Mid-America Christian University

OKLAHOMA CITY – No. 18 MACU Women's Basketball put together a balanced scoring effort with five scoring in double-figures the Evangels cruised to an 82-63 victory over Southwestern Christian in its last home game of 2024 inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Thursday night.
 
TOP PERFORMERS

• Mary Nyakundi – 22 Points, 9-14 FG, 2-6 3FG, 2-3 FT, 4 Reb, 2 Assists
• Harley Harbour – 16 Points, 5-10 FG, 6-7 FT, 17 Reb, 2 Steals
• Kylee Scheer – 13 Points, 3-10 FG, 6-7 FT, 8 Reb, 5 Steals, 4 Steals
• Shy Christopher – 13 Points, 3-9 FG, 7-8 FT, 5 Reb, 2 Assists
• Hailey Tunnell – 12 Points, 4-7 FG, 2-5 3FG, 2-2 FT,

GAME SUMMARY

• First Quarter
  • Both teams struggled on the offensive end in the early going, but four Kylee Scheer free throws through the first three minutes to go with a pair of Mary Nyakundi layups gave MACU an 8-3 advantage with 6:59 left.
  • A Jadyn Mason lay-in at the 6:38 mark finally snapped SCU's cold spell, but Scheer picked the Eagles pocket for a fastbreak bucket with five minutes left to start another five-point run to stretch the lead to 13-5 with 3:44 to go.
  • Southwestern Christian managed to cut it to a five-point game with just over three minutes left, but the Evangels dominated down the stretch with eight-unanswered as Nyakundi's left-wing three just before the buzzer gave MACU the 21-8 advantage.
• Second Quarter
  • The Evangels scored six of the first seven, grabbing their largest lead of the contest at 27-9 with 8:42 on Nyakundi's left-elbow curl midrange jumper. However, the Eagles started to stem the tide following a Chrissen Harland three from the right wing before Jenna Wade converted a three-point play with 6:52 remaining to cut it to 29-15.
  • After both teams traded a pair of buckets, Mid-America Christian surged back on Scheer's three-point play as MACU's 7-2 streak stretched the lead back to 41-21 on Shy Christopher's floating jumper with 1:18 to go.
  • Southwestern Christian closed out the quarter by scoring the final five points as a Delaney Reimer three and a Kennedy Allison lay-up closed it to 41-26 heading into the break.
• Third Quarter
  • The Eagles scored the first bucket to open the half, but the Evangels swung back with a dominant 14-5 run over the next three-and-a-half minutes as Harley Harbour got the hoop and the harm with 6:04 remaining to stretch the advantage to 55-33.
  • With both teams being relatively quiet offensively over the next few minutes, SCU was able to get into a slightly better rhythm by scoring five of the next seven points since at the four-and-a-half minute mark as Harland's layup in the paint at the 1:35 mark brought it back to under 20 at 60-41.
  • A Nyakundi left-corner three and a pair of Harbour foul shots briefly stretched the advantage back to 24, but SCU scored five quick points as Brooke Roberson banked in a running deep heave at the buzzer to knock it back to 65-46.
• Fourth Quarter
  • MACU was quick to extend its lead back to 24 by scoring eight of the first 11 with Christopher's free throw at the 8:04 mark making it 73-49, but the Evangels went cold over the next three minutes as an 11-2 Eagles streak trimmed it to a 75-60 game with 4:55 left.
  • A Hailey Tunnell lay-up off a Kylee Scheer dime with three-and-a-half left sparked MACU to score seven of the final 10 points with Christopher's foul shots with 1:06 remaining sealing the 82-63 final.

GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian out-shot Southwestern Christian on the night by going 27-for-65 (41.5 percent) from the field while the Eagles knocked down 23-of-64 (35.9 percent) from the floor.
• While SCU was the more effective team from three, going 9-of-26 (34.3 percent) to just 5-for-22 (22.7 percent) for MACU, the Evangels ability to attack the paint and get to the line was a major difference maker. MACU ended the contest by shooting 23-for-29 (79.3 percent) while SCU converted only 8-of-15 (53.3 percent) from the stripe.
• The Evangels controlled the glass by out-rebounding SCU 51-35 with a 16-10 edge on the offensive glass. The turnover battle was relatively even between the two squads as the Eagles finished with one more turnover at 13 to 12.
• Graduate student guard Mary Nyakundi put together her best career performance since becoming a member of the Evangels with 22 points on 9-for-14 from the field, including 2-of-6 from three to go with four boards and a pair of assists.
• Harley Harbour continued to be a double-doubles machine for MACU as she closed out the contest with 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting, going 6-for-7 from the line while tying a career-high 17 rebounds to go with a pair of steals.
• Despite a cold shooting night from the senior guard, Kylee Scheer put together a stellar floor game, finishing with 13 points on 3-of-10 shooting while knocking down 6-for-7 from the line to go with eight rebounds, five steals and four assists.
• Shy Christopher also had a tough night from the field with 13 points on 3-for-9, but went 7-of-8 from the foul stripe to go with five boards and a pair of dimes.
• Hailey Tunnell provided a spark off the MACU bench with 12 points on 4-for-7 from the field, including 2-of-5 from range and knocked down both foul shots to go along with four rebounds and three assists.
• By getting the victory, Mid-America Christian improved to 30-9 all-time against Southwestern Christian, including winning 16 of the last 19 dating back to a 84-58 win over the Eagles in Waxahachie, Texas on Mar. 3, 2016.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will close out the 2024 portion of its schedule on Saturday as the Evangels head to Abe Lemons Arena for a 2 p.m. tip-off against Oklahoma City.