OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU women's basketball team is ready for a crucial penultimate week of Sooner Athletic Conference play as the Evangels will head down to Waxahachie, Texas on Thursday for a 6 p.m. tip-off against Southwestern Assemblies of God inside the Scheaffer Center before returning home to the Gaulke Activity Center for their Senior Day game against UNT Dallas at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

After the game, MACU will be holding a Senior Day ceremony for Jaci Calavan, Karlee Miller and Hallie Reed as well as La'Deria Lorne from the varsity reserve team.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 18-6 (12-6 SAC)
• Last Game: Won at Central Christian – 98-39 – Feb. 10, 2024 – McPherson, Kan.
• Stat Leaders:
  • Points: Shy Christopher (452, 18.8 ppg), Jaci Calavan (406, 16.9 ppg), Kylee Scheer (264, 11.0 ppg)
  • Field Goal Percentage (%, M-A): Ashley Hopper (53.0, 53-100), Shy Christopher (49.1, 170-346), Kylee Scheer (44.5, 93-209)
  • 3-Point Field Goal Percentage (%, M-A): Jaci Calavan (40.2, 53-132), Kylee Scheer (39.1, 43-110), Karley Miller (32.4, 24-74)
  • Free Throw Percentage (%, M-A): Jaci Calavan (92.7, 101-109), Kylee Scheer (81.4, 35-43), Mia Smith (77.5, 31-40)
  • Rebounds: Kylee Scheer (151, 6.3 rpg), Jaci Calavan (148, 6.2 rpg), Shy Christopher (135, 5.6 rpg)
  • Assists: Mia Smith (68, 2.8 apg), Shy Christopher (63, 2.6 apg), Kylee Scheer (59, 2.5 apg)
  • Steals: Kylee Scheer (40, 1.7 spg), Shy Christopher (32, 1.3 spg), Jaci Calavan (26, 1.1 spg)
  • Blocks: Karley Miller (14, 0.6 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian is coming off one of its best three-point shooting performances in a 98-39 victory at Central Christian on Saturday. In that win, the Evangels made a season-high 17 threes while going 17-for-39 (43.6 percent) from three-point range. The 17 bombs marked the fourth-most MACU had made in a single game during the NAIA Era (2007-present), matching the marks set against Oklahoma City on Mar. 4, 2016 as well as also against the Tigers on Feb. 1, 2018.
  • Jaci Calavan also made her mark in the MACU record books after scoring 31 points to lead the Evangels' scoring efforts. By going 8-for-14 from three-point range, the Stillwater, Oklahoma product tied Ashlee Ferguson and Mykayla Flores for the second-most three-pointers made by a MACU player in the NAIA Era.
  • After putting together that three-point shooting barrage against the Tigers, not only do the Evangels lead the Sooner Athletic Conference in three-point shooting percentage as a team (35.1), but they also sit in 17^th in the entire NAIA.
  • The last two weeks of Sooner Athletic Conference play are crucial for the Evangels as MACU currently sits in a tie for fourth with Science & Arts in the league standings, a game ahead of SAGU (11-7) in sixth with four games left in the conference slate. The top four teams in the SAC standings at the end of the regular season will host a conference tournament quarterfinal game and the Evangels do hold the tiebreaker over USAO for the No. 4 spot.

SCOUTING REPORT
Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas)

