OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU women's basketball team will close out its three-game home stand this week as the Evangels will face off against Wayland Baptist at 6 p.m. on Thursday before taking on Oklahoma Panhandle State at 2 p.m. on Saturday inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 16-4 (10-4 SAC)
• Last Game: Won vs. Central Christian (Kan.) – 110-56 – Jan. 21, 2023 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Stat Leaders:
  • Points: Shy Christopher (313, 17.4 ppg), Jaci Littell (275, 16.2 ppg), Whitney Outon (193, 10.7 ppg)
  • FG% (Min. 3 FGM/G): Whitney Outon (47.0%, 71-151), Shy Christopher (46.8%, 111-237), Jaci Littell (38.1%, 80-210)
  • 3FG% (Min. 1 3FGM/G): Jaci Littell (43.9%, 50-114), Kyleigh Leverich (40.0%, 26-65), Whitney Outon (34.0%, 18-53)
  • FT% (Min. 2 FTM/G): Jaci Littell (84.4%, 65-77), Alexis Borgstadt (78.3%, 36-46), Shy Christopher (73.9%, 82-111)
  • Reb: Whitney Outon (137, 7.6 rpg), Shy Christopher (92, 5.1 rpg), Sydney Wycoff (84, 4.7 rpg)
  • Assists: Sydney Wycoff (56, 3.1 apg), Kyleigh Leverich (44, 2.4 apg), Shy Christopher (40, 2.2 apg)
  • Steals: Sydney Wycoff (31, 1.7 spg), Jaci Littell (28, 1.6 spg), Shy Christopher (17, 0.9 spg)
  • Blocks: Whitney Outon (21, 1.2 bpg), Ashley Hopper (13, 0.7 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian put together one of its most dominant weeks of the season by going 3-0 as the Evangels picked up a 79-50 win over Southwestern Christian on Jan. 16, an 84-67 win at Langston on Jan. 19 and a 110-56 home victory over Central Christian on Saturday.
  • Shy Christopher and Jaci Littell put together stellar weeks offensively for the Evangels, as Christopher averaged 19.0 ppg on a 57.5 percent shooting clip, including going 10-of-12 (83.3 percent) from the free throw line to go with six assists and three steals. Meanwhile, Littell notched 17.7 ppg on a 47.1 percent rate, but shot an astounding 9-for-20 (45.0 percent) from three and buried 12-for-13 (92.3 percent) from the charity stripe. The junior from Stillwater, Okla. also dished out eight dimes and tallied five steals.
  • Graduate student guard Sydney Wycoff put together a remarkable week defensively for the Evangels. The Ankeny, Iowa product recorded four steals in each game for 12 total takeaways on the week while also producing a solid 2.0 assist-turnover ratio with 10 dimes to only five giveaways while also pulling down 4.0 rebounds per contest.
  • In MACU's win over the Tigers on Saturday, the Evangels matched Texas Wesleyan for the second largest point-margin of victory against a SAC opponent this season at 54 while scoring a season-high 110 points on a year-best 54.8 shooting percentage.

SCOUTING REPORT
Wayland Baptist (Texas)

