OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 19 MACU women's basketball team had to overcome a slow start against Evangel in the finale of the Third Annual MACU Classic, but the Evangels put together a massive stretch in the second and third quarters, outscoring the Valor 54-24 to run away with an 86-58 victory inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Saturday afternoon.
TOP PERFORMERS
- Shy Christopher – 21 Points, 7-11 FG, 6-8 FT, 7 Reb
- Kylee Scheer – 18 Points, 7-12 FG, 2-4 3FG, 2-2 FT, 9 Reb, 6 Steals, 3 Assists
- Alexis Borgstadt – 13 Points, 4-5 FG, 2-2 3 FG, 5 Reb, 2 Steals
- Jaci Calavan – 12 Points, 5-12 FG, 7 Reb
GAME SUMMARY
- First Quarter
- It was a tug of war between the two squads through the first two-and-a-half minutes as the lead exchanged four times ending on Mid-America Christian (4-0) taking a 6-5 lead on Jaci Calavan's up-and-under left-side baseline jumper with 7:27 left.
- Evangel (1-1) captured the momentum behind a Kate Gilbert layup off a MACU turnover as the Valor scored seven-unanswered with a Jazzy Kirby three from the left wing off another MACU miscue made it a 12-6 EU edge at the 4:42 mark
- The Evangels managed to chip the Valor lead down to one twice over the course of the quarter, the last coming on a pair of Shy Christopher foul shots with 1:51 left, but Evangel closed out by scoring the final five points to hold a 21-15 advantage at the end of one.
- Second Quarter
- MACU's defense stymied the Valor through the first five minutes of the period, holding Evangel to without a field goal through the first 5:24 as the Evangels rattled off an 11-1 run capped off on a strong Calavan take to the basket off an inbound pass and finished off a three-point play with 6:20 to go to make it 26-22 MACU.
- A Jade Hinzman layup at the 4:46 mark finally snapped the Valor's cold streak, but that 26-24 score was the closest Evangel would come to overtaking the MACU lead the rest of the way.
- With just over three minutes to go, Mia Smith drove down the left side before dishing it to Kylee Scheer for a wide-open right corner three to fire up a 12-2 MACU streak as two Sydney Adee free throws with 42 seconds left made it a 42-29 Evangels edge.
- EU's Carson Dillard knocked down a three to close the gap back to 10, but Christopher sent MACU into the half with the 44-32 lead with an offensive board and put-back at the eight-second mark.
- Third Quarter
- Similar to the second period, the Evangels defense stifled the Valor, holding EU to without a field goal through the first four minutes. During the opening stretch, MACU put together another 11-1 surge as Scheer went coast-to-coast on a defensive board for the fastbreak layup to set the score to 55-33 with 5:57 to go.
- Mid-America Christian continued to build upon its lead over the next few minutes as Alexis Borgstadt buried a three from the top of the key with 2:26 left, giving MACU its largest cushion of the quarter at 67-39.
- Evangel managed to hold MACU to just two points the rest of the way, whittling the Evangels' edge down to 69-45 to close it out.
- Fourth Quarter
- The MACU offense was starved for scoring through the first four-and-half as the Valor held the Evangels without a field goal in the stretch. However, Evangel couldn't capitalize, mustering just a 7-1 run during MACU's cold spell to cut it to only 70-52 with 5:45 left on Lydia Babirye's hoop-and-harm.
- On the ensuing possession, Borgstadt buried a left-corner three on a Scheer drive and dish to start a string of six in a row finished on another Scheer theft and fastbreak scoop to make it 76-52 with 3:40 remaining.
- EU couldn't cut its deficit to less than 22 the rest of the way as MACU captured its largest lead of the contest near the very end when Christopher drove down the left side by two defenders and scooped in a reverse layup with 26 seconds remaining to make it a 30-point game at 86-56.
GAME NOTES
- Offensively, Mid-America Christian put together a very strong shooting game, going 29-for-60 (48.3 percent) from the field while efficiently knocking down 8-of-14 (57.1 percent) from three and converted 20-for-27 (74.1 percent) from the stripe.
- The MACU defense held the Valor to just 18-of-68 (26.5 percent) from the floor, including an ice-cold 5-for-28 (17.9 percent) from three. The Valor weren't able to do themselves any favors from the foul line either, making just 17-for-32 (53.1 percent).
- Both teams struggled to take care of the basketball as the Evangel gave the ball away 20 times while the Evangels committed a season-high 21 turnovers.
- The Evangels managed to outrebound the Valor 53-47, but the Valor did do a stronger job on the offensive glass with a 25-16 margin.
- Shy Christopher led the MACU offensive efforts with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 6-or-8 from the foul line to go with seven rebounds.
- Once again, Kylee Scheer wreaked havoc on both ends of the court for the Evangels, scoring 18 points on 7-for-12 from the field while pulling down a team-high nine rebounds to go with a career-best six steals with three assists.
- Alexis Borgstadt poured in 13 points off the MACU bench on 4-for-5 shooting while Jaci Calavan rounded out MACU's double-digit scorers with 12 points with seven boards.
- Sydney Adee led MACU's distribution efforts with four assists to just two steals for a 2-to-1 ratio.
- Facing each other for the third time in the last five years, the Mid-America Christian improved to 3-0 all-time against the Valor as the 28-point margin of victory was by far and away the largest in the series after an 80-65 win exactly a year ago inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
UP NEXT
- Mid-America Christian will take a short break away from regular season play next week as the Evangels will head to Tulsa, Oklahoma on Tuesday as MACU will take on NCAA Division I Oral Roberts in an exhibition contest inside the Mabee Center for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
