OKLAHOMA CITY – For the third time in her illustrious seven-year career at the helm of the MACU women's basketball team, head coach Hannah Moeller was named the Whoopdirt.com NAIA Coach of the Week for Week 13 on Tuesday.
Moeller received the honor after leading her squad to a pair of dominant victories against two NAIA Top 25 teams, the first in a 77-56 win at No. 19 Science & Arts on Feb. 2 before topping No. 17 Texas Wesleyan 90-66 inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Feb. 4.
By getting the victory against the Lady Rams, MACU has amassed 20 or more wins in six of the last seven seasons with the lone exception being the COVID-19 impacted 2020-21 campaign.
In the win at Science & Arts, the Evangels took a 34-26 lead into the halftime break before the Drovers battled back to tie it at 49-49 with 2:23 to go in the third quarter. MACU swung back with eight unanswered, but the Drovers cut the lead in-half at 57-53 heading into the fourth period.
Over the final 10 minutes, Mid-America Christian completely controlled the pace as the Evangels went on an incredible 20-3 run while holding USAO to no field goals (0-for-9) in the period to get the runaway road win.
Taking on SAC leader Texas Wesleyan on Saturday, the Evangels held a slim 41-37 lead heading into the halftime break, but MACU made some strong adjustments to their game plan in the second half. Over the final 20 minutes of play, the Evangels outscored TWU 49-29 to complete yet another huge win.
A key factor in the victories over both opponents was the play of redshirt sophomore guard Shy Christopher. The Jacksonville, Ark. native averaged 26.5 points per game on a 55 percent shooting clip while putting together a strong floor game by averaging 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per contest to garner both the Sooner Athletic Conference Player of the Week and the NCCAA Student-Athlete of the Week.
Currently, the Evangels are on a seven-game win streak and are playing their best basketball of the season. During the stretch, MACU has defeated its opponents by a 29.9 ppg scoring margin with six of the seven victories coming by 20 or more points.
Overall, Moeller has earned the Whoopdirt.com NAIA Coach of the Week three times in the last four years. The last time Moeller garnered the honor, MACU cruised to a 99-74 home win over UNT-Dallas on Jan. 3, 2022 before picking up the program's first ever win over a powerhouse program at Oklahoma City 71-53 on Jan. 6, 2022.
By receiving Whoopdirt.com NAIA Coach of the Week honor, Moeller is now eligible for the Whoopdirt.com NAIA Coach of the Year award, which will be unveiled at the conclusion of the season.
Mid-America Christian will return to action on Thursday, Feb. 9 as the Evangels will head to Dallas for a 6 p.m. tip-off against UNT-Dallas at the Trinity Basin Preparatory Athletic Complex.
