OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 17 MACU women's basketball team will head uptown to take on Oklahoma City at 6 p.m. inside Abe Lemons Arena on Thursday night before returning home on Saturday to face Sooner Athletic Conference leader John Brown at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 10-13 (4-3 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost at Southwestern Christian (Okla.) – 77-67 – Jan. 8, 2024 – Bethany, Okla.
• Stat Leaders:
  • Points: Shy Christopher (242, 18.6 ppg), Jaci Calavan (239, 18.4 ppg), Kylee Scheer (192, 14.8 ppg)
  • Field Goal Percentage (%, M-A): Ashley Hopper (52.5, 31-59), Shy Christopher (49.7, 91-183), Kylee Scheer (49.0, 70-143)
  • 3-Point Percentage (%, M-A): Jaci Calavan (41.4, 29-70), Kylee Scheer (40.0, 26-65), Karley Miller (33.3, 15-45)
  • Free Throw Percentage (%, M-A): Kayla Highfill (100, 11-11), Jaci Calavan (91.5, 54-59), Kylee Scheer (83.9, 26-31)
  • Rebounds: Kylee Scheer (99, 7.6 rpg), Jaci Calavan (82, 6.3 rpg), Shy Christopher (78, 6.0 rpg)
  • Assists: Mia Smith (47, 3.6 apg), Kylee Scheer (38, 2.9 apg), Jaci Calavan (27, 2.1 apg)
  • Steals: Kylee Scheer (33, 2.5 spg), Shy Christopher (22, 1.7 spg), Sydney Savage (17, 1.3 spg)
  • Blocks: Karley Miller (7, 0.6 bpg), Sydney Savage (7, 0.5 bpg), Ashley Hopper (7, 0.5 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian is coming off one of its toughest shooting performances of the season in a 77-67 loss at Southwestern Christian on Monday. In the first half, the Evangels scored just 21 points while shooting 7-for-34 (20.6 percent), including 3-of-14 (21.4 percent) from three and 5-for-9 (55.6 percent) from the free throw line.
  • The Evangels did put together a much stronger second half in that defeat to the Eagles, shooting 17-of-34 (50 percent) from the field and 10-for-12 (83.3 percent) from the stripe, but MACU still struggled to find its three-point stroke, hitting on just 1-for-7 (14.3 percent) in the second half.
  • MACU will be looking to shore things up on the defensive side of the ball after SCU shot 46 percent from the field, the third-highest percentage the Evangels have given up this season while conceding the second-most threes in a single game (12-of-28, 42.9 percent)
  • Mid-America Christian is looking to find its stride on the road this season as MACU holds an 8-1 record at home this season while the Evangels are just 2-2 away from the friendly confines of the Gaulke Activity Center.

SCOUTING REPORT
Oklahoma City

• Record: 4-9 (3-4 SAC)
• Last Game: Won at UNT Dallas – 60-42 – Jan. 6, 2024 – Dallas
• Series vs MACU (2007-): OCU leads 32-3
• Last Game vs MACU: OCU won 81-74 – Feb. 18, 2023 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Series Streak: OCU won 2
• Players to Watch:
  • Amaya Gordon – SR – G
    • 177 Points (13.6 ppg), 73-162 FG (45.1%), 31-41 FT (75.6%), 104 Reb (8.0 rpg), 16 Assists (1.2 apg), 24 Steals (1.8 spg), 16 Blocks (1.2 bpg)
  • Jerzie Bryant – FR – G
    • 137 Points (11.7 ppg), 50-162 FG (30.9%), 13-60 3FG (21.7%), 24-36 FT (66.7%), 51 Reb (4.3 rpg), 19 Assists (1.6 apg), 18 Steals (1.5 spg)
  • Ray Osborn – SR – G
    • 129 Points (9.9 ppg), 48-128 FG (37.5%), 33-39 FT (84.6%), 44 Reb (3.4 rpg), 21 Assists (1.6 apg)
• Team Notes:
  • Oklahoma City split a pair of road games last week as the Stars dropped a 76-59 contest at Southwestern Assemblies of God on Jan. 4 before bouncing back with a dominant 60-42 win at UNT Dallas on Saturday.
  • The Stars have struggled on the offensive end this season, ranking just ninth in the SAC in scoring at 61.0 ppg while posting the ninth-best field goal percentage (36.5) and the league-worst three-point percentage (18.9), but are performing well from the foul line with the fourth-highest clip (72.8).
  • Despite OCU's offensive struggles, senior guard Amaya Gordon has put up a strong season both offensively and defensively, leading the team in scoring at 13.6 ppg while shooting 45.1 percent from the field and 75.6 percent from the foul line. Gordon is also the team's leading rebounder at 8.0 rpg while recording 1.8 steals per game and 1.2 blocks per contest.
  • The Evangels will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak to Oklahoma City as the Stars were the only team from the SAC to sweep MACU last season. In last year's meetings, MACU dropped a 73-71 heartbreaker in El Reno, Oklahoma on Jan. 14 before suffering an 81-74 defeat inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Feb. 18.

