WAXAHACHIE, Texas – The No. 25 MACU women's basketball team scored a season-high 100 points as the Evangels pulled away in the second half with a 100-65 victory at Southwestern Assemblies of God inside the Sheaffer Center on Saturday for the team's first road win in 2023.
TOP PERFORMERS
- Jaci Littell – 20 Points, 5-9 FG, 2-4 3FG, 8-9 FT, 4 Reb, 4 Assists, 2 Steals
- Shy Christopher – 20 Points, 5-11 FG, 10-12 FT, 6 Reb
- Whitney Outon – 11 Points, 5-8 FG, 8 Reb
GAME SUMMARY
- First Quarter
- Mid-America Christian (12-3, 6-3 SAC) struggled to find an offensive rhythm through the first four minutes as buckets from Autumn Moore and Neeley Tilley-Bedick sandwiched a Taylor Moravcik three to give the Southwestern Assemblies of God (4-11, 1-8 SAC) the 7-0 with 8:09 to go.
- The Evangels utilized their defense to get their offense going as a Whitney Outon steal led to a transition layup for Sydney Wycoff with 7:36 left before a pair of Jaci Littell foul shots with just under seven left closed the gap to 7-4.
- Another Moravcik three at the 6:03 mark doubled up the Lady Lions lead, but MACU countered as an Outon midrange jumper ignited a 10-unanswered Evangels run as a Littell jumper with 4:03 go to gave MACU the lead before a pair of Alexis Borgstadt free throws with 3:34 left pushed it out to a 14-10 advantage.
- With just over three minutes remaining, a Chanie Chambers triple cut it to a one-point game, but MACU finished the quarter strong, outscoring the Lady Lions 9-4 the rest of the way as a Sydney Wycoff free throw sent the Evangels into the second with a 23-17 cushion.
- Second Quarter
- MACU was able to get to the line early and often to start the second period as a pair of free throws apiece from Kyleigh Leverich and Shy Christopher gave MACU its first double-digit lead of the contest at 27-17 with 8:45 remaining.
- Autumn Moore buried a three on the ensuing possession for SAGU's first score of the quarter, but MACU swung back with an Outon jumper and a Littell three from the top of the key pushing the advantage out to 32-20 with 7:51 left.
- Southwestern Assemblies of God cut the MACU lead in-half as Moore's free throw with just under six minutes to go brought it to 32-26, but the Evangels put together a stifling defensive effort over the next five minutes, outscoring SAGU 13-4 for the rest of the quarter. On MACU's final possession, Littell buried an open three from the left wing to send the Evangels a 45-30 advantage at the break.
- Third Quarter
- After Aneli Thomsen drove down the left lane for a left-handed lay-in on MACU's first possession, Southwestern Assemblies of God strung together a 12-4 run as a pair of Rylee Lavender free throws with 6:05 left knocked it down to a single-digit lead at 47-38 for the final time in the contest.
- On the ensuing possession, Sydney Savage banked in a short jumper off a Thomsen dish as the Evangels scored six of the next seven to briefly push their advantage out to 57-43 with 4:10 to go off a pair of Thomsen foul shots.
- SAGU briefly cut it down to an 11-point game on a Moravcik jumper and a Kyla McMinn free throw, but MACU swung back by scoring 10 of the next 11 as two Tyaija Coleman freebies with 2:25 on the clock swelled the Evangels lead to 66-47.
- The Lady Lions managed to contain MACU to just two points the rest of the way as Moore's coast-to-coast layup on the final possession closed it to a 68-51 game going into the fourth.
- Fourth Quarter
- To start the final period, Moore received a handoff down the left base line and laid it in 36 seconds in for the first score, but the 15-point deficit would be the closest SAGU would be able to trim into the MACU advantage.
- On the following possession, Littell dribbled between three defenders on the right side for an easy layup, jumpstarting a string of nine-straight points capped off on Christopher intercepting a baseline throw out at mid-court and taking it coast-to-coast for the step-through left-handed layup to make it a 77-53 MACU edge with seven-and-a-half left.
- Tilley-Bedick finally ended the SAGU drought with a triple with just under seven to go, but MACU continued to pull away as the Evangels scored another eight unanswered as Ashley Hopper's open lay-in off some stellar MACU ball movement propelled the MACU advantage to 85-56 with 5:17 on the clock.
- With just over five minutes to go, SAGU's Maci Smith broke up the Evangels' streak with a three from the left wing, but an Ainsley Velasquez three from the right corner started yet another 11-1 MACU streak as Hallie Reed buried a three from the same corner to give the Evangels their largest lead of the contest at 96-60 with just over three minutes left.
- SAGU was able to climb no closer than 32 the rest of the way as MACU wrapped up its scoring by going 3-for-4 from the charity stripe following a Lady Lions flagrant foul and a bench technical from Borgstadt and Reed to wrap-up the 100-65 final.
GAME NOTES
- Offensively, Mid-America Christian struggled from the three-point arc, knocking down just 7-for-26 (26.9 percent) from the three-point arc, but the Evangels shot 22-of-41 (53.7 percent) from inside the arc to finish 29-for-67 (43.3 percent).
- The MACU defense held Southwestern Assemblies of God to just 22-of-59 (37.3 percent) from the field and 8-for-29 (27.6 percent) from the three-point arc.
- The free throw line played a major factor in the result as MACU tied the program's NAIA Era made foul shots record in a single game, going 35-for-44 (79.5 percent) from the line. The made free throws mark tied the 35 the team made last season at Texas Wesleyan on Jan. 27, 2022.
- Mid-America Christian controlled the glass, outrebounding the Lady Lions 43-28 while also holding a commanding 14-to-21 in the turnover battle.
- The two-woman combo of Shy Christopher and Jaci Littell once again led the MACU offense with each player tallying 20 points. Christopher scored her 20 points on 5-of-11 shooting and buried 10-for-12 from the free throw line to go with six rebounds. Littell scored her 20 points on 5-of-9 from the floor, 2-for-4 from three and 8-of-9 from the line to go with four boards, four assists and two steals.
- Whitney Outon was the only other Evangel to score in double-figures, tallying 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting while yanking down eight rebounds.
- For the first time this season, MACU had 12 players finish in the score column.
- Alexis Borgstadt and Tyaija Coleman provided a huge spark off the Evangels bench. Borgstadt poured in nine points on 2-of-3 from the field and 5-for-6 from the foul line while Coleman put together a stellar floor game, scoring seven points and ripping down a team-high nine rebounds, dished out a team-best six assists and pulled away team-high three steals.
- Overall, the MACU bench played the biggest factor in the outcome as the Evangels' reserves outscored SAGU's 40-19.
- Mid-America Christian has now won five straight games in the series since 2020-21 season. The 35-poit margin of victory is also the Evangels' largest over the Lady Lions in program history.
UP NEXT
- Mid-America Christian will return home on Thursday, Jan. 12 to take on John Brown. The game will tip-off at 6 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
