OKLAHOMA CITY – No. 19 MACU women's basketball faced a tough first half test from Ave Maria (Fla.), but an explosive 17-0 run to start the second half propelled the Evangels to a dominant 110-87 victory over the Gyrenes inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Wednesday afternoon.
 
TOP PERFORMERS

• Kylee Scheer – 27 Points, 10-18 FG, 4-8 3FG, 3-4 FT, 13 Reb, 5 Assists, 3 Steals
• Jaci Calavan – 21 Points, 6-15 FG, 2-6 3FG, 7-7 FT, 11 Reb, 3 Steals
• Sydney Savage – 20 Points, 8-9 FG, 4-5 FT, 11 Reb, 2 Steals

GAME SUMMARY

• First Quarter
  • It was a back-and-forth battle through the first five minutes, but Ave Maria (2-2) captured its largest lead of the period with 5:48 left when Maria Kuhlman broke the tie with a three-ball from the right corner to make it 13-10 in-favor of the Gyrenes.
  • On the ensuing possession, Sydney Savage swung the momentum in the Evangels' favor by corralling an offensive board and powering a layup through a triple team and drawing the foul to complete a three-point play. The bucket ignited a nine-unanswered Mid-America Christian (2-0) run, as a Kylee Scheer fastbreak layup with 2:34 left made it a 19-13 MACU edge.
  • Both teams were held in-check offensively over the final two-and-a-half as a pair of Kuhlman foul shots with 10 seconds left allowed AMU to close it to 23-19 heading into the second.
• Second Quarter
  • Ave Maria sprinted out in-front during a four-minute start to the second as six straight points by Lavariah Armstead ignited 12-3 Gyrenes streak that Armstead finished off herself with a midrange jumper in the lane, setting the score to 31-26 for AMU with 6:08 to go.
  • The Evangels closed the gap to one on a pair of occasions over the next three minutes, but the Gyrenes captures their largest lead of the contest following an Emily Rapacz three and a Kuhlman layup on consecutive possessions to bring it to 38-32 with 2:49 left.
  • MACU relied on one of its senior leaders to will the team back in as Jaci Calavan buried threes on back-to-back possessions before Kylee Scheer intercepted a pass to go coast-to-coast for the fastbreak layup at the 1:19 mark to give MACU the lead for good at 40-38.
  • Ainsley Velasquez knocked down one of two foul shots on the ensuing possession before a Rapacz drove down the lane and scooped in the left-handed layup with 50 seconds left to close the gap to 41-40 heading into the break.
• Third Quarter
  • The Evangels came out of the locker room with some extra fire both offensively and defensively as MACU forced three Ave Maria turnovers in the first two minutes while also holding AMU to 0-for-5 shooting over a four-minute stretch. Meanwhile, Mid-America Christian started 7-of-10 from the field during its 17-unanswered run that was capped off on a pair of Calavan free throws with 6:38 left to make it 58-40.
  • Ava Murphy finally got the Gyrenes off the schneid with a free throw at the 6:09 mark, but another Savage offensive put-back and a Scheer triple from the left wing off Calavan's drive, stretching MACU's advantage out to 63-41 with 5:05 remaining.
  • Ave Maria swung back on the ensuing possession as Kuhlman's lay-in fired up a 12-2 run for the Gyrenes as two Murphy free throws at the 3:09 mark closed it to 65-52.
  • AMU wouldn't be able to close the gap to any less than that the remainder of the way as six-unanswered in the final 30 seconds by the Evangels allowed MACU to hold a 79-56 edge at the end of three.
• Fourth Quarter
  • After Ave Maria's Casey Humphrey opened the period with a layup, Mid-America Christian powered its way to its largest lead of the contest as MACU answered with a 10-1 that was finished off on a Calavan hoop-and-harm to make it an 89-59 contest with 7:50 to go.
  • The Gyrenes managed to trim MACU's advantage down over the course of the quarter, eventually breaking it to under 20 at 103-84 on Humphrey's layup with 1:47 left, but it didn't last long as Shy Christopher pushed the ball up the court quickly for a lay-in just six seconds later.
  • MACU stretched its lead back out to as much as 26 on Kayla Highfill's triple from the top of they to make it 110-84 with 48 seconds to go before Murphy hit a three on the ensuing possession to cap off the 110-87 final.

GAME NOTES

• For the second-straight game to start the season, Mid-America Christian reached triple-digit scoring as the Evangels went 39-for-80 (48.8 percent) from the field, 7-for-21 (33.3 percent) from three and 25-of-33 (75.8 percent) from the free throw line while Ave Maria shot 32-for-76 (42.1 percent), 9-of-27 (33.3 percent) from three and just 14-of-24 (58.3 percent) from the stripe.
• The Evangels dominated the glass, outrebounding the Gyrenes 60-42 while outscoring AMU 29-16 in second-chance points.
• Both teams played a frantic pace in the contest as the two defenses combined to force 39 turnovers with Ave Maria giving the ball away 21 times while the Evangels turned it over on 18 occasions.
• The game provided an incredibly rare sight statistically for MACU as perhaps for a first time ever, Mid-America Christian had three players record 20-10 double-doubles. Kylee Scheer paced the Evangels in just her second contest with the program, turning in a game-high 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting, including 4-for-8 from three and 3-of-4 from the line to go with a team-high 13 rebounds, a team-best five assists and three steals.
• Jaci Calavan also reached the 20-10 plateau with 21 points on 6-of-15 shooting, 2-for-6 from three and 7-for-7 from the stripe to go with 11 rebounds and three thefts as well.
• It was a career-day for redshirt junior forward Sydney Savage as the third-player to turn in a 20-10, as Savage scored a career-high 20 points on an incredible 8-for-9 shooting day and also knocked down 4-of-5 from the line to go with a career-best 11 boards and a pair of steals.
• Shy Christopher rounded out MACU's double-figure scorers on a somewhat tough day offensively, scoring 12 points on 6-of-16 shooting to go with two rebounds and a pair of assists.
• The Evangels were the first of three teams that Ave Maria is playing in its southwestern road trip as MACU takes the lead in the all-time series following the two squad's first meeting against each other.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will have a short turnaround as the Evangels will now prepare to host the 3^rd Annual MACU Classic inside the Gaulke Activity Center from Nov. 10-11. The Evangels will open against another tough program as the Evangels will face off against Bellevue (Neb.) for a 7 p.m. tip-off on Friday.