OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU women's basketball team will open the second half of Sooner Athletic Conference play with a four-game home stand inside the friendly confines of the Gaulke Activity Center as the Evangels will host Wayland Baptist for Black Out Night at 6 p.m. on Thursday night before taking on Oklahoma Panhandle State at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 11-6 (5-6 SAC)
• Last Game: Won at UNT Dallas – 70-52 – Jan. 20, 2024 – Dallas
• Stat Leaders:
  • Points: Shy Christopher (306, 18.0 ppg), Jaci Calavan (292, 17.2 ppg), Kylee Scheer (215, 12.6 ppg)
  • Field Goal Percentage (%, M-A): Ashley Hopper (50.0, 38-76), Shy Christopher (48.9, 115-235), Kylee Scheer (47.6, 78-164)
  • 3-Point Field Goal Percentage (%, M-A): Jaci Calavan (41.4, 36-87), Kylee Scheer (38.2, 29-76), Karley Miller (32.2, 19-59)
  • Free Throw Percentage (%, M-A): Jaci Calavan (91.9, 68-74), Shy Christopher (73.3, 66-90)
  • Rebounds: Kylee Scheer (120, 7.1 rpg), Sydney Savage (106, 6.2 rpg), Shy Christopher (102, 6.0 rpg)
  • Assists: Mia Smith (52, 3.1 apg), Kylee Scheer (45, 2.6 apg), Shy Christopher (36, 2.1 apg)
  • Steals: Kylee Scheer (35, 2.1 spg), Shy Christopher (23, 1.4 spg), Sydney Savage (21, 1.2 spg)
  • Blocks: Karley Miller (13, 0.8 bpg), Ashley Hopper (9, 0.5 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian broke out of its four-game skid in a big way at UNT Dallas last Saturday. After trailing 39-35 at the halftime break, the Evangels put together an incredible defensive performance in the second half, outscoring the Trailblazers 35-13 to pull away with a 70-52 victory.
  • After allowing the Trailblazers to shoot 13-for-28 (46.4 percent) from the field, including 4-of-13 (30.8 percent) from three in the first half while forcing just six turnovers, the MACU defense clamped down to hold UNTD to just 6-for-26 (23.1 percent) shooting, which included 0-of-7 (0 percent) from downtown. The Evangels also forced UNT Dallas into committing 13 second half turnovers on a full-court trap defense while also holding UNTD scoreless over a 9:18 stretch between the third and fourth quarter.
  • The recipe to the Evangels success at UNTD stemmed from their ability to get on the glass. In the win, MACU out-rebounded the Trailblazers by a 54-27 margin as the plus-27 rebounding margin, marking the second-largest boarding separation of the season for the Evangels since out-rebounding Dallas Christian 56-19 in the season-opener on Nov. 3.
  • After being held scoreless for the first time in her MACU career against John Brown on Jan. 13, junior guard Shy Christopher went off last week by nearly recording a pair of 20-10 double-doubles. The Jacksonville, Ark. native poured in 24 points and pulled down nine boards in an 86-73 home loss to Southwestern Assemblies of God on Jan. 18 before coming up with 23 points and tied a career-best 11 rebounds in the win at UNTD last Saturday.

SCOUTING REPORT
(RV) Wayland Baptist (Texas)

