OKLAHOMA CITY – No. 18 MACU Women's Basketball will return to the court after a 16-day hiatus following the Thanksgiving break as the Evangels host Southwestern Christian inside the Gaulke Activity Center for a 6 p.m. tip-off on Thursday night. The Evangels will close out the weekend by heading up to Abe Lemons Arena on Saturday to take on Oklahoma City for a 2 p.m. tip before heading into the Christmas break.

On Thursday night, Mid-America Christian will be holding a special Teddy Bear Toss Night. Collaborating with Shartel Church of God, the toss will take place prior to the start of the men's game and all teddy bears will be donated to the OU Children's Hospital. Fans that bring their teddy bear to toss during the women's game will get free Buffalo Wild Wings and MACU will be holding special games and giveaways throughout the night. There will be a prize for the fan with the ugliest Christmas sweater as well as a $250 Evangel Corner gift card giveaway to the winner of half-court shot contests during both the women's and men's games.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 9-1 (5-1 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost at (RV) Langston – 82-76 – Nov. 26, 2024 – Langston, Okla.
• Stat Leaders:
  • Points: Shy Christopher (197, 19.7 ppg), Kylee Scheer (122, 13.6 ppg)
  • FG Percentage (Min. 3 FGM/G): Harley Harbour (47.3, 35-74), Syncere Harrod (45.8, 33-72)
  • 3FG Percentage (Min. 1 3FGM/G): Talayah Thomas (46.9, 15-32), Kylee Scheer (32.7, 18-55)
  • FT Percentage (Min. 2 FTM/G): Shy Christopher (82.1, 46-56), Syncere Harrod (81.1, 30-37)
  • Rebounds: Harley Harbour (94, 9.4 rpg), Shy Christopher (56, 5.6 rpg)
  • Assists: Kylee Scheer (29, 3.2 apg), Talayah Thomas (26, 2.6 apg)
  • Steals: Kylee Scheer (22, 2.4 spg), Harley Harbour (12, 1.2 spg)
  • Blocks: Harley Harbour (5, 0.5 bpg), Two Tied (4)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian will be seeking to bounce back from its first loss of the season on Nov. 26 as the Evangels suffered an 82-76 defeat at current Sooner Athletic Conference co-leader Langston inside C.F. Gayles Fieldhouse.
  • In the loss, MACU went through a massive second half cold spell by being held to just two points over an eight-minute stretch as Langston went on an 18-2 run during the stretch to go from trailing 54-51 to up 69-56 with 7:23 remaining.
  • With under five minutes to go in the contest, the Evangels battled back by stringing together a 9-2 surge to close it back to a 73-69 game on Kylee Scheer's steal at midcourt and uncontested fastbreak layup with 1:16 to go. However, the Lady Lions put the game away from the free throw line by going 7-of-8 from the stripe down the stretch to seal the 82-76 result.
  • Entering the contest as one of the best rebounding teams in the NAIA, the contest was an uncharacteristic one for MACU as the Evangels were out-rebounded 40-31 on the glass, marking the first time all season they have been beaten on the glass. However, one fact that did not help was Harley Harbour, the team's leading rebounder, fouling out of the contest with 8:26 remaining in the game.

