WICHITA, Kan. – The sixth-seeded No. 24 Mid-America Christian women's basketball team battled back from a 17-point deficit in the first half and a 12-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but the Evangels comeback efforts came up just short in an 84-77 defeat to the third-seed No. 14 Clarke (Iowa) in the NAIA Opening Round Wichita Regional Championship on Saturday afternoon in the Garvey Center.
Despite suffering the loss, the Evangels wrapped up a historic 2021-22 campaign as MACU finishes with its winningest season in the history of the program, finishing with a 28-5 (.848) overall record and also set a bench mark for Sooner Athletic Conference wins at 19-3 (.864).
TOP PERFORMERS
GAME SUMMARY
- First Quarter
- Mid-America Christian kept it close through the first two minutes as Sydney Wycoff scored the Evangels' first three points as a layup pulled it to within a two-point game at 5-3 with 7:55 to go.
- Clarke caught fire after a Nicole McDermott offensive board led to a Giana Michels three-pointer, igniting a 13-4 Pride run to swell the edge to 18-7 on an Emma Kelchen layup with 4:31 left.
- A pair of Abby Bird foul shots at the 2:49 mark briefly knocked the deficit to single-digits, but Clarke closed out the quarter with a 6-2 surge to swell the CU advantage to 24-11 after one.
- Second Quarter
- The momentum carried over into the second period for the Pride as a pair of McDermott buckets gave Clarke its largest lead of the game at 28-11 with just under nine minutes remaining.
- After Presley Payahsape and Michels traded scores, the Evangels chipped away at the Clarke lead by scoring nine of the next 12 as Anna Kash's score near the midway point closed it to a 33-22 game.
- Five unanswered during a 7-2 surge by the Pride pushed the advantage back out to 40-24 with just under three minutes remaining.
- Mid-America Christian made an incredible comeback effort over the final three minutes as a Thomsen layup and a Lexi Hernandez three jumpstarted a 14-2 Evangels run.
- Kelchen's layup briefly broke up the run, but MACU scored the final nine points and forced the Pride into committing four turnovers in the final 1:18 with a very aggressive press as Wycoff's layup with five seconds left sent the Evangels into the half down just 42-38.
- Third Quarter
- Clarke re-established the early momentum as a Tina Ubl three made it a three-score game before Wycoff brought it back to five after notching a steal and fastbreak layup to set the score to 45-40 with 8:38 to go.
- CU shut down the Evangels offense over the next four minutes as MACU was held to without a field goal during a 5-1 Clarke surge before Wycoff buried a three to stop the drought at 50-44 with just under four minutes left.
- McKenzi Lamer came in off the MACU bench and hit two big threes in the final two minutes, but Clarke still closed out the quarter with a 12-6 run as a pair of Izzie Peterson foul shots with 18 seconds left gave the Pride their largest lead of the second half at 62-50.
- Fourth Quarter
- A Payahsape three-pointer to start the final period knocked the CU advantage back down to single-digits, but Clarke managed to recapture a 12-point cushion at 69-57 with 6:48 to go on a Kelchen triple.
- Anna Kash's three-pointer on the ensuing possession jumpstarted the Evangels offense as MACU clawed its way back with an 18-8 run. With just over two minutes left, Lamer was hammered going into the lane and buried a pair of free throws to bring it to a 77-75 deficit.
- Mid-America Christian had the opportunity to tie in the final minute, but Ossyana Ozoani missed a midrange jumper from the elbow with 36 seconds left before Michels came down with the defensive board, forcing the Evangels to foul.
- Clarke finished the game with a strong performance from the charity stripe, converting on 7-of-8 from the line to pull away with the 84-77 win.
GAME NOTES
- Mid-America Christian put together a solid offensive performance in its season finale, knocking down 25-of-61 (41 percent) of its shots and went 11-for-31 (35.5 percent) from the three-point arc while also converting an efficient 16-of-19 (84.2 percent) from the free throw line.
- The Evangels struggled to slow down the red-hot Clarke shooting as the Pride finished 27-for-55 (49.1 percent) from the field, 9-of-24 (37.5 percent) from three and made 21-of-30 (70 percent) free throw attempts.
- MACU struggled on the glass as the Pride won the rebounding battle 41-28, but the Evangels were able to force 15 Clarke turnovers while committing just nine on the offensive end.
- Senior forward Presley Payahsape was lights-out from downtown, burying 4-of-8 three-pointers and finished 6-for-16 from the field to finish with a team-high 16 points.
- Junior guard Sydney Wycoff was tough on the Pride both offensively and defensively, finishing with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting to go with a team-leading seven rebounds and three steals.
- Junior guard McKenzi Lamer provided a huge spark off the Evangels bench, finishing with 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting from three and went 2-for-2 from the foul line to go with a pair of steals in just 15 minutes of action.
- Kyleigh Leverich wrapped up her season with a team-leading five assists to go with eight points while senior forward Ossyana Ozoani wrapped up her illustrious MACU career with eight points, four rebounds and two steals.
- Playing in their final games, Lexi Hernandez finished with three points and three assists while Abby Bird chipped in a pair of foul shots for two points.
- Emma Kelchen led four Clarke players in double-figures with a game-high 23 points on 8-for-13 shooting, 2-of-4 from three, 5-for-6 from the free throw line while yanking down a team-high seven rebounds.
- By getting the win, Clarke improved to 31-4 and will advance to the NAIA National Championship final site in Sioux City, Iowa.
