OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 17 MACU women's basketball team will close out a three-game home stand to usher in the new year as the Evangels host Langston for 6 p.m. tip-off inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Thursday night in a crucial Sooner Athletic Conference battle before taking on Central Christian at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
 
MACU SEASON REPORT

• Record: 9-1 (3-1 SAC)
• Last Game: Won vs. (RV) Science & Arts (Okla.) – 90-75 – Dec. 11, 2023 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Stat Leaders:
  • Points: Jaci Calavan (205, 20.5 ppg), Shy Christopher (196, 19.6 ppg), Kylee Scheer (164, 16.4 ppg)
  • FG% (%, M-A): Ashley Hopper (55.1, 27-49), Kylee Scheer (52.2, 60-115), Shy Christopher (51.0, 76-149)
  • 3FG% (%, M-A): Kylee Scheer (46.9, 23-49), Jaci Calavan (41.9, 26-62)
  • FT% (%, M-A): Jaci Calavan (100, 43-43), Kayla Highfill (100, 10-10), Kylee Scheer (87.5, 21-24)
  • Rebounds: Kylee Scheer (81, 8.1 rpg), Jaci Calavan (70, 7.0 rpg), Shy Christopher (62, 6.2 rpg)
  • Assists: Mia Smith (38, 3.8 apg), Kylee Scheer (27, 2.7 apg), Jaci Calavan (24, 2.4 apg)
  • Steals: Kylee Scheer (30, 3.0 spg), Shy Christopher (17, 1.7 spg), Jaci Calavan (16, 1.6 spg)
  • Blocks: Sydney Savage (6, 0.6 bpg), Ashley Hopper (6, 0.6 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian closed out the 2023 portion of its schedule on a strong note as the Evangels outscored Science & Arts 46-33 in the second half to run away with a 90-75 victory inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Dec. 11.
  • In that win against the Drovers, senior guard Jaci Calavan earned SAC Player of the Week and NCCAA Student-Athlete of the Week honors after recording a season-high 30 points on 10-of-20 shooting, going 3-for-8 from three and 7-of-7 from the foul stripe to go with six rebounds and four assists.
  • The victory proved to be a crucial one as it handed the Drovers their first conference loss and kept the Evangels to within a five-team log jam for the SAC lead along with John Brown (5-0), Langston (4-1), Wayland Baptist (4-1) and USAO (4-1).
  • The Evangels ended the year as the league's top scoring team at 91.5 points per game, which also ranks third in all of the NAIA. A big part of that stems from MACU's highly prolific free throw shooting, which ranks as the fifth-best clip in the NAIA at 78.5 percent as a team. MACU is also one of the nation's most prolific three-point shooting teams, converting the 11^th-most attempts at 37.3 percent.

SCOUTING REPORT
Langston (Okla.)

• Record: 9-2 (4-1 SAC)
• Last Game: Won vs. Central Christian (Kan.) – 111-31 – Dec. 14, 2023 – Langston, Okla.
• Series vs MACU (2015-): MACU leads 9-3
• Last Game vs MACU: LU won 59-58 – Feb. 23, 2023 – Gaulke Activity Center (SAC Quarterfinal)
• Series Streak: LU won 1
• Players to Watch:
  • Hailey Jordan – SR – F
    • 174 Points (15.8 ppg), 75-141 FG (53.2%), 22-37 FT (59.5%), 72 Reb (6.5 rpg), 19 Assists (1.7 apg)
  • Kamesha Moore – JR – G
    • 145 Points (13.2 ppg), 59-126 (46.8%), 23-31 FT (74.2%), 66 Reb (6.0 rpg), 34 Assists (3.1 apg), 35 Steals (3.2 spg)
  • Kameron Shelley – SR – G
    • 124 Points (11.3 ppg), 54-134 FG (40.3%), 14-46 3FG (30.4%), 33 Reb (3.0 rpg), 21 Steals (1.9 spg)
• Team Notes:
  • Since suffering a 65-62 loss at current SAC leader John Brown on Dec. 2, Langston enters Thursday night's contest on a three-game winning streak, including putting together a dominant 111-31 victory over Central Christian inside C.F. Gayles Arena on Dec. 14 in its final game of 2023.
  • Langston ranks as one of the best offensive and defensive teams in the SAC, ranking second in the league in scoring (77.1 ppg), while also ranking second in scoring defense (58.5 ppg).
  • The Lady Lions are led by senior forward Hailey Jordan inside the point, averaging 15.8 ppg while shooting 53.2 percent from the field while Kamesha Moore has been a major catalyst for LU both offensively and defensively, scoring 13.2 ppg and leading the team in assists (34) while also leading the team in steals (35).
  • Mid-America Christian will be looking to avenge a loss to Langston in last year's Sooner Athletic Conference Quarterfinals as the Evangels fell 59-58 to the Lady Lions inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Feb. 23, 2023. However, MACU has fared well against Langston since first facing LU on Nov. 19, 2015, holding a 9-3 lead in the all-time series.

Central Christian (Kan.)

• Record: 4-7 (0-5 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost at Langston (Okla.) – 111-31 – Dec. 14, 2023 – Langston, Okla.
• Series vs MACU (2003-): MACU leads 20-2
• Last Game vs MACU: MACU won 110-56 – Jan. 21, 2023 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Series Streak: MACU won 18
• Players to Watch:
  • Briasia Garza – SR – G
    • 135 Points (15.0 ppg), 55-114 FG (48.2%), 12-28 3FG (42.9%), 13-24 FT (54.2%), 39 Reb (4.3 rpg), 22 Assists (2.4 apg), 23 Steals (2.6 spg)
  • Hallee Winsea – SO – G
    • 105 Points (10.5 ppg), 39-98 FG (39.8%), 24-69 3FG (34.8%), 58 Reb (5.8 rpg), 18 Assists (1.8 apg)
  • Kylee Jones – SO – G
    • 103 Points (9.4 ppg), 32-108 FG (29.6%), 33-45 FT (73.3%), 72 Reb (6.5 rpg), 16 Assists (1.5 apg)
• Team Notes:
  • After getting off to a 3-2 start to the season, Central Christian has struggled in SAC play, going 0-5 in its league games with the only win coming in a 72-35 win in a non-conference matchup against Barclay on Dec. 7.
  • The Tigers have struggled on the offensive end, entering their Thursday night game at Southwestern Christian as the SAC's second-worst scoring offense (51.5 ppg), shooting the second-worst field goal percentage (34.1). A big reason for CCCK's offensive challenges has come from issues with ball security as the Tigers are committing a league-most 27.0 turnovers per contest, the third-most of any team in the NAIA.
  • Despite CCCK's offensive woes, the Tigers have gotten strong play from senior guard Braisia Garza, who is averaging 15.0 ppg on a 48.2 percent shooting clip, including going 42.9 percent from three.
  • Mid-America Christian has fared well against the Tigers since 2006, winning 18 straight games with the Evangels cruising to a 110-56 victory inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Jan. 21, 2023. In that win, Alexis Borgstadt led six Evangels in double-figures with 18 points.