OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU women's basketball team will be back on the road Thursday night as the Evangels will head to C.F. Gayles Fieldhouse to take on Langston at 6 p.m. before returning home to the Gaulke Activity Center on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip-off against Central Christian.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 14-4 (8-4 SAC)
• Last Game: Won vs. Southwestern Christian (Okla.) – 79-50 – Jan. 16, 2022 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Stat Leaders:
  • Points: Shy Christopher (273, 17.1 ppg), Jaci Littell (242, 16.1 ppg), Whitney Outon (172, 10.8 ppg)
  • FG% (Min. 3 FGM/G): Whitney Outon (67-142, 47.2%), Shy Christopher (95-206, 46.1%), Jaci Littell (70-187, 37.4%)
  • 3FG% (Min. 1 3FGM/G): Jaci Littell (45-101, 44.6%), Kyleigh Leverich (22-59, 37.3%), Whitney Outon (18-50, 36.0)
  • FT% (Min. 2 FTM/G): Jaci Littell (57-68, 83.3%), Shy Christopher (75-103, 72.8%)
  • Reb: Whitney Outon (128, 8.0 rpg), Shy Christopher (81, 5.1), Two Tied (76)
  • Assists: Sydney Wycoff (47, 2.9 apg), Kyleigh Leverich (41, 2.6 apg), Shy Christopher (37, 2.3 apg)
  • Steals: Jaci Littell (25, 1.7 spg), Sydney Wycoff (23, 1.4 spg), Three Tied (15)
  • Blocks: Whitney Outon (19, 1.2 bpg), Ashley Hopper (13, 0.8 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • After suffering a heartbreaking loss to Oklahoma City on Saturday, Mid-America Christian bounced back in a big way on Monday as the Evangels dominated rival Southwestern Christian 79-50 inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
  • In the win, Jaci Littell led MACU's offensive efforts in the first half, scoring 18 of her game-high 20 points in the first 20 minutes while Shy Christopher led the Evangels in the second half, netting 10 of her 17 points in the third and fourth quarters.
  • The Evangels defense was stifling in its win over SCU, as the Evangels held the Eagles to their second-lowest scoring output of the season to go with its third-worst shooting percentage (33.3) and third-worst three-point shooting percentage (26.7). The defense also forced SCU into its second-most turnovers in a game this season as the Eagles finished the contest with 23 giveaways.
  • The victory to start the second half of Sooner Athletic Conference play allowed the Evangels to move a half-game ahead of Langston and a full-game in-front of UNT-Dallas for the No. 3 spot in the league standings. At the conclusion of the 22-game conference slate, the top four teams will receive a bye in the first round of the conference tournament and will host a quarterfinal game on Thursday, Feb. 23.

SCOUTING REPORT
Langston (Okla.)

