OKLAHOMA CITY – With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, the No. 24 MACU women's basketball team will be back on the road on Thursday night as the Evangels will drive down to Dallas for a matchup against UNT-Dallas before returning home to take on Southwestern Assemblies of God on Saturday.

The Evangels will face off against the Trailblazers at 6 p.m. tomorrow night inside the Trinity Basin Preparatory Athletic Complex. On Saturday, the Evangels will be celebrating Alumni Day inside the Gaulke Activity Center as the Evangels will honor the 2001 NCCAA National Championship team at halftime before holding a ceremony to honor the 2010s Team of the Decade after the game.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 20-4 (14-4 SAC)
• Last Game: Won vs. No. 17 Texas Wesleyan – 90-66 – Feb. 4, 2023 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Stat Leaders:
  • Points: Shy Christopher (411, 18.7 ppg), Jaci Littell (341, 16.2 ppg), Whitney Outon (229, 10.4 ppg)
  • FG% (Min. 3 FGM/G): Shy Christopher (49.2, 148-301), Whitney Outon (47.0, 85-181), Jaci Littell (39.6, 101-255)
  • 3FG% (Min. 1 3FGM/G): Jaci Littell (44.4, 59-133), Kyleigh Leverich (37.2, 29-78), Whitney Outon (35.5, 22-62)
  • FT% (Min. 2 FTM/G): Jaci Littell (82.5, 80-97), Alexis Borgstadt (80.0, 52-65), Shy Christopher (74.3, 104-140)
  • Reb: Whitney Outon (162, 7.4 rpg), Shy Christopher (115, 5.2 rpg), Sydney Wycoff (101, 4.6 rpg)
  • Assists: Sydney Wycoff (73, 3.3 apg), Kyleigh Leverich (50, 2.3 apg), Shy Christopher (49, 2.2 apg)
  • Steals: Sydney Wycoff (36, 1.6 spg), Jaci Littell (33, 1.6 spg), Tyaija Coleman (24, 1.1 spg)
  • Blocks: Whitney Outon (23, 1.0 bpg), Ashley Hopper (14, 0.7 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian is coming off a pair of huge NAIA Top 25 victories last week, going to Chickasha, Okla. and coming away with a 77-56 road victory at No. 19 Science & Arts on Feb. 2 before defeating SAC leader, No. 17 Texas Wesleyan 90-66 inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Saturday.
  • As a result of the two wins, Mid-America Christian returned to the NAIA Top 25 poll, climbing into No. 24 with 132 points. It is the fourth time in the seven polls released by the NAIA this season that the Evangels have been ranked, coming in at No. 23 in the first poll, climbing as high as No. 20 in the second poll and holding the No. 25 ranking in the third poll of the season.
  • After putting up some big offensive numbers last week, redshirt sophomore guard Shy Christopher was named the Sooner Athletic Conference Player of the Week for the second time this season as well as the NCCAA Student-Athlete of the Week. Overall, the Jacksonville, Ark. native averaged 26.5 points per game on a 55 percent shooting clip from the field and 72.7 percent from the free throw line while also averaging 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists for the week. In the win at USAO, Christopher poured in a career-high 28 points while tallying 25 points and a season-best six assists in the win over the Lady Rams.
  • Hannah Moeller also found herself on the receiving end of the awards train this week as the seventh-year head coach of the Evangels was selected the WHoopDirt.com NAIA Coach of the Week. It is the third time in her illustrious career that Moeller has earned the distinction.
  • The Evangels have continued to play their best basketball during its seven-game win streak. MACU has won by at least 16 points in all seven games and recorded 20-plus point victories in six of the seven contests. The overall scoring margin for the Evangels during the streak has been an astounding 30.0 ppg.