John Brown (Ark.)

• Record: 10-3 (7-0 SAC)
• Last Game: Won at Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) – 52-51 – Jan. 6, 2024 – Waxahachie, Texas
• Series vs MACU (2006-): JBU leads 18-17
• Last Game vs MACU: MACU won 72-59 – Feb. 16, 2023 – Siloam Springs, Ark.
• Series Streak: MACU won 2
• Players to Watch:
  • Tarrah Stephens – GR – F
    • 180 Points (16.4 ppg), 60-124 FG (48.4%), 11-28 3FG (39.3%), 49-59 FT (83.1%), 75 Reb (6.8 rpg), 20 Assists (1.8 apg), 11 Steals (1.0 spg), 11 Blocks (1.0 bpg)
  • Natalie Smith – SR – G
    • 177 Points (13.6 ppg), 62-160 FG (38.8%), 44-116 3FG (37.9%), 45 Reb (3.6 rpg), 43 Assists (3.3 apg)
  • Emily Sanders – JR – G
    • 170 Points (13.1 ppg), 55-106 FG (51.9%), 37-66 3FG (56.1%), 23-24 FT (95.8%), 54 Reb (4.2 rpg), 37 Assists (2.8 apg), 16 Steals (1.2 spg), 10 Blocks (0.8 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • SAC-leading John Brown enters its Thursday night contest against Southwestern Christian after coming off a nail-biting 52-51 win at Southwestern Assemblies of God last Saturday. The Lions made it a one-point game with a three-pointer with just over a minute left, but the Golden Eagles came up with two huge defensive stops in the final minute to secure the win.
  • While the Golden Eagles rank in the middle of the pack in the SAC in scoring offense (67.2 ppg), JBU is highly efficient in its possessions, ranking second in the league in field goal percentage (42.4) while leading the conference in both three-point percentage (36.5) and free throw percentage (78.5). John Brown also enters the weekend as the league's best scoring defense at 53.2 ppg.
  • John Brown is led offensively by graduate student forward Tarrah Stephens, who is one of the best Golden Eagles players in program history. The NAIA 2^nd Team All-American last season is quickly approaching 2000 career points (1896 entering Thursday night's game). This year, Stephens is averaging 16.4 ppg on a 48.4 percent shooting clip and is getting some strong backcourt support from senior guard Natalie Smith and junior guard Emily Sanders, who are averaging 13.6 and 13.1 ppg respectively.
  • Saturday's contest will feature a contrast of styles as MACU's fastbreak style offense will clash with JBU's methodical offensive set pieces. While John Brown leads the all-time series, the Evangels have fared well against the Golden Eagles recently by winning seven of the last eight meetings. The last time the two teams met inside the Gaulke Activity Center, MACU came away with a 71-60 victory while Jaci Calavan scored a game-high 18 points while going 6-of-12 from behind the arc.