OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 19 MACU women's basketball team knew it would be a special night inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Friday with the Evangels hosting CLAim Victory Night to open the Third Annual MACU Classic. No one could have anticipated just how special it would be.
On the night dedicated to
Camryn Armes, a MACU women's basketball player diagnosed with cancer in August, the sophomore guard was able to check-in late in the game and score five points, including knocking down a three-pointer in the final minute in a 101-41 victory over Bellevue.
TOP PERFORMERS
- Shy Christopher – 31 Points, 12-23 FG, 6-6 FT, 6 Reb, 2 Assists
- Kylee Scheer – 16 Points, 6-11 FG, 6 Reb, 2 Assists, 5 Steals
- Jaci Calavan – 15 Points, 4-8 FG, 5 Reb
- Ashley Hopper – 9 Points, 4-9 FG, 12 Reb, 3 Assists
GAME SUMMARY
- Bellevue (2-3) jumped out to a five-point lead in the first minute-and-a-half, but Mid-America Christian (3-0) quickly found their rhythm, scoring 12 consecutive points. A spectacular fastbreak layup in the paint by Kylee Scheer extended Mid-America's lead to 12-5 with 2:33 left. The Bruins were held scoreless for more than six minutes during the incredible run.
- On the ensuing possession, the Bruins found their stride by stringing together an eight-unanswered run, reclaiming the lead at 13-12 as Shelby Little executed a robust post move for a layup with 55 seconds remaining.
- However, Alexis Borgstadt put the Evangels back in-front before the end of the quarter on an and-one play with 30 seconds remaining, giving MACU the 15-13 edge at the end of one.
- It was a back-and-forth battle through the first 2:25 with MACU unable to grow its lead out to larger than four before the Evangels rattled off eight-unanswered as Shy Christopher finished a wide-open layup off an excellent high-low feed on Sydney Savage's elbow feed to the low-block, making it a 27-17 MACU advantage.
- An Ashtyn Arnold layup at the 4:20 mark briefly knocked MACU's lead below double-digits, but that would be the last time the Bruins would be able to keep it to single-digits.
- Another easy Christopher layup off another elbow pass feed from Ashley Hopper ignited a dominant 18-unanswered run by the Evangels to close it out. Hopper also finished it off with a three-point play with two seconds left to send MACU into the half with the commanding 45-19 advantage.
- Two minutes into the third quarter, Christopher's and-one execution extended the lead to a 31-point margin, making it 50-19. He executed a successful layup in the paint and converted the subsequent free throw.
- The Bruins narrowed the gap to a 29-point margin a few seconds later, but the Evangels replicated their second-quarter performance, embarking on another impressive 27-4 run. Kayla Highfill's scoop shot layup assisted by Borgstadt with two second left extended their lead to an incredible 52 points at 77-25.
- The first 4:30 of the quarter was quieter on the offensive side for MACU as Bellevue scored seven of the first 11 during the stretch.
- A second-chance bucket for Christopher at the 5:24 mark allowed the Evangels to push it back to a 50-plus point margin as MACU scored 12 of the next 15, making it 93-35 on Hopper's layup with 2:38 to go.
- However, Mid-America saved the best for last when Camryn Armes entered the game with one-minute remaining and sank a three-pointer from the left corner as the crowd erupted before the she finished off the game with an uncontested layup just before the buzzer to seal the 101-41 final.
GAME NOTES
- Even though Mid-America Christian struggled from three-point range, converting just 3-for-23 (21.7 percent), the Evangels dominated from inside the arc and from the free throw line as MACU shot 35-for-79 (44.3 percent) from the field and 26-for-28 (92.9 percent) from the charity stripe.
- MACU's defense frustrated Bellevue into shooting just 30 percent (15-for-50), limiting the three-point damage to just 3-for-22 (13.6 percent) while the Bruins shot just 8-of-17 (47.1 percent) from the foul line.
- The Evangels forced the Bruins into committing 27 turnovers while MACU committed just a third of the mistakes at nine giveaways. It was the third-straight game that Mid-America Christian forced its opponent into committing 20 or more turnovers.
- MACU also dominated on the glass with a 54-35 rebounding margin with a 19-9 edge in offensive boards. The Evangels also dominated the painted area, outscoring the Bruins 56-24 in the paint.
- Shy Christopher led the MACU scoring efforts with a career-high 31 points on 12-of-23 shooting while also going 6-for-6 from the foul line to go with six boards and two assists.
- Kylee Scheer continued to be a force to be reckoned with on both ends of the floor, finishing with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting and 3-for-4 from the line to go with six rebounds and a career-high five steals to go with a pair of assists.
- Jaci Calavan rounded out the double-figure scorers with 15 points on 4-for-8 from the floor and 6-of-6 from the line while also pulling down five rebounds.
- Ashley Hopper narrowly missed recording her first career double-double, scoring nine points on 4-for-9 shooting with a career-high 12 rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocked shots.
- In her first minute of action since being diagnosed with Blue Cell Sarcoma in August, Camryn Armes scored five points on 2-of-6 shooting.
- The meeting between the Evangels and Bruins marked just the second time the two teams have played each other in program history. MACU was also victorious in their last meeting Nov. 16, 2018 as the Evangels came away with an 83-63 win in Point Lookout, Missouri.
UP NEXT
- Mid-America Christian will be back on its home court on Saturday as the Evangels will wrap-up the Third Annual MACU Classic against Evangel (Mo.) with a 2 p.m. tip-off inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
