIA and the most recorded by a MACU player since Coleman tallied 10 dimes against Central Christian on Feb. 7, 2019.
• Even with Hernandez's big performance, the Evangels still finished with five players scoring in double-figures with Presley Payahsape dropping 13 points for the contest while Anna Kash, Shelby Kraus and Aneli Thomsen each turned in 10 for the night.
• Not only did MACU snap a three-game losing streak in Waxahachie, but the 21-point margin of victory was Evangels' largest in the SAGU's venue since getting a 62-39 win back on Nov. 4, 2006.

 

NEXT UP

• With Mid-America Christian's game against Texas Wesleyan on Saturday being canceled, the Evangels will next be in-action on Thursday, Nov. 19 as they will travel to McPherson, Kansas to take on Central Christian for a 6 p.m. tip-off.