• Record: 14-9 (11-7 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost at No. 16 John Brown – 58-47 – Feb. 10, 2024 – Siloam Springs, Ark.
• Series vs MACU (2005-): MACU leads 18-10
• Last Game vs MACU: SAGU won 86-73 – Jan. 18, 2024 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Series Streak: SAGU won 1
• Players to Watch:
  • Agar Garcia – JR – F
    • 251 Points (10.9 ppg), 100-191 FG (52.4%), 40-80 FT (50.0%), 293 Reb (12.7 rpg), 68 Assists (3.0 apg), 46 Steals (2.0 spg), 23 Blocks (1.0 bpg)
  • Rylee Lavender – SR – G
    • 246 Points (10.7 ppg), 82-232 FG (35.3%), 48-153 3FG (31.4%), 34-47 FT (72.3%), 57 Reb (2.5 rpg), 44 Assists (1.9 apg)
  • Neeley Tilley-Bedick – JR – G
    • 235 Points (10.2 ppg), 88-206 FG (42.7%), 39-115 3FG (33.9%), 67 Reb (2.9 rpg), 40 Assists (1.7 apg), 23 Steals (1.0 spg)
• Team Notes:
  • Facing the best defensive team in the conference on the road last Saturday, Southwestern Assemblies of God battled No. 16 John Brown in a low-scoring battle. With the game tied 25-25 heading into the halftime break. However, the Golden Eagles managed to pull away over the course of the second half as the Lions ultimately fell 58-47.
  • Overall, the Lions rank as one of the best offensive and defensive teams in the conference. SAGU comes into the week ranking third in the SAC in scoring defense (58.7 ppg), which includes the second-best field goal percentage (35.0) as well as the best three-point percentage (24.6) defense. On the offensive end, the Lions are averaging the fifth-most points per game (69.9).
  • Southwestern Assemblies features an incredibly balanced offensive lineup with six different players averaging at least 7.0 ppg, headlined by junior forward Agar Garcia. Not only does Garcia lead the team in scoring at 10.9 ppg on the league's fourth-best field goal percentage (52.4), but she is also the conference's leading rebounder at 12.4 boards per game.
  • Mid-America Christian will be looking to get some revenge on SAGU after the Lions won their previous meeting 86-73 inside the Gaulke Activity Center back on Jan. 18. The defeat came at the tail end of a four-game losing streak for MACU, who has since responded by going on an eight-game win streak.

UNT Dallas

• Record: 4-14 (4-14 SAC)
• Last Game: Won at Oklahoma City – 59-56 – Feb. 10, 2024 – Oklahoma City
• Series vs MACU (2021-): MACU leads 5-0
• Last Game vs MACU: MACU won 70-52 – Jan. 20, 2024 – Dallas
• Series Streak: MACU won 5
• Players to Watch:
  • ZyUnn Cormier – SR – G
    • 260 Points (15.3 ppg), 89-283 FG (31.4%), 30-97 3FG (30.9%), 52-62 FT (83.9%), 87 Reb (5.1 rpg), 20 Assists (1.2 apg), 22 Steals (1.3 spg)
  • Kayla James – JR – G
    • 170 Points (9.4 ppg), 59-176 FG (33.5%), 41-50 FT (82.0%), 58 Reb (3.2 rpg), 79 Assists (4.4 apg), 34 Steals (1.9 spg)
  • Mya Bills – JR – G
    • 100 Points (5.6 ppg), 35-111 FG (31.5%), 20-65 3FG (30.8%), 27 Reb (1.5 rpg)
• Team Notes:
  • UNT Dallas is coming off its second win in the last four games on Saturday after the Trailblazers rallied from eight points down at the end of the third quarter to pull out a 59-56 win at Oklahoma City inside Abe Lemons Arena.
  • The Trailblazers have been offensively challenged during the 2023-24 season as UNTD ranks 10^th in the SAC in scoring offense (55.1 ppg) on the third-lowest field goal percentage (34.1) and third-lowest three-point percentage (24.1) while also posting the league's worst free throw percentage (60.1). UNT Dallas also ranks third-to-last in the SAC in scoring defense, allowing 69.8 ppg.
  • Overall, only three players on the team have eclipsed 100 or more points scored on the season, led by ZyUnn Cormier. The senior guard is averaging 15.3 ppg, but has also struggled from the field, shooting 31.4 percent with a 30.9 three-point percentage, but does shoot an efficient 83.9 percent from the charity stripe.
  • Mid-America Christian started off its eight-game win streak against the Trailblazers back on Jan. 20 inside the Trinity Basin Preparatory Complex. After trailing 39-35 at the halftime break, the Evangels put together an incredible defensive second half, outscoring UNTD 35-13 to come away with the 70-52 victory. Shy Christopher paced the Evangels with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting to go with 11 boards for a double-double while Jaci Calavan pitched in 17 points on 6-for-14 and 3-of-7 from three.