SCOUTING REPORT
Southwestern Christian

• Record: 5-6 (4-4 SAC)
• Last Game: Won vs. Oklahoma Panhandle State – 63-40 – Dec. 7, 2024 – Bethany, Okla.
• Series vs MACU (2004-): MACU leads 29-9
• Last Game vs MACU: MACU won 72-58 – Jan. 29, 2024 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Series Streak: MACU won 1
• Players to Watch:
  • Chrissen Harland – JR – G
    • 144 Points (13.1 ppg), 49-124 FG (39.5%), 18-50 3FG (36.0%), 28-38 FT (73.7%), 36 Reb (3.3 rpg), 11 Assists (1.0 apg)
  • Kennedy Allison – SR – C
    • 121 Points (11.0 ppg), 47-127 FG (37.0%), 24-43 FT (55.8%), 59 Reb (5.4 rpg), 17 Assists (1.5 apg), 10 Blocks (0.9 bpg)
  • Delaney Reimer – GR – G
    • 115 Points (10.5 ppg), 37-112 FG (33.0%), 14-62 3FG (22.6%), 27-32 FT (84.4%), 66 Reb (6.0 rpg), 20 Assists (1.8 apg), 21 Steals (1.9 spg)
• Team Notes:
  • Southwestern Christian got off to a tough start to its season, losing six of its first eight games before turning a major corner over the last few weeks. Last Thursday, the Eagles picked up one of the most stunning upsets in Sooner Athletic Play thus far by upending No. 10 Wayland Baptist 86-76 inside Pickens-Springer Gym before closing out the weekend home slate with a dominant 63-40 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State on Saturday.
  • SCU ranks in the middle of the pack in the SAC both offensively and defensively as the Eagles are posting the seventh-best scoring offense (64.4 ppg). However, they have been one of the better teams in the conference in getting to the free throw line as SCU has attempted the most free throws (256) while converting on the third-most (173). On the defensive end, Southwestern Christian ranks eighth in scoring defense (64.6) on the sixth-best field goal percentage defense (37.9).
  • Much like MACU, the Eagles have seen some massive production from a former Northwestern Oklahoma State student-athlete as junior guard Chrissen Harland has been the team's top scorer this season at 13.1 ppg on a 39.5 percent shooting clip while effectively making 36 percent of her three-point attempts. Senior center Kennedy Allison and graduate student guards Delaney Reimer have been two strong returners for the Eagles this season as well with both players averaging 11.0 and 10.5 ppg respectively.
  • Since picking up an 84-58 win over Southwestern Christian in the SAC Tournament on Mar. 3, 2016 in Waxahachie, Texas, Mid-America Christian has fared well against the Eagles in the all-time series. MACU has won 15 of the last 18 meetings as the two teams split their home contests last year as SCU got the 77-67 win inside Pickens-Springer Gymnasium on Jan. 8 before the Evangels avenged the defeat with a 72-58 win inside the Gaulke on Jan. 29. In that win, Shy Christopher put together one of the most remarkable games of her MACU career, scoring a career-high 35 points on 14-of-21 shooting to go with seven boards and five assists.

Oklahoma City

• Record: 5-7 (5-3 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost vs. No. 10 Wayland Baptist (Texas) – 77-52 – Dec. 7, 2024 – Oklahoma City
• Series vs MACU (2007-): OCU leads 33-4
• Last Game vs MACU: MACU won 82-55 – Feb. 22, 2024 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Series Streak: MACU won 1
• Players to Watch:
  • Amaya Gordon – GR – G
    • 198 Points (16.5 ppg), 82-176 FG (46.6%), 33-44 FT (66.7%), 78 Reb (6.5 rpg), 28 Assists (2.3 apg), 24 Steals (2.0 spg), 15 Blocks (1.3 bpg)
  • Jerney Bennett – FR – F
    • 140 Points (11.7 ppg), 55-97 FG (56.7%), 30-55 FT (54.5%), 99 Reb (8.3 rpg), 47 Blocks (3.9 bpg), 19 Steals (1.6 spg)
  • Cacie Gorman – GR – C
    • 71 Points (5.9 ppg), 26-65 FG (40.0%), 19-26 FT (73.1%), 62 Reb (5.2 rpg), 15 Blocks (1.3 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • Oklahoma City put together a tale of two different performances last week inside Abe Lemons Arena. After running away with a downright dominant 82-28 victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State on Dec. 5, the Stars struggled against SAC leader No. 10 Wayland Baptist as the Flying Queens came away with the 77-52 win.
  • Even though the Stars rank in the middle of the pack in the SAC offensively, ranking eighth in scoring at 62.5 ppg on a 41.4 percent shooting clip, OCU has been stellar defensively, ranking third in the league in scoring average (58.8) while holding opponents to the second-lowest field goal percentage defense (34.1). A big reason for OCU's stout D has been due in-large part to its elite shot blocking as the Stars rank second in all of the NAIA in blocked shots at 6.9 per game.
  • OCU is led on the court by one of the best all-around players in the conference in graduate student guard Amaya Gordon, who enters the weekend averaging 16.5 ppg on a strong 46.6 percent shooting clip while averaging 6.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. Freshman forward Jerney Bennett has also been an incredible presence in the paint for the Stars as not only is she averaging 11.7 ppg on a stellar 56.7 percent shooting clip, but she is one of the elite defenders in the country with 47 blocked shots (3.9 bpg) while also averaging 8.3 boards per contest.

Mid-America Christian snapped its three-game losing streak to Oklahoma City in a big way the last time the two teams met inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Feb. 22. In that win, the Evangels came away with an 82-55 victory while the trio of Shy Christopher, Jaci Calavan and Kylee Scheer combined for 48 points in the outing while Christopher notched a double-double with 17 points, 10 boards and four steals.