• Record: 12-7 (8-5 SAC)
• Last Game: Won vs. UNT-Dallas – 87-34 – Jan. 21, 2023 – Plainview, Texas
• Series vs. WBU (2008-): WBU leads 25-5
• Last Game vs. WBU: WBU won 55-54 – Dec. 3, 2022 – Plainview, Texas
• Players to Watch:
  • Jenna Cooper-Jackson – SR – F
    • 354 Points (18.6 ppg), 130-305 FG (42.6%), 33-116 3FG (28.4%), 61-73 FT (83.6%), 153 Reb (8.0 rpg), 125 Assists (6.6 apg), 26 Steals (1.4 spg)
  • Kaitlyn Edgemon – SO – F
    • 333 Points (17.5 ppg), 134-306 FG (43.8%), 24-77 3FG (31.2%), 41-62 FT (66.1%), 130 Reb (6.8 rpg), 56 Assists (2.9 apg), 43 Steals (2.3 spg), 29 Blocks (1.5 bpg)
  • Taylor Houston – FR – F
    • 128 Points (6.7 ppg), 50-94 FG (53.2%), 28-54 FT (51.9%), 98 Reb (5.2 rpg), 18 Assists (0.9 apg), 15 Steals (0.8 spg)
• Team Notes:
  • Wayland Baptist is coming off a pair of home wins last week, defeating Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) 72-60 on Thursday before picking up a dominant 87-34 over UNT-Dallas on Saturday.
  • While the Flying Queens are posting a very strong 7-2 record on their home court, the Flying Queens have struggled on the road, notching just a 4-5 mark in true road games.
  • WBU is one of the best scoring offenses in the Sooner Athletic Conference, averaging the fourth-most points per game at 74.4 on the fourth-best shooting percentage (42.7) while also posting the third-most rebounds per game (42.8).
  • The Wayland Baptist offense will run through two of the best players in the league in senior combo guard-forward Jenna Cooper-Jackson and sophomore forward Kaitlyn Edgemon. Cooper-Jackson is the only player in the conference to rank in the top five in points, rebounds and assists, dishing out a league-high 125 dimes (6.6 apg), to go with the second-best scoring average (18.6 ppg) and third-most rebounds (8.1 rpg). Meanwhile, Edgemon is posting the SAC's fourth-best scoring average (17.5 ppg) while also being one of the league's best defenders with the second-best steals average (2.3 spg) and blocks per game average (1.5).
  • Mid-America Christian will be looking to get some revenge on Wayland Baptist after the Flying Queens upended the Evangels in heartbreaking fashion on Dec. 3. In the 55-54 defeat, Edgemon knocked down a fall-away right-handed layup at the buzzer to come away with the win. However, the last time MACU faced WBU inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Jan. 20, 2022, the Evangels pulled out a hard-fought 83-74 victory over last year's SAC Champion. In the win, Sydney Wycoff recorded 17 points and recorded an incredible 8-0 assist/turnover ratio.
  • MACU will be holding a Nerd Night for all MACU students. Students are encouraged to dress like a nerd and sign up with Brooke Brown prior to the start of the game in-order to win prizes that will be given out during halftime of the men's game.

SCOUTING REPORT
Oklahoma Panhandle State

• Record: 1-15 (1-12 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost vs. SW Assemblies of God (Texas) – 72-70 – Jan. 21, 2023 – Goodwell, Okla.
• Series vs. MACU (2018-): MACU leads 8-1
• Last Game vs. MACU: MACU won 69-68 – Dec. 1, 2022 – Goodwell, Okla.
• Players to Watch:
  • Tateum Jones – SR – G
    • 145 Points (9.1 ppg), 49-100 FG (49.0%), 10-26 3FG (38.5%), 37-47 FT (78.7%), 62 Reb (3.9 rpg), 33 Assists (2.1 agp), 22 Steals (1.4 spg)
  • Jamiya Eaddy – JR – G
    • 111 Points (9.3 ppg), 46-118 FG (39.0%), 11-35 3FG (31.4%), 56 Reb (4.7 rpg), 24 Assists (2.0 apg), 16 Steals (1.3 spg)
  • Mariah Williams – SO – F
    • 120 Points (7.5 ppg), 43-102 FG (42.2%), 33-45 FT (72.7%), 72 Reb (4.5 rpg)
• Team Notes:
  • Despite falling to 1-15 on the season last week, Oklahoma Panhandle State put together a pair of very competitive home losses, falling to UNT-Dallas 75-70 on Jan. 19 before suffering a 72-70 defeat to Southwestern Assemblies of God on Saturday.
  • The Aggies have struggled on the offensive end during the 2022-23 campaign, ranking 11^th in the SAC in scoring average (61.3 ppg) while also giving up the 11^th-most points in the league (74.1). OPSU has also been challenged in its overall floor game as the Aggies are tallying just 9.3 assists per contest with a turnover rate of 19.6, both second-to-worst in the SAC.
  • Overall, OPSU features a balanced lineup with not a single player averaging in double-figures. Tateum Jones (9.1 ppg) and Jamiya Eaddy (9.3 ppg) lead the Aggies scoring efforts with both players shooting north of 40-percent on the year.
  • While MACU has won the last eight meetings, Panhandle State narrowly missed upsetting the Evangels in their previous meeting in Goodwell on Dec. 1. With the Evangels missing one of their leading scorers in Jaci Littell, OPSU made a comeback while missing a potential game-winning three at the buzzer in the 69-68 MACU win. The last time the two teams hooked up in the Gaulke Activity Center, the Evangels ran away with an 83-45 victory on Jan. 22, 2022.