Women's Basketball 1/20/2021 12:52:00 PM Adam Stanek - MACU Sports Information

Women’s Basketball Prepared For SAC Opener Against SAGU, Texas Wesleyan

OKLAHOMA CITY – For the first time in more than two months, the Mid-America Christian women's basketball team will return to the court as the Evangels will host Southwestern Assemblies of God in their Sooner Athletic Conference opener at 6 p.m. on Thursday inside the Gaulke Activity Center.

MACU will then hit the road on Saturday for its first conference road game at Texas Wesleyan with the tip slated for 2 p.m. inside the Sid Richardson Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

LAST TIME OUT
Mid-America Christian will be facing a familiar opponent in its return to play as the Evangels were last in-action on Nov. 12 as they visited SAGU for a non-conference matchup. While MACU held a slim 24-20 lead after one quarter of play, the Evangels dominated the second quarter, outscoring the Lady Lions 25-14 to take a 49-34 advantage into the halftime break. The Evangels led by as much as 31 at 97-66 with 2:31 to go in the fourth quarter before Southwestern Assemblies of God strung 10 unanswered to close out the 97-76 MACU victory.

Senior guard Lexi Hernandez had a performance for the ages by scoring 39 points, which set the fourth-highest single game scoring record for MACU in the NAIA era and is still the highest individual scoring game within the Sooner Athletic Conference for the 2020-21 season. The Canyon, Texas product knocked down 13 of her 22 shot attempts while sinking 5-for-10 from three and 8-for-9 from the charity stripe. Hernandez also ripped down a career-high nine rebounds and dished out six assists.

SCOUTING THE LADY LIONS
After starting off the season 0-3 during the fall portion of the 2020-21 campaign, Southwestern Assemblies of God split its first two SAC games, topping Oklahoma Panhandle State 78-74 on Jan. 9 before falling at home to No. 2 Wayland Baptist 89-70 on Jan. 11. Overall, the Lady Lions hold a 1-4 record and are 1-1 within Sooner Athletic Conference play.

While SAGU holds the sixth-best scoring offense in the league at 74.8 points per game, the Lady Lions rank dead last in the conference in scoring defense (88 ppg).

Senior guard/forward Sydney Meador has been the team's leading scorer this season, averaging 15.8 ppg on 31.7 percent shooting while knocking down a team-leading 20-of-27 (74.1 percent) from the free throw line. Junior guard Tamera Derrough is also pitching in 15.2 ppg on 31.9 percent shooting while ranking second on the team in made three-pointers on 8-of-32 (25 percent) from beyond the arc.

Senior forward Alexis Casher is averaging nearly a double-double as she leads the rebounding efforts with 11.4 boards per game while scoring 9.4 ppg and senior guard Kiara Glenn will run the point with a team-high 15 assists.

HISTORY WITH THE LADY LIONS
Since both teams moved up to the NAIA level in 2007, Mid-America Christian holds a slight 11-9 edge in the all-time series. Outside of MACU's 97-76 win in Waxahachie, Texas back on Nov. 12, the two teams split the series last season with the Evangels getting an 86-83 home win on Jan. 18, 2020 before dropping a heartbreaking 76-74 game on the road on Feb. 13.

SCOUTING THE LADY RAMS
Texas Wesleyan will make its way into Thursday night's home matchup with Science & Arts with a 1-2 record while going 1-1 against SAC competition. The Lady Rams are returning to play for the first time in 10 days after opening Sooner Athletic Conference play with a 77-75 home loss to No. 2 Wayland Baptist on Jan. 9 before bouncing back with a 62-56 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State on Jan. 11.

TWU is led offensively by sophomore forward Makayla Coy, who currently ranks sixth in the SAC in scoring at 19.7 ppg while her 10.3 rpg is the fifth-best rebounding average in the league, sitting behind senior guard teammate Evie Whorley with the highest clip of 12.7 rpg.

Senior guard Alexus Brigham is team's top distributor, dishing out 12 assists (4 apg) while Whorley is the squad's best defender with a team-high five steals.

As a team, Texas Wesleyan presents a much bigger defensive challenge as it is limiting opponents to the second-lowest scoring average in the conference (63.7 ppg) on the third-lowest shooting percentage (35.7). However, the Lady Rams have struggled to get the offense going, ranking seventh in the league in scoring average (63.3 ppg) on the sixth-highest field goal percentage (37.3).

HISTORY WITH THE LADY RAMS
Since their first meeting on Nov. 21, 2009, Mid-America Christian has been in firm control of the series, winning 14 of their 18 matchups. Last season, the Evangels took two of the three meetings. After falling 80-64 in Fort Worth, Texas on Jan. 16, 2020, MACU defeated the Lady Rams twice at home, topping TWU 83-77 on Feb. 15 and then again in the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinal 80-75 on Mar. 3. In their last meeting, Alexis Shannon dropped 28 points and ripped down seven rebounds while Lexi Hernandez had one of her best games of the season, scoring 22 points in the victory. MACU will be seeking its first win in Fort Worth since Dec. 16, 2017 when the Evangels pulled out a 78-69 win.

LEAVE IT TO LEXI
Senior guard Lexi Hernandez will be looking to pick up right where she left off. After her 39-point performance in her last outing, Hernandez heads into the week as the most prolific scorer in the SAC, averaging 23 ppg on the fifth-best shooting percentage (53.3), the fourth-best three-point percentage (44.4) and the second-best free throw clip (94.1 percent). Not only has Hernandez been phenomenal on the offensive end, but she is also one of the Evangels best defenders as she currently leads the conference in steals per game (3.5). Earlier this season, Hernandez broke the program's single game steals record when notched 10 thefts against Baptist Bible (Mo.) in a dominating 116-31 home win back on Oct. 28.

IT'S BEEN AWHILE
While the Evangels were fortuitous in being able to get four of their first five games of the season in, MACU has had some tough luck with its schedule since completing its Nov. 12 win over SAGU. Between health concerns within the Evangels program or their opponents' programs, MACU's last nine games have been either canceled or postponed. The Thursday night matchup against the Lady Lions will officially end a 68-day stretch without facing any outside competition. MACU will also be looking to get its footing back inside the Gaulke Activity Center as the Evangels are hosting their first home game since Nov. 5, which ended in an 84-72 defeat to No. 2 Wayland Baptist.

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