OKLAHOMA CITY – In a match-up of two of the best scoring offenses in the NAIA, No. 19 Mid-America Christian utilized its strong free throw shooting to pull away late in the fourth quarter for a 102-97 victory over Williams Baptist on Saturday afternoon in the Gaulke Activity Center.
 
TOP PERFORMERS

• Jaci Calavan – 33 Points, 11-23 FG, 5-10 3FG, 6-6 FT, 10 Reb, 2 Steals
• Shy Christopher – 26 Points, 11-17 FG, 4-7 FT, 3 Reb, 3 Assists, 2 Steals
• Kylee Scheer – 19 Points, 5-13 FG, 2-6 3FG, 7-7 FT, 10 Reb, 6 Assists, 2 Steals
• Sydney Savage – 10 Points, 5-6 FG, 8 Reb, 2 Blocks

GAME SUMMARY

• First Quarter
  • It was a back-and-forth battle through the first 5:20 as the two teams traded leads seven times and had five ties as a pair of Shy Christopher foul shots with 4:40 to go drew it back even at 17-17.
  • After Williams Baptist (4-1) took the lead back following a Kaylee Clark three on the ensuing possession, Mid-America Christian (5-0) closed out the half with a massive 13-0 run over the final three minutes as Alexis Borgstadt's layup with 1:06 to go made it a 30-20 game after one.
• Second Quarter
  • The Eagles were able to shut down MACU's offensive attack through the first four-and-a-half minutes as a lone Jaci Calavan three at the 6:56 mark was the lone Evangels score as WBU put together an 11-3 run to close the gap to 33-31 on a Carmen Taylor layup with 5:50 to go.
  • After Calavan answered on the ensuing end, the Eagles continued to chip away behind a 7-2 run before taking the 38-37 lead on a pair of Nijah Moore foul shots with 4:06 left.
  • On the following possession, Christopher put MACU back in-front on a strong finish, drawing the foul to complete the three-point play before the Evangels eventually built their lead out to six on Kylee Scheer's steal and fastbreak layup to set the score to 46-40 with 2:48 remaining.
  • Williams Baptist managed to close the gap back to one on three different occasions the rest of the way, but a Christopher pickpocket at midcourt resulted in an easy fastbreak lay-in with 20 seconds to go before getting a defensive stop on the final possession to take a 52-49 lead into the halftime break.
• Third Quarter
  • The Evangels quickly built a seven-point lead right out of the gate on an offensive putback by Sydney Savage before a Mia Smith steal leading to a Christopher fastbreak layup, but the Eagles quickly cut it back to one on a pair of Taylor Wooten triples to make it 56-55 with just under eight minutes left.
  • While a Calavan three pushed the MACU advantage back to four, the Eagles captured the lead behind a Carmen Taylor three and a Charmen Taylor steal and fastbreak finish with 7:04 remaining.
  • There were eight lead changes over the next six minutes as WBU's Monica Horne had a offensive board and putback to push the Eagles in-front 71-70 with 1:36 to go before taking a 73-72 lead into the fourth quarter.
• Fourth Quarter
  • Williams Baptist grabbed its largest lead of the game within the first 27 seconds with two quick buckets, but a pair of Calavan foul shots opened a strong 15-4 run capped off on a Calavan fastbreak three-ball to make it an 87-81 MACU lead with 6:29 to go.
  • WBU chiseled the MACU edge back down to two 5:15 left on a Carmen Taylor breakaway layup, but the Evangels countered in a big way as a Kylee Scheer finished off a hard-fought three-point play before Christopher got on the break off a defensive board for another fastbreak score, setting it back to 92-85 with 4:20 left.
  • The Eagles had one more run left in them, running out to a 8-1 streak as Charmen Taylor's layup with 3:15 remaining tied it up at 93.
  • On the ensuing possession, Savage put the Evangels up for good off a sensational Christopher dish and converting three-of-four free throws over the next minute-and-a-half to make it a 98-93 game with 1:41 remaining.
  • WBU was unable to knock MACU's lead down to less than three the rest of the way as a pair of free throw conversions by Scheer and Calavan allowed MACU to come away with its hardest-fought victory of the season at 103-98.

GAME NOTES

• Both offenses were very efficient as Mid-America Christian shot 37-for-79 (46.8 percent) from the field and 8-of-24 (33.3 percent) from three while Williams Baptist went 38-for-83 (45.8 percent) from the floor and 8-of-25 (32.0 percent) from three.
• Free throw shooting played the biggest factor in the result as MACU knocked down 20-for-26 (76.9 percent) from the line while the Eagles converted 13-of-17 (76.5 percent).
• The Evangels dominated the glass, out-rebounding the Eagles 53-40 with a 19-14 edge on the offensive boards. However, both teams struggled against each other's pressure defenses as the Evangels committed a season-high 23 turnovers while Williams Baptist gave it away 22 times to MACU.
• Leading the MACU scoring efforts was senior guard Jaci Calavan, who finished just one-point shy of tying her career-high with 33 points on 11-of-23 shooting, including going 5-for-10 from three and 6-for-6 from the foul line. Calavan also notched her second double-double of the season after pulling down 10 boards to go with a pair of steals.
• Shy Christopher also had a phenomenal game on the offensive end, pouring in 26 points on a highly efficient 11-for-17 from the field and went 4-of-7 from the line to go with three boards, three assists and two thefts.
• Coming off her NCCAA Student-Athlete of the Week performance, Kylee Scheer also had a big game with her second double-double of the season, scoring 19 points on 5-of-13 shooting, going 2-of-6 from three and a perfect 7-for-7 from the line to go with 10 rebounds, a team-high six assists and two steals.
• Sydney Savage rounded out MACU's double-digit scorers with 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting and narrowly missed a double-double with eight boards and a pair of blocked shots.
• Mid-America Christian took the 2-1 lead in the all-time series in the two programs' first meeting inside the Gaulke Activity Center as the Evangels split a pair of games in Conway, Arkansas in their previous meetings. WBU won the first ever meeting 66-54 on Nov. 19, 2004 before the Evangels bounced back with a 72-63 win on Dec. 10, 2005.
• Entering the contest as third-highest scoring offense in the NAIA, MACU eclipsed 100 points for the fourth time through the first five games.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will have a short turnaround before its next game as the Evangels will be back in-action on Monday by hosting Our Lady of the Lake (Texas). Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. tip-off.