OKLAHOMA CITY – After having its 2022-23 season-opener forfeited by Paul Quinn last Friday, the Mid-America Christian women's basketball team put together a stifling defensive effort in its first official game of the season as the Evangels came up with a pair of defensive stops in the final 24 seconds in a 62-59 victory over LSU-Shreveport inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Friday night.
TOP PERFORMERS
- Jaci Littell – 19 Points, 4-11 FG, 2-5 3FG, 9-10 FT, 6 Reb, 3 Steals
- Shy Christopher – 17 Points, 6-9 FG, 2-3 3FG, 5 Reb, 2 Assists
- Whitney Outon – 13 Points, 4-11 FG, 4-4 FT, 5 Reb, 3 Blocks
GAME SUMMARY
- First Quarter
- After Whitney Outon and LSU-Shreveport's Alexis Brown traded threes to give LSU-S 7-4 lead, Shy Christopher knocked down a trey from the top of the key and drew the foul to finish off the four-point play and give the Evangels a one-point advantage with six minutes remaining in the quarter.
- The Pilots shut MACU down over the next three minutes as LSU-S strung together an 8-1 to take their largest lead of the game at 15-9 on a Derricka Gilbert layup with 3:16 to go.
- Another Christopher three on the ensuing possession ignited a string of seven unanswered for MACU as an Outon bucket followed by an Ashley Hopper layup on the following possession gave MACU the lead back at 16-15 with just under a minute left.
- LSU-S scored the final two points of the period on a free throw apiece from Tiarra Tillison and Destanee Roblow, giving the Pilots the one-point edge after one.
- Christopher and Outon combined to score 13 of MACU's 16 points in the period as the two players combined for a 4-for-7 shooting performance, but the rest of the team struggled from the floor, knocking down just 1-of-13 from the field.
- Second Quarter
- The Evangels briefly tied it up on another Christopher three-point play with 8:40 left, but LSU-Shreveport managed to push its lead back out to five following a Tatym Barnes three-ball followed by a Brown steal and fastbreak layup to make it a 24-19 game with just under eight minutes to go.
- With the Pilots leading by four with six minutes remaining, Mid-America Christian battled back to take the lead by scoring seven of the next nine as a Christopher fastbreak layup and an Aneli Thomsen jumper led up to Jaci Littell getting the go-ahead three-pointer from the left wing to roll in, setting the score to 28-27 with 4:05 left.
- The two teams exchanged leads two more times on a Tahjea Smith lay-in and a pair of Littell foul shots, but offense was tough to come by over the final two-and-a-half minutes as each team scored just one point.
- MACU took the lead into the half on a Sydney Savage foul shot with four seconds left while Thomsen rejected Alona Washington's three from the right wing at the buzzer to keep it to a 31-30 Evangels advantage going into half.
- The Evangels were able to find more of a groove offensively by scoring its 15 points on 5-for-11 (45.5 percent) from the floor and 4-of-5 (80 percent) from the charity stripe, but the Pilots were able to force five MACU turnovers while committing just one in the period.
- Third Quarter
- LSU-S was able to take the early lead to start the second half after a Tiarra Tillison steal led to an outlet fastbreak layup for Brown, but the Evangels countered with five unanswered as a Christopher went coast-to-coast on a steal and transition dish to Tyaija Coleman to bring the MACU edge to 38-34 with 6:35 on the clock.
- The Pilots battled back once again by scoring seven of the next nine as Gilbert's triple with 4:20 to go briefly made it 41-40 before Coleman put the Evangels back in-front on a running jumper from the left block on the ensuing possession.
- LSU-Shreveport managed to take back a three-point cushion over the next few minutes, but Littell tied it up at 45-45 at the 2:25 mark on a three from the left wing.
- The two teams clamped down defensively over the remainder of the period as neither team could find a go-ahead score before the buzzer.
- The Evangels struggled offensively in the third, knocking down just 5-for-18 (27.8 percent) of their shots while the Pilots shot 7-for-14 (50 percent) for the period.
