OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU women's basketball team is ready to tip-off Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament play on Thursday night as the fourth-seeded Evangels will take on No. 5 seed Science & Arts in the quarterfinal round at 6 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 7-3 (3-1 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost at No. 13 John Brown – 77-70 – Feb. 24, 2024 – Siloam Springs, Ark.
• Stat Leaders:
  • Points: Shy Christopher (527, 18.8 ppg), Jaci Calavan (479, 17.1 ppg), Kylee Scheer (306, 10.9 ppg)
  • Field Goal Percentage (%, M-A): Ashley Hopper (51.8, 58-112), Shy Christopher (49.4, 198-401), Kylee Scheer (44.3, 108-244)
  • 3-Point Field Goal Percentage (%, M-A): Jaci Calavan (39.6, 67-169), Kylee Scheer (37.0, 47-127), Karley Miller (32.6, 29-89)
  • Rebounds: Kylee Scheer (171, 6.1 rpg), Jaci Calavan (164, 5.9 rpg), Shy Christopher (161, 5.8 rpg)
  • Assists: Mia Smith (87, 3.1 apg), Shy Christopher (71, 2.5 apg), Kylee Scheer (67, 2.4 apg)
  • Steals: Kylee Scheer (46, 1.6 spg), Shy Christopher (37, 1.3 spg), Sydney Savage (29, 1.0 spg)
  • Blocks: Sydney Savage (16, 0.6 bpg), Karley Miller (15, 0.6 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • Despite seeing its 11-game win streak come to an end, Mid-America Christian put together a strong performance at No. 13 John Brown in a 77-70 defeat in its final regular season game on Feb. 24. The Evangels led for a good portion of the contest before the Golden Eagles caught fire in the second half in their Senior Day game.
  • Entering postseason play, the Evangels have gotten remarkable play from junior guard Shy Christopher and senior guard Jaci Calavan, who are setting several NAIA Era (2007-present) top 10 season marks. Currently, Christopher ranks seventh in points (527), fourth in scoring average (18.8 ppg), sixth in made field goals (198), fifth in field goal percentage (49.4) and needs just one more made free throw to break into the top 10 (113).
  • When it comes to Calavan's season marks, she needs only 11 more points to crack into the NAIA Era season top 10 in scoring (479), currently sits 10^th in scoring average (17.1 ppg), seventh in made three-pointers (67), eighth in three-point percentage (39.6) and currently boasts the highest free throw percentage (92.3).
  • With the Evangels locking up a top four spot in the SAC standings, the Evangels will be hosting a SAC Quarterfinal game for the fifth-straight season and own a 2-2 mark in their quarterfinal games hosted inside the Gaulke Activity Center.

SCOUTING REPORT
Science & Arts (Okla.)

• Record: 19-9 (15-7 SAC)
• Last Game: Won vs. (RV) Langston (Okla.) – 83-73 – Feb. 24, 2024 – Chickasha, Okla.
• Series vs MACU (2003-): MACU leads 23-17
• Last Game vs MACU: MACU won 79-78 – Feb. 3, 2024 – Chickasha, Okla.
• Series Streak: MACU won 3
• Players to Watch:
  • Lainey Morrow – SR – F
    • 466 Points (16.6 ppg), 171-319 FG (53.6%), 123-156 FT (78.8%), 258 Reb (9.2 rpg), 49 Assists (1.8 apg), 35 Steals (1.3 spg), 24 Blocks (0.9 bpg)
  • Diaka Berete – JR – G
    • 387 Points (13.8 ppg), 145-355 FG (40.8%), 49-147 3FG (33.3%), 48-71 FT (67.6%), 164 Reb (5.9 rpg), 71 Assists (2.5 apg), 39 Steals (1.4 spg)
  • Crystal Ortiz – JR – F
    • 267 Points (9.9 ppg), 105-248 FG (42.3%), 27-96 3FG (28.1%), 30-40 FT (75.0%), 165 Reb (6.1 rpg), 40 Assists (1.5 apg), 28 Steals (1.0 spg), 27 Blocks (1.0 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • Science & Arts enters SAC Tournament play with a bit of momentum as the Drovers have won three-straight, notching a pair of blowout wins over Oklahoma City and Central Christian before pulling out an 83-73 victory over Langston in their regular season finale on Senior Day inside the USAO Fieldhouse on Feb. 24.
  • Thursday night's matchup will feature the top two scoring teams in the SAC as the Drovers come in ranked as the No. 2 scoring offense (77.0 ppg) while posting the league's second-best shooting percentage (41.7), fourth-best three-point percentage (31.1) and fourth-best free throw percentage (73.3). USAO is also a highly efficient offense, committing the third-fewest turnovers per game (13.0) and own the second-best assist/turnover ratio (1.22).
  • While USAO does have some strong offensive balance with six players averaging at least 7.0 ppg, a bulk of the Drovers offense runs through the tandem of senior forward Lainey Morrow and junior guard Diaka Berete. Morrow comes into the contest averaging nearly a double-double, scoring 16.6 ppg on a blazing 53.6 shooting percentage while averaging 9.2 rebounds per contest. Berete is scoring 13.8 ppg and is a major threat in the mid-range to three-point game while also tallying 2.5 assists per game.
  • In their regular season meetings, Mid-America Christian ended up sweeping the series against Science & Arts. The Evangels defeated the Drovers 90-75 inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Dec. 11 in a duel that saw the tandem of Jaci Calavan and Shy Christopher combine for 54 points on 20-of-40 shooting. In their meeting in Chickasha on Feb. 3, it came down to the wire, but the Evangels came away with the 79-78 victory after Ashley Hopper was fouled with less than a second left and knocked down one of two free throws to seal the win.