OKLAHOMA CITY – On a night where both teams struggled on the offensive end, the MACU Women's Basketball team was able to get to the free throw line early and often as the Evangels opened Sooner Athletic Conference play with a 74-52 win over UNT Dallas to close out its five-game home stand on Thursday night inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
  
TOP PERFORMERS 

• Syncere Harrod – 19 Points, 5-9 FG, 9-12 FT, 6 Reb, 2 Blocks
• Kylee Scheer – 14 Points, 4-14 FG, 5-5 FT, 5 Reb, 3 Steals 
• Shy Christopher – 13 Points, 3-9, 7-8 FT, 7 Reb 

GAME SUMMARY 

• First Quarter 
  • It was a struggle for both teams to get things going offensively with Mid-America Christian (5-0) having a slight 4-3 edge nearly halfway through the quarter.  
  • With 4:22 remaining, the Evangels were able to kick it into another gear as a layup by Harley Harbour on the dime from Mia Smith to close the deficit to 6-5.  
  • Senior guard Kylee Scheer kept the MACU momentum going, after a coast-to-coast layup and finished the and-one, Scheer banged a corner three from the right wing on the ensuing possession to give MACU the 11-8 edge with just under three minutes to go.
  • The Evangels capitalized on some UNT Dallas (1-2) fouls, scoring their last seven points of the quarter from the free throw line to close out the period with the 18-10 advantage.  

• Second Quarter 
  • Syncere Harrod continued to make an impact off the bench connecting on a mid-range jumper off the feed from Mary Nyakundi with 7:49 to go give the Evangels their first double-digit lead of the night 23-12.
  • Mid-America Christian maintained its dominance at the line and inside the paint, outscoring the Trailblazers 17-4 in the last 5:53.
  • Shy Christopher was able to close out the quarter knocking down a pair of free throws with 34 seconds on the clock to give MACU a commanding 41-20 advantage heading into the half.  

• Third Quarter 
  • The Trailblazers launched a 6-0 run to start the third, cutting the Evangels' lead to 41-26 but MACU responded with guard Talayah Thomas hitting a trey-ball from the left elbow to kick off a 10-0 run closed out on a free throw from Alexis Borgstadt to bring MACU lead back up to 51-26 with 6:36 to go.
  • After trading baskets for the next few minutes, the Evangels put up eight-unanswered points that were closed out on a pair of Harrod throws with just over a minute left.
  • UNT Dallas scored five of the last seven over the final minute as Sanaa Murphy-Showers lay-in with five seconds left made it a 65-38 contest at the end of three.
• Fourth Quarter
  • Mid-America Christian converted on its first offensive possession of the final foray as Christopher finished a layup in the paint off the Borgstadt feed. However, scoring came at an extreme premium over the next five minutes as the only score was a Murphy-Showers jumper at the 7:20 mark before the Evangels finally found the bottom of the cup again on a Nyakundi midrange jumper at the 4:52 mark to set the score to 69-40.
  • The Trailblazers were able to spark some late life as Kaylyn Minor's lay-in closed out a 12-2 surge, however it was far too late with 1:31 remaining as the Evangels pulled away with a 74-52 victory, ending it on Harrod's and-one with 12 seconds left.

GAME NOTES 

• Even though Mid-America Christian shot a season-low 33.3 percent (21-for-63), it was able to be extremely effective at the free throw line, going 30-for-41 (73.2 percent) while limiting UNT Dallas to only nine attempts (4-of-9, 44.4 percent).  
• The 30 made free throws made by the Evangels was the sixth-most that the team has made in a single game during the NAIA Era (2007-present), needing only five more makes to tie the record set at Texas Wesleyan back on Jan. 27, 2022.
• Despite MACU's offensive struggles, the Evangels defense was able to impose its will on UNT Dallas, holding the Trailblazers to just 29.9 percent shooting (23-for-77).
• Both teams struggled mightily from the three-point as the Evangels were held to a season-low 12.5 percent (2-for-16) compared to the Trailblazers' 8.7 percent (2-for-23).  
• The struggles to get things in rhythm on offense for MACU was due in-large part to two near five-minute stretches where it scored five points or less with both stretches coming at the start of the first and fourth quarters.
• One bright spot to take away from the shooting woes was that MACU was able to put together one of its best rebounding games in of the season as the Evangels out-rebounded UNT Dallas 61-45. It marked the second time MACU eclipsed 60 rebounds in just eight days after pulling down 62 last Wednesday against Kansas Christian.
• Syncere Harrod led MACU's offensive efforts with a career-high 19 points, finishing 5-of-9 from the field while doing half her damage from the free throw line by going 9-for-12 with a solid floor game of six boards and two blocked shots. Harrod led a solid MACU bench effort that finished with 33 points in the contest.
• The Trailblazers managed to limit the dynamic duo of Shy Christopher and Kylee Scheer to a combined 7-for-23. However, both players managed to still reach double-figures due to their ability to score from the foul line as Christopher went 7-of-8 to finish with 13 points while Scheer went 5-for-5 to turn in 14 points on the night.
• Even though Alexis Borgstadt was unable to get things going on the offensive end, she managed to lead MACU on the glass with a career-high nine rebounds while Christopher, Harley Harbour and Hailey Tunnell all finished with seven apiece.
• Mia Smith and Talayah Thomas led MACU's distribution efforts with three assists apiece
• With the victory, MACU improved to 7-0 all-time against UNT Dallas since the Trailblazers became a SAC program in 2021.  
• By moving to 5-0 on the season, the Evangels have now won their first five games in four consecutive years.

UP NEXT 

• Mid-America Christian will hit the road for the first time this season on Saturday as the Evangels head to Waxahachie, Texas to take on Nelson for a 2 p.m. tip-off inside the Sheaffer Center.