• Record: 12-5 (7-4 SAC)
• Last Game: Won at UNT-Dallas – 84-43 – Jan. 14, 2023 – Dallas
• Series vs MACU (2015-): MACU leads 8-2
• Last Game vs. MACU: MACU won 89-68 – Nov. 16, 2022 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Players to Watch:
  • Hailey Jordan – JR – F
    • 225 Points (13.2 ppg), 90-174 FG (51.7%), 45-54 FT (83.3%), 109 Reb (6.4 rpg), 25 Assists (1.5 apg), 20 Steals (1.2 spg)
  • Kameron Shelley – JR – F
    • 223 Points (13.1 ppg), 91-201 FG (45.3%), 34-91 3FG (37.4%), 47 Reb (2.8 rpg), 21 Assists (1.2 apg), 21 Steals (1.2 spg)
  • Anyia Pride – SR – F
    • 162 Points (9.5 ppg), 60-129 FG (46.5%), 38-54 FT (70.4%), 130 Reb (7.6 rpg), 32 Assists (1.9 apg), 14 Steals (0.8 spg)
• Team Notes:
  • Facing a UNT-Dallas team without its best player in Zyunn Cormier, Langston put together a monster second half, outscoring the Trailblazers 46-12 over the final 20 minutes to pull away with an 84-43 victory on Saturday. The Lady Lions bounced back from a three-game losing streak last week with a pair of dominant wins down in Texas after also picking up a 99-58 victory at Southwestern Assemblies of God on Jan. 12.
  • The Lady Lions are one of just three teams in the SAC that rank in the top three in the league in both scoring offense and scoring defense, averaging the second-most points per game at 78.3 while allowing the third fewest points at 64.4.
  • Langston features an incredibly balanced scoring lineup with seven players averaging more than five points per game, led by junior forwards Hailey Jordan and Kameron Shelley, who are netting 13.2 and 13.1 ppg respectively. Senior forward Anyia Pride also provides a difficult matchup in the low-post, not only averaging 9.5 ppg on 46.5 percent shooting, but is also averaging the fifth-most rebounds in the SAC at 7.6 while almost averaging two assists per contest (1.9).
  • Since joining the SAC in the 2018-19 season, Mid-America Christian has fared well against the Lady Lions, winning eight of its last nine meetings. In their previous meeting inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Nov. 16, the Evangels put together a monstrous second half, outscoring Langston 53-32 over the final 20 minutes to come away with an 89-68 victory. In the win, four Evangels finished in double-figures as Shy Christopher and Whitney Outon tallied 17 points while Sydney Wycoff scored a season-high 16 points.

Central Christian (Kan.)

• Record: 0-15 (0-11 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost at Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) – 66-40 – Jan. 14, 2023 – Waxahachie, Texas
• Series vs. MACU (2003-): MACU leads 19-2
• Last Game vs. MACU: MACU won 65-48 – Nov. 19, 2022 – McPherson, Kan.
• Players to Watch:
  • Hallee Winsea – FR – G
    • 121 Points (8.1 ppg), 42-132 FG (31.8%), 21-68 3FG (30.9%), 16-31 FT (51.6%), 58 Reb (3.9 rpg), 23 Assists (1.5 apg)
  • Kylee Jones – FR – G
    • 106 Points (7.1 ppg), 34-126 FG (27.0%), 9-52 3FG (17.3%), 29-41 FT (70.7%), 74 Reb (4.9 rpg)
  • Rachel Perkins – FR – G
    • 100 Points (6.7 ppg), 33-101 FG (32.7%), 28-91 3FG (30.8%), 43 Reb (2.9 rpg)
• Team Notes:
  • Central Christian has struggled both offensively and defensively thus far in the 2022-23 season while posting an 0-15 record. Last week, the Tigers played their best game of the season in a 70-58 road defeat at UNT-Dallas on Jan. 12 before falling to SAGU 66-40 on Jan. 14.
  • The Tigers not only rank last in the SAC in scoring average at 46.7 ppg, but also rank just 231^st in the NAIA. On the defensive side of the ball, CCCK is conceding a league-worst 82.7 ppg, which is the fifth-worst mark nationally and 232^nd.
  • CCCK has especially had a tough time since losing its leading scorer Olivia Bell to a season-ending injury in early December. Since that 68-41 defeat to John Brown on Dec. 1, the Tigers are averaging 46.1 ppg offensively and are allowing 90.2 ppg. Outside of Bell, who was averaging 10.3 ppg at the time of her injury, no Central Christian players are scoring in double-figures with the Tigers' top scorer being Hallee Winsea at 8.1 ppg.
  • While the Evangels are 19-2 against Central Christian since 2004, Mid-America Christian is currently in the midst of a 17-game win streak against the Tigers. However, in their last meeting in McPherson, Kan. on Nov. 19, CCCK went toe-to-toe with MACU in the second half. After the Evangels took a commanding 37-20 lead into the halftime break, MACU was unable to pull away any further in the second half as the Tigers kept it to a respectable 65-48 defeat, the closest contest between the two teams since the 2019-20 season.