OKLAHOMA CITY – Despite the season coming to an abrupt end, the Mid-America Christian women's basketball team completed yet another highly successful campaign under fourth-year head coach Hannah Moeller as the Evangels went 21-11.
It was the fourth straight season that MACU won 20-plus games as MACU was the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Central Region Champion, but unfortunately MACU missed out on its opportunity to win its third straight NCCAA National Championship after the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I am so proud of our team," said Moeller. "After losing Nevada Denton before our season opened, our group came away with some monumental accomplishments. Some that stand out include beating NCAA Division II Oklahoma Christian, finishing fourth in the Sooner Athletic Conference amidst a laundry list of injuries, and of course the once in a life time win at NCAA Division I North Texas. I couldn't have asked for a better group of young women to go into battle each night. The devastation felt in our locker room the day the season ended was in large part because there was so much left in their tanks."
The Evangels have finished in the top four in the SAC in every year under Moeller. After completing the conference campaign, MACU finished with a 12-8 record, placing in a tie with Texas Wesleyan for fourth in the league standings.
On Mar. 3, MACU advanced to its first Sooner Athletic Conference Semifinal since 2017 when the Evangels toppled Texas Wesleyan 80-75 in the quarterfinal round. In the SAC Semifinal on Mar. 6, the Evangels challenged top-seeded and nationally No. 1 ranked Oklahoma City, trailing 26-24 at the halftime break and were down by only five at 55-50 with 6:17 left in the fourth quarter before the Stars pulled away to end MACU's SAC tourney run by a score of 74-59.
Forward Alexis Shannon led one of the winningest senior classes in program history, closing out her MACU career as the second-most prolific scorer in program history with 1853 points. Along with Shannon, four-year players Nevada Denton and Jessica Fairley closed out their MACU careers along with Loralei Siliga, Avery Gregory and Rachel Tapps.
"This is a class I never wanted to see go," Moeller remarked. "The years of commitment from several of them allowed us to accomplish things we only imagined four years ago. As individuals, several of them accomplished amazing things, but as a whole this group took us to a new level."
Shannon wrapped up her Evangels career by setting several NAIA era career record marks at MACU, including holding the records for points (1853), rebounds (757), field goals made (702) and free throws made (345) and setting the third-best field goal percentage (47.2 percent) and steals (146) as well as the fifth-most assists (188).
After the season, the Noblesville, Ind. native earned All-American accolades for the third consecutive year becoming an NCCAA First Team All-American for the third time as well as an NAIA All-American Honorable Mention for the third time after finishing third in the NAIA in scoring at 641 points. Shannon was also selected to the All-SAC First Team in all three of her years at MACU.
"Her consistency as a player over three years is unmatched by any previous MACU women's basketball student-athletes," Moeller stated about Shannon. "Our story as a program is better today than the day she signed, and a large portion of that credit is due to her work. A few sentences will never do justice to the impact Alexis has had on our program."
Over the course of her career, Fairley also made her marks in the MACU career record books, including: second in blocks (54), third in three-pointers made (151), fourth in rebounds (550), fourth in steals (134), fifth in points (962), fifth in field goals made (317), seventh in free throws made (177) and ninth in assists (150).
"Coaching Jess has been a complete joy," Moeller added. "She hit some of the biggest shots anyone on our team has taken in the last four years. The one that stands alone is the three that sealed the deal in 2019 NCCAA National Championship. Jess completed an incredible four-year career and her stat line attests to that. Jess has been our fighter and a champion in so many critical moments and always knew she would never lay down. I am going to miss her so much."
Despite missing nearly the entire season, Denton also finished her MACU career with several program marks, including: third in made free throws (224) and free throw percentage (78.9), fifth in three-pointers made (119) and three-point percentage (36.7) as well as sixth in points (933), steals (99) and made field goals (295). The Washington, Okla. product closed out her illustrious MACU career with a made layup on the Evangels' first possession of the game in her lone start and appearance of the season against Central Christian on Senior Night inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Feb. 26.
"I was disappointed for Nevada that her career ended with an injury," Moeller said. "However, that injury will never define the incredible four-year presence she had in our program. Nevada will forever be one of the easiest young women I may ever coach."
Two other seniors that made major impacts were Siliga and Tapps. In her final season with the Evangels, Siliga earned All-SAC Honorable Mention accolades after recording one of the best shooting seasons during the program's NAIA era run. The Oakland, Calif. product knocked down 127-for-162 (48.5 percent) of her shots from the field, setting the fourth-best field goal percentage of all MACU players that scored 100 or more field goals.
"Lei had some incredible moments this year," Moeller remarked. "In conference play, she gave us such an advantage many nights and became one of the best stretch fives in the conference."
After injuries hampered sophomore point guard Sydney Wycoff, Tapps performed very well at the point position, leading the team with 115 assists, the seventh-most by an Evangel during the NAIA era.
"Rachel was a leader on our team from the first day she walked on-campus," Moeller said. "She led with both her actions and her words. She was a constant source of enthusiasm and encouragement to our entire program."
While the program will need to replace several key senior pieces, the Evangels should get some strong leadership from junior guard Lexi Hernandez next year. In her first season with MACU, the Seward County CC transfer was a sharpshooter from beyond the arc as her 82 threes were the fifth-most made in a single season since 2007. The Canyon, Texas native was also the squad's defensive leader with a team-best 51 steals.
"Lexi will be a big key to our success," Moeller stated. "So many think she is just a shooter, but Lexi has an incredibly high basketball IQ and some of the best defensive hands we have ever had. We will rely on her to lead in several ways next season."
As a team, Mid-America Christian closed out the season setting several team marks as well despite having no opportunity for postseason play, scoring the fourth-most points (2411) on the second-best team shooting percentage (42.5) to go along with the fifth-most assists (451).
"Excellence in the everyday is what we will strive for next year," Moeller said, looking ahead to next season. "The landscape will look different with several faces gone and several new ones coming in. We are excited to see each of our returners step up and into even bigger roles. Each year brings new adventures and challenges but the expectations are always the same."