SCOUTING REPORT
UNT-Dallas

• Record: 10-10 (8-10 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost vs. Oklahoma City – 82-64 – Feb. 6, 2023 – Dallas
• Series vs. MACU (2022-): MACU leads 3-0
• Last Game vs. MACU: MACU won 89-70 – Jan. 5, 2023 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Players to Watch:
  • Zyunn Cormier – JR – G
    • 362 Points (19.1 ppg), 135-331 FG (40.8%), 46-125 3FG (36.8%), 46-53 FT (86.8%), 76 Reb (4.0 rpg), 28 Assists (1.5 apg), 35 Steals (1.8 spg)
  • Morgan Strawder – SO – G
    • 134 Points (7.4 ppg), 49-136 FG (36.0%), 26-38 FT (68.4%), 39 Reb (2.2 rpg), 43 Assists (2.4 apg), 31 Steals (1.7 spg)
  • Kaylyn Minor – FR – G
    • 117 Points (8.4 ppg), 51-102 FG (50.0%), 15-42 FT (35.7%), 89 Reb (6.4 rpg)
• Team Notes:
  • After getting off to a strong start to the season, holding an 8-2 record going into the Christmas break, UNT-Dallas has struggled in the 2023 portion of the season. The Trailblazers have lost eight of their 10 games since the start of the new year and have lost five straight entering Thursday night's contest. After getting a 70-64 win at Oklahoma City on Dec. 10, UNTD struggled in their home rematch against the Stars on Monday, falling 82-64.
  • Overall, the Trailblazers have struggled on both ends of the floor, ranking eighth in the SAC in scoring offense at 66.8 ppg while turning in the ninth-best scoring defense at 70.8 ppg. Part of UNTD's offensive struggles stems from its difficulties at the foul line, ranking dead last in the conference at 62.5 percent, which ranks 209^th in the NAIA overall.
  • While the Trailblazers have been challenged on the offensive end as a team, UNTD does possess one of the best offensive players in the conference in junior guard Zyunn Cormier. One of the most consistent presences on the team, Cormier ranks second in the SAC in scoring average at 19.1 ppg while converting on 40.2 percent of her shot attempts, including 36.8 percent from three and 86.8 percent from the charity stripe.
  • Overall, UNT-Dallas has struggled in regards to health and consistent play as just six players on the team have competed in 80 percent of its contests during the 2022-23 season.
  • Mid-America Christian has fared well against the relatively new SAC newcomer after UNT-Dallas joined the league in 2021-22. The Evangels are 3-0 against the Trailblazers and came away with an 89-70 win in their matchup inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Jan. 5. Jaci Littell led MACU's offensive efforts with a career-high 34 points on 9-of-19 shooting, including 6-for-11 from three and 10-of-12 from the charity stripe.

Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas)

• Record: 7-17 (4-14 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost vs. John Brown (Ark.) – 74-65 – Feb. 6, 2023 – Waxahachie, Texas
• Series vs. MACU (2005-): MACU leads 17-9
• Last Game vs. MACU: MACU won 100-65 – Jan. 7, 2023 – Waxahachie, Texas
• Players to Watch:
  • Rylee Lavender – JR – G
    • 318 Points (12.7 ppg), 105-314 FG (33.4%), 41-162 3FG (25.3%), 67-88 (76.1%), 79 Reb (3.2 rpg), 56 Assists (2.2 apg), 29 Steals (1.2 spg)
  • Neeley Tilley-Bedick – SO – G
    • 240 Points (9.6 ppg), 84-218 FG (38.5%), 46-136 3FG (33.8%), 26-37 FT (70.3%), 76 Reb (3.0 rpg), 35 Assists (1.4 apg), 29 Steals (1.2 spg)
  • Taylor Moravcik – SO – F
    • 223 Points (9.3 ppg), 84-193 FG (43.5%), 17-46 3FG (37.0%), 38-69 FT (55.1%), 231 Reb (9.6 rpg), 34 Assists (1.4 apg)
• Team Notes:
  • SW Assemblies of God has been playing some of its best basketball as of late. After picking up a 71-68 win over Oklahoma City on Saturday, the Lady Lions battled hard against a red-hot John Brown team on Monday before eventually falling by a 74-65 final score.
  • The Lady Lions have been challenged both offensively and defensively throughout the 2022-23 season, ranking just ninth in the SAC in scoring average (64.1 ppg) while ranking 10^th in scoring defense (74.6 ppg). The three-point shooting has been one of the biggest struggles for SAGU as the team ranked 11^th in the conference at 27.1 percent from downtown.
  • While the team has a strong offensive balance with five players scoring seven or more points per game, junior guard Rylee Lavender is the lone Lady Lion averaging in double-figures at 12.7 ppg, but is making just 33.4 percent of her shot attempts and 25.3 percent of her three-point tries. However, sophomore forward Taylor Moravcik has provided a spark for SAGU in the low block, averaging 9.3 ppg while yanking down a SAC-leading 9.6 rebounds per contest.
  • Even though the Evangels are winning two out of every three meetings with SAGU, Mid-America Christian has fared well in the series as of late as MACU has won five straight. In their Jan. 7 meeting in Waxahachie, the Evangels put together a monster fourth quarter, outscoring the Lady Lions 32-14 to run away with a 100-65 victory. Shy Christopher and Jaci Littell led the Evangels by scoring 20 points apiece.