- Fourth Quarter
- The two teams traded blows in the early going, but LSUS went in-front 51-49 with 7:19 remaining off buckets from Roblow and Washington on back-to-back possessions.
- The Pilots maintained its lead until Sydney Wycoff kicked it out to Coleman in the left corner and buried a cold-blooded three with 4:18 left to MACU in-front 56-54.
- Mid-America Christian was able to keep the Pilots from taking the lead until LSUS came up with a huge bucket 36 seconds left. With the Evangels leading by two, Tahjea Smith drove down the right lane and spun through the MACU defense before dropping in the game-tying score and drew the foul as her three-point play made it a 59-58 game.
- On the ensuing possession, Littell came up with the biggest score of the game. With 24 seconds left, Littell drove around her defender and got a tightly contested fall away layup to go to push MACU back in-front at 60-59.
- Following a timeout, Mid-America Christian came up with a huge defensive stop by forcing a five-second violation on the in-bound play before a pair of Whitney Outon foul shots pushed the Evangels' edge out to 62-59 with 23 seconds on the clock.
- On the final possession, the Pilots tried to go for a quick score before getting an offensive board with 11 seconds left. Washington fired up a desperation three-pointer from the right wing with six seconds left, but Littel came down with the offensive board to secure the 62-59 victory.
- Outon and Littell came up huge for MACU in the final quarter, combining to score 14 of MACU's 17 points while knocking down 8-for-8 from the charity stripe.
GAME NOTES
- In the defensive slugfest, Mid-America Christian struggled offensively by knocking down just 19-for-60 (31.7 percent) from the field and 6-of-20 (30 percent) from the three-point arc, but the Evangels made their opportunities count from the free throw line by making 18-for-26 (69.2 percent).
- While LSU-Shreveport was able to slightly outshoot MACU from the field at 23-for-66 (34.8 percent), the Pilots struggled mightily from beyond the arc, knocking down just 5-for-23 (21.7 percent) from range and were especially cold over the final three quarters, converting only 2-for-15 (13.3 percent) over the final 30 minutes.
- After the Pilots went 6-of-10 from the free throw line in the first half, Mid-America Christian made some strong adjustments in the second half, allowing LSUS to shoot just 2-for-3 from the foul line over the final 20 minutes.
- Jaci Littell came up big in her MACU debut as she led all scorers with 19 points on 4-of-11 shooting, but went 2-for-5 from three and buried 9-of-10 free throw attempts. Littell scored 13 of her points in the second half and was also one of MACU's rebounding leaders with six, joining Tyaija Coleman and Ashley Hopper with six apiece while also coming up with a team-high three steals.
- Shy Christopher also shined in her Evangels debut, scoring 17 points on 6-of-9 from the field, including 2-for-3 from range and 3-for-4 from the line to go with four boards and two assists.
- Another MACU newcomer in Whitney Outon was the only other Evangels newcomer to crack into double-figures with 13 points on 4-of-11 from the floor and converted 4-for-4 from the foul line. Outon also made her presence felt on the defensive end by ripping down five boards and blocking three shots.
- While Sydney Wycoff struggled from the floor, the graduate student guard was able to play a huge role with her passing and defensive play. Wycoff dished out a game-high six assists and even though she came up with just one steal, Wycoff was a key factor in forcing the Pilots into committing 19 turnovers.
- By getting the win, Mid-America Christian improved to 3-0 in the all-time series against LSU-Shreveport. The Evangels completed the home-and-away sweep over the Pilots after the Evangels came up with a 71-63 overtime win in Shreveport last season.
- The victory also improved MACU's record to 2-0 on the season while LSU-Shreveport fell to 2-1.
UP NEXT
- Mid-America Christian will hit the road on Monday, Nov. 7 as the Evangels will travel to Shawnee, Okla. for an exhibition matchup against NCAA Division II Oklahoma Baptist. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. inside the Noble Complex.
