OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian women's basketball team will look to keep things rolling on the offensive end as the Evangels will wrap up a three-game home stand this week. MACU will host Oklahoma Panhandle State on Thursday night at 6 p.m. before closing out with a pivotal matchup on Saturday, Feb. 8 against No. 5 Wayland Baptist at 2 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
LAST TIME OUT
After suffering their first home loss against Science & Arts on Jan. 28, Mid-America Christian (16-6, 12-4 Sooner Athletic Conference) bounced back in a big way by picking up a crucial 83-75 road win at John Brown on Jan. 30 before returning home for a 106-44 victory over Bacone in non-conference action on Saturday.
Despite suffering a loss to the Drovers, Alexis Shannon put together a great performance, notching her sixth double-double of the season with 24 points and 10 rebounds. The two teams have split the season series now after the Evangels topped Drovers 75-73 in overtime at the USAO Fieldhouse back on Dec. 13, 2019.
In the win over John Brown, Lexi Hernandez shot lights out from the floor in the first half, draining 7-of-7 of her shots, including going 5-for-5 from behind the three-point arc for 19 points. Despite cooling off in the second half, Hernandez still finished the contest by shooting 8-for-12 from the field and 5-of-8 from three to go along with 3-for-4 from the foul line for a career-high 24 points. The Evangels sweep the season series from the Golden Eagles after topping JBU 73-71 on Jan. 4 at the Gaulke Activity Center.
MACU's dominant win over the Warriors was headlined by freshman reserve guard Anna Kash. The Bentonville, Ark. native notched a career-high 22 points off the Evangels bench, including going 4-for-8 from behind the arc and tallied four steals on the defensive end. MACU shot lights out from behind the arc, draining 18 threes, the second-most in a single game during the NAIA era.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
Oklahoma Panhandle State has struggled during the 2019-20 season, posting a 5-16 overall record and an 0-12 mark in Sooner Athletic Conference play. Despite suffering a loss, the Aggies challenged Southwestern Assemblies of God in an 81-77 defeat at home on Jan. 30. OPSU capped off the week with an 81-54 home loss to Texas Wesleyan on Feb. 1.
Despite the team's offensive struggles, freshman guard Shay Audrain leads the OPSU scoring efforts at 10.4 points per game while knocking down a squad-best 46-for-117 (39.3 percent) from the three-point arc. Junior forward Cassia McCaskill is OPSU's second-leading scorer and leading rebounder at 9.7 ppg and 5.4 rebounds per game while sophomore guard Kaylee Morgan is the team's top distributor at 70 assists (3.3 apg). On the defensive end, junior guard Naomi Rodriguez has recorded a squad-high 29 steals while McCaskill's six blocks leads the team.
HISTORY WITH THE AGGIES
Since Oklahoma Panhandle State joined the Sooner Athletic Conference prior to the start of the 2017-18 season, Mid-America Christian has won four in a row since the Aggies won the first game in the series. In their previous meeting back on Jan. 11, the Evangels used a second quarter surge, outscoring OPSU 19-9 to come away with a 79-53 victory in Goodwell. Alexis Shannon was nearly unstoppable in the paint, shooting 11-for-16 from the floor to score a team-leading 25 points.
SCOUTING THE FLYING QUEENS
Wayland Baptist enters their Thursday night matchup at USAO as the fifth-ranked team in the country, boasting a 19-2 record, including an 11-1 mark against SAC competition. The Flying Queens were dominant on their home court last week, defeating Texas Wesleyan 109-49 on Jan. 30 before coming back with a 108-63 victory over Southwestern Assemblies of God on Feb. 1.
WBU is the top rebounding team in the NAIA at 49.5 rebounds per game while featuring the third-best assist/turnover ratio in the nation at 1.33.
The Flying Queens are a balanced offense that has eight players averaging at least seven points per game, as junior forward Kaylee Edgemon is the team's top scorer at 14.2 ppg on 45.7 percent shooting and 73.6 percent from the free throw line. Sophomore forward Jenna Cooper is WBU's top rebounder as her 8.3 rpg is the fourth-best clip in the SAC. Senior guard Morgan Bennett will run the point for the Queens, as her 99 assists currently leads the Sooner Athletic Conference and her 2.91 assist/turnover ratio is the seventh-best in the NAIA.
Sophomore guard Payton Brown leads the Wayland defense with a team-high 33 steals while senior center Kalea Pool controls the paint with 33 blocks, the fourth-most in the SAC.
HISTORY WITH THE FLYING QUEENS
Since moving to the SAC in 2007-08, the Evangels have struggled against Wayland Baptist as the Flying Queens hold a 21-4 edge in the series. MACU couldn't overcome a slow start in their previous meeting in Plainview, Texas as the Flying Queens jumped out to a 31-11 lead at the end of the first quarter before closing out with the 93-71 win on Jan. 9.
However, the Evangels will look to replicate the result of last season's meeting in the Gaulke Activity Center as MACU stunned Wayland Baptist with an 85-66 victory on Jan. 24, 2019. In that matchup, Alexis Shannon scored 18 points and ripped down eight rebounds to go with three steals in the win.
HERNANDEZ HEATING UP
Junior guard Lexi Hernandez shot the ball at a torrid pace to lead the Evangels to a 2-1 record last week. The three-point sniper from Canyon, Texas finished the week by shooting 18-for-32 (56.3 percent) from the field, including 14-for-25 (56 percent) from three-point range. Hernandez is also one of the team's best free throw shooters at 77.5 percent, building upon the percentage after going 7-of-8 (87.5 percent) from the charity stripe last week. The 63 made triples by Hernandez is currently the second-most of all players in the Sooner Athletic Conference.
SHANNON CLOSING IN ON SECOND ALL-TIME
Senior forward Alexis Shannon is quickly closing in at second on MACU's all-time scoring list. With 1625 points, the senior forward from Noblesville, Ind. is just 31 points away from tying Christina Schmidt's mark of 1656, a mark set by the two-time NCCAA All-American during the 2003-04 season. Shannon is currently scoring at an 18.8 ppg clip, which ranks fourth in the Sooner Athletic Conference and eighth in the entire NAIA. On top of her scoring prowess, Shannon is also one of the best rebounders in the league, ripping down 7.5 rpg.
