OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 20 Mid-America Christian women's basketball team wrapped up its final regular season home game with a bang as the Evangels dominated Central Christian 71-36 for a Senior Night victory inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Thursday night.
 
TOP PERFORMERS

• Lexi Hernandez – 12 Points, 4-7 3FG, 4 Reb
• Ossyana Ozoani – 11 Points, 4-9 FG, 1-1 3FG, 2-2 FT, 7 Reb, 2 Steals
• Abby Bird – 4 Points, 9 Reb, 8 Assists, 1 Block, 1 Steal

GAME SUMMARY

• First Quarter
  • After trading a pair of threes in the first minute, a Lexi Hernandez three-pointer from the wing ignited an 11-unanswered Mid-America Christian run as a trio of Hernandez triples led up to an Ossyana Ozoani lay-in with 4:33 to go to make it a 14-3 Evangels lead.
  • Cheyenne Marshall's jumper with 3:40 left stopped the run, but MACU extended its lead out to 17 in the period off of back-to-back Anna Kash threes leading up to an Abby Bird turn-around jumper with 2:07 remaining, setting the score to 22-5.
  • A Josie Warren jump-shot with 1:45 on the clock was the final score of the quarter as Central Christian closed it to 22-7 after one.
• Second Quarter
  • Marshall led off the scoring with a three-ball a minute in to close the Tigers gap to 12, but a three by McKenzi Lamer started a string of 10 straight as layups by Sydney Wycoff and Ozoani preceded a Hernandez three to expand the Evangels' advantage to 32-10 with 4:46 remaining.
  • Following another Marshall score, MACU built up its largest lead of the half on a Wycoff three-pointer with 3:13 left, bringing the score to 35-12.
  • Central Christian notched the final score of the quarter on a Meya Gibson three with 2:12 to go, as both teams went cold in the final two minutes to make it a 35-15 game at the break.
• Third Quarter
  • MACU scored the first 10 points of the period as an Ozoani layup on the opening possession followed by two Presley Payahsape triples led up to two more points from Ozoani from the foul line, increasing the Evangels' lead to 45-15 with just over four minutes left.
  • After being held scoreless for 9:03 of game time, Warren finally put the Tigers on-the-board with a three-ball with 3:09 to go, closing it to 45-18.
  • Jade Millan's midrange jumper started another nine-unanswered surge by the Evangels as two Aneli Thomsen scores led up to Lamer's second three of the contest, expanding the MACU edge to 54-18 with 1:18 remaining.
  • The Tigers managed to knock three points off the MACU advantage on the final possession of the quarter as Alison Kulesza buried a three with five seconds left to close it to 54-21.
• Fourth Quarter
  • The Evangels took their largest lead of the game within the first minute as a Kash layup and a pair of Thomsen free throws made it a 58-21 game with 9:06 to go.
  • CCCK scored four of the next six as Marshall's foul shot with 7:48 on the clock brought it to 60-25 as both teams struggled to score over the next two minutes.
  • The Tigers tallied nine straight points before Ozoani, who attempted just her second three-pointer of the season drained a triple from the top of the key with 2:32 left, pushing the edge back out to 63-33.
  • Another Kulesza three knocked the lead back down to 27 before the Evangels strung together eight straight to close out the game behind a Thomsen fastbreak layup and threes from Lamer and Kash, sealing the 71-36 victory.

GAME NOTES

• For the second straight game, Mid-America Christian knocked down 15 or more three-pointers and shot better than 40 percent from range, going 15-for-37 (40.5 percent) after going 16-of-33 (48.5 percent) in a win at Southwestern Assemblies of God on Monday. Overall, the Evangels shot 26 for-61 (42.6 percent) from the field.
• The Evangels defense continued to stymie Central Christian in the season series, allowing the Tigers to score just 36 points on 12-for-52 (23.1 percent) from the field and 9-of-38 (23.7 percent) from three. MACU held the Tigers to their season scoring low the last time they faced in a 60-26 win in McPherson, Kan. on Jan. 13.
• Mid-America Christian dominated the game on the glass, outrebounding the Tigers 52-to-26, but the Tigers did win the turnover battle with just 12 giveaways to 14 for MACU.
• It was a balanced scoring effort across the board for MACU with six players scoring at least eight points. Lexi Hernandez led the way with 12 points, all coming in the first half on 4-for-7 from three-point range to go with four boards.
• Ossyana Ozoani pitched in 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting to go with seven rebounds and two steals while Anna Kash rounded out the double-digit scoring with 11 points on 4-of-6 from the field, 3-for-5 from three with four rebounds and a pair of assists.
• Presley Payahsape and Abby Bird each narrowly missed double-doubles with each having an excellent floor game. Payahsape scored nine points and pulled down eight rebounds to go with three assists and two blocks. Bird in the meantime led the team both on the glass with nine boards and in the assist department with a season-high eight dimes.
• McKenzi Lamer and Aneli Thomsen both provided a strong spark off the MACU bench as Lamer poured in nine points on 3-of-5 from three while Thomsen scored eight points on 3-for-6 shooting and 2-of-2 from the foul line.
• With the win, Mid-America Christian completed its first unblemished regular season inside the Gaulke Activity Center as the Evangels are 16-0 at home this season.
• MACU also tied its NAIA Era single season win record by improving to 25-3 overall and 18-3 in Sooner Athletic Conference play. The Evangels matched the 2018-19 NCCAA Division I National Championship team's win total after that squad went 25-9 while picking up that 25^th victory in a thrilling 87-84 win over Brewton-Parker (Ga.) in the championship game on Mar. 16, 2019.
• Central Christian continued to remain winless in SAC play, falling to 0-21 against conference foes and 1-27 overall.
• At the conclusion of the game, the Evangels honored their four graduating senior players during the Senior Night ceremony with Lexi Hernandez, Presley Payahsape, Ossyana Ozoani and Abby Bird being celebrated.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will close out the regular season with a road matchup at Langston on Saturday. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. inside the C.F. Gayles Arena in Langston, Okla.