OKLAHOMA CITY – The Mid-America Christian women's basketball team dominated in all facets of the game in its season-opener against Ozark Christian as the Evangels defeated the Ambassadors 95-50 inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
TOP PERFORMERS

• Anna Kash – 25 Points, 9-19 FG, 6-12 3FG, 10 Reb, 5 Steals, 3 Assists
• McKenzi Lamer – 18 Points, 6-7 FG, 4-5 3FG, 3 Steals
• Abby Bird – 17 Points, 6-14 FG, 8 Reb

GAME SUMMARY

• First Quarter
  • Mid-America Christian jumped out to an early lead off a pair of layups from Ossyana Ozoani and a three-pointer by Abby Bird, making it 7-0 after the first few minutes of the contest.
  • Following a Darian Carr three, both teams struggled to score over the next few minutes before a McKenzi Lamer layup ignited another string of seven unanswered. Lamer also ended the run with a triple, extending the MACU edge to 14-3 with 3:53 to go.
  • Ozark Christian scored the next four before the Evangels ended the period strong, scoring five points in the final 44 seconds on a Jade Millan layup and an Anna Kash three-point play to bring the score to 19-7 at the end of the quarter.
• Second Quarter
  • The Evangels scored the first 10 points of the quarter as Bird tallied five of the Evangels' points, ending the run with a three-pointer with 7:18 left to make it a 26-7 MACU lead.
  • The Ambassadors kept the MACU edge to under 20 over the next few minutes before the Evangels went on another 13-1 surge midway through the period as Lamer's layup with 2:22 to go gave MACU its first 30-point cushion of the game at 44-14.
  • OCC managed to knock the advantage back under 30 in the final minute, but the Evangels ended the half with a stellar finish as Lamer knocked down a pair of free throws with 19 seconds to go and then after coming down with a defensive rebound with just four seconds left, Kyleigh Leverich's outlet found Anna Kash as she went down the left sideline and heaved a 30-foot buzzer-beating three to send the Evangels into the half with a 52-19 advantage.
• Third Quarter
  • MACU continued to dominate on the defensive end through the first five minutes of the second half, limiting Ozark Christian to just one three-point play over that stretch before a Bird layup with 5:20 remaining brought the Evangels' edge to 60-22.
  • After Ozark Christian's Darian Cross knocked down a three with 3:07 left to trim the advantage to 32, Sydney Wycoff drained a triple on the ensuing possession to jumpstart a 15-0 MACU streak. Wycoff also ended it with a layup with 25 seconds left, sending MACU into the final quarter with an overwhelming 80-33 lead.
• Fourth Quarter
  • Just five seconds in, Lamer knocked down a three to give the Evangels their largest lead of the contest at 83-33.
  • Ozark Christian went on its first big run of the game on the ensuing possession, as a Kamlyn Gentry layup ignited a 15-3 Ambassadors streak to bring it to 86-48 with 3:58 left.
  • Kash and Kaylee Hurst followed with three-pointers as MACU outscored OCC 9-2 over the final three minutes to secure the 95-50 victory.

GAME NOTES

• As a team, Mid-America Christian shot 35-of-87 (40.2 percent) from the floor and 15-for-38 (39.5 percent) from beyond the three-point arc while defensively dominating Ozark Christian, holding the Ambassadors to just 16-of-49 (32.7 percent) from the field.
• The Evangels not only won the rebounding battle (55-41), but MACU forced the Ambassadors into committing 26 turnovers while the Evangels finished with just 15 giveaways.
• Anna Kash had a breakout game, scoring a career-high 25 points on 9-of-19 shooting, but also notched a double-double by tying a career-high 10 rebounds to go with a career-best five steals on the defensive end.
• McKenzi Lamer provided an offensive spark off the bench with 18 points on a blistering 6-for-7 from the field and 4-for-5 from three while Abby Bird was also stellar in her MACU debut, tallying 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting and finished with eight boards.
• Starting point guard Kyleigh Leverich also had a great game facilitating the offense as she tied a career-high seven assists, matching her previous best in an 88-71 victory over John Brown on Jan. 28.
• An old rival of Mid-America Christian, the Evangels were facing the Ambassadors for the first time since 2006. The last time MACU played OCC, the Evangels turned in a 92-57 victory. The 45-point margin in Saturday's win was the largest margin of victory for MACU against Ozark Christian in the program's history.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will be back in-action on Wednesday, Oct. 27 as the Evangels will host Bacone (Okla.) for a 6 p.m. tip-off inside the Gaulke Activity Center.