• Record: 15-3 (10-2 SAC)
• Last Game: Won vs. Langston (Okla.) – Jan. 20, 2024 – Plainview, Texas
• Series vs MACU (2008-): WBU leads 26-6
• Last Game vs MACU: WBU won 78-76 – Nov. 30, 2023 – Plainview, Texas
• Series Streak: WBU won 1
• Players to Watch:
  • Linda Brice – JR – G
    • 294 Points (16.3 ppg), 107-301 FG (35.5%), 23-114 3FG (20.2%), 57-95 FT (60.0%), 62 Reb (3.4 rpg), 40 Assists (2.2 apg), 36 Steals (2.0 spg)
  • Megan Nestor – SO – C
    • 243 Points (13.5 ppg), 86-156 FG (55.1%), 71-107 FT (66.4%), 194 Reb (10.8 rpg), 19 Assists (1.1 apg), 31 Steals (1.7 spg), 15 Blocks (0.8 bpg)
  • Taylor Houston – SO – F
    • 185 Points (10.3 ppg), 83-152 FG (54.6%), 19-44 FT (43.2%), 121 Reb (6.7 rpg), 24 Assists (1.3 apg), 26 Steals (1.4 spg), 10 Blocks (0.6 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • Since suffering a tough 96-60 loss at Science & Arts on Jan. 4, Wayland Baptist has been on a tear as the Flying Queens are winners of six-straight, including a pivotal 77-66 home win over Langston on Saturday.
  • WBU has been offensively one of the top teams in the Sooner Athletic Conference, averaging the second-most points (75.6 ppg). While the Flying Queens rank just sixth in the league in field goal percentage (39.9) and seventh in three-point percentage (27.6), Wayland Baptist has been opportunistic on the glass, ranking third in offensive rebounds (16.2 rpg).
  • Overall, the Flying Queens pose a balanced scoring lineup with four players averaging in double-figures, led by junior guard Linda Brice, who is averaging 16.3 ppg while being a stalwart defender at 2.0 spg. The Evangels will also need to find an answer for reigning SAC Player of the Week Megan Nestor in the low block. The sophomore center enters the contest averaging a double-double at 13.5 ppg and ranks second in the SAC in rebounds (10.8 rpg).
  • Mid-America Christian will be looking to get some revenge on Wayland Baptist after the Flying Queens handed the Evangels their first loss of the season on a buzzer-beating layup back on Nov. 30. In that contest, Brice scored the go-ahead layup as time expired for the 78-76 win, marking the second-straight year WBU beat MACU on a buzzer-beater inside the Hutcherson Center. However, the Evangels have fared well against Wayland inside the Gaulke Activity Center as MACU has won the last two over WBU at home, including a 96-68 result on Jan. 26, 2023.

SCOUTING REPORT
Oklahoma Panhandle State

• Record: 2-13 (2-10 SAC)
• Last Game: Won vs. Central Christian (Kan.) – 62-50 – Jan. 20, 2024 – Goodwell, Okla.
• Series vs MACU (2018-): MACU leads 10-1
• Last Game vs MACU: MACU won 77-46 – Dec. 2, 2023 – Goodwell, Okla.
• Series Streak: MACU won 10
• Players to Watch:
  • Jana Radovanovic – JR – F
    • 114 Points (7.6 ppg), 45-102 FG (44.1%), 24-46 FT (52.2%), 92 Reb (6.1 rpg), 18 Blocks (1.2 bpg)
  • Sierra Tate – SR – G
    • 111 Points (8.5 ppg), 36-116 FG (31.0%), 4-28 3FG (14.3%), 35-50 FT (70.0%), 50 Reb (4.4 rpg), 19 Assists (1.5 apg), 16 Steals (1.2 spg)
  • Mariah Williams – JR – G
    • 91 Points (6.1 ppg), 29-98 FG (29.6%), 6-24 3FG (25.0%), 27-36 FT (75.0%), 58 Reb (3.9 rpg), 22 Assists (1.5 apg), 17 Steals (1.1 spg)
• Team Notes:
  • Oklahoma Panhandle State is coming off just its second win of the season on Saturday as the Aggies rallied from 10 points down at the half by outscoring Central Christian 42-20 in the second half to pull out the 62-50 victory.
  • The Aggies have been quite challenged on the offensive end during the 2023-24 season as OPSU are averaging just 44.2 ppg, which ranks worst in the SAC and is the third-worst in the NAIA. As a team, the Aggies are shooting just 29.9 percent from the field as well as 23.2 percent from three-point range, which both also sit as the two lowest clips in the SAC while also committing a league-high 20.7 turnovers per game.
  • Offensively, no Aggie is averaging in double-figures scoring with five players averaging more than 6.0 ppg. Senior guard Sierra Tate has been the team's most effective scorer this season at 8.5 ppg while Jada Radovanovic is the team's leading scorer with 114 points (7.6 ppg) and rebounder (92, 6.1 rpg).
  • Ever since OPSU won the first ever meeting between the two programs on Jan. 11, 2018, Mid-America Christian has dominated the all-time series by winning 10-straight with all but one being decided by double-figures. When the two met earlier this season inside Anchor D Arena on Dec. 2, the Evangels jumped out to a dominant 45-15 halftime lead before cruising to a 77-46 victory. Ashley Hopper led four Evangels in double-figures with 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting to go with six rebounds.