WBB LU Postgame - 2/8/24
Gregg Reeves
70
Winner MACU MACU 17-6, 11-6 SAC
69
Langston LU 17-5, 12-4 SAC
Winner
MACU MACU
17-6, 11-6 SAC
70
Final
69
Langston LU
17-5, 12-4 SAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
MACU MACU 22 14 20 14 70
Langston LU 19 11 12 27 69

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Adam Stanek - MACU Sports Information

Calavan’s Clutch Free Throws Propels Women’s Basketball to 70-69 Win at Langston

LANGSTON, Okla. – For the second straight game, the MACU women's basketball team picked up a huge road win on a made free throw as Jaci Calavan made the game-tying and game-winning foul shots with six seconds left before the Evangels came up with a huge defense stop to come away with the 70-69 victory at Langston inside C.F. Gayles Field House on Thursday night.
 
TOP PERFORMERS GAME SUMMARY
  • First Quarter
    • It was tough sledding for both teams offensively through the first five minutes as neither team could get larger than a two-point lead before Jaci Calavan buried an open left-wing three off a Mia Smith drive and dish at the 4:12 mark, jumpstarting a 5-0 Mid-America Christian (17-6, 11-6 SAC) run that Shy Christopher capped with a fastbreak layup with 3:51 to go to make it an 11-8 MACU lead.
    • Both teams found their offensive stride over the next minute as Langston (17-5, 12-4 SAC) closed it to a one-point game at 15-14 with 2:15 left on Mattie Boyd's banked in three, but the Evangels swung back by scoring seven of the next nine with Calavan finishing off the three-point play on the reverse layup with 1:01 remaining to set the score to 22-16.
    • The Lions cut the deficit in-half with 11 seconds left when Koreea Kirksey finished off a three-point play as well to close it to 22-19 at the end of one.
  • Second Quarter
    • Mid-America Christian's defense completely shut down Langston through the first five minutes, holding the Lions to without a field goal as the Evangels strung together a seven-unanswered run on six Christopher points and a Sydney Savage free throw to put it at 29-19 at the 5:28 mark.
    • LU started to implement a full-court press that frustrated MACU a bit as Langston poured in the next seven to bring it to 29-26 on Hailey Jordan's falling left-lane floater with 3:41 left.
    • The Lions managed to cut it to a one-possession game one more time down the stretch on a Quinnae Love bucket with 40 seconds remaining, but Ashley Hopper's free throw followed by an Alexis Bogstadt offensive board and put-back with 26 seconds on the clock sent the Evangels into the break with the 36-30 advantage.
  • Third Quarter
    • The Evangels put together another dominant defensive performance to start the second half as MACU held Langston to just one bucket through the first 5:28 as the 8-2 run was finished off on Calavan's driving layup down the left paint to bring it to 44-32 with 4:48 remaining.
    • Following a Boyd bucket on the ensuing possession, MACU took its largest lead of the contest at 49-34 following a pair of Savage scores and a Smith foul shot with 3:33 to go.
    • The Lions were unable to close the gap to less than single-digits for the remainder of the period as Borgstadt buried a wide-open right-wing three with 20 seconds left to make it a 56-42 game going into the final period.
  • Fourth Quarter
    • After putting together big runs to start the second and third quarters, Mid-America Christian was on the receiving end of a massive Lions run as LU held the Evangels to without a field goal in the first six minutes as a 12-3 surge closed the MACU advantage to just 59-56 on Jordan's foul shots with 4:13 left.
    • The Evangels finally found their first bucket on Borgstadt's second three from the right wing at the 3:57 mark, but Langston answered right back by scoring 10 of the next 13 points with Makayla Transou came up with a steal and fastbreak layup with 55 seconds to go, giving LU the lead at 66-65 for the first time since the first quarter.
    • The next few moments of the game set up for a thrilling finish when Christopher drove down the right lane before kicking it out to a wide-open Kylee Scheer for the go-ahead three with 29 seconds left. However, LU immediately had an answer when Kamesha Moore rattled in a three with 16.6 seconds remaining to put the Lions back in-front 69-68.
    • Following a timeout, Calavan received the inbound pass on the right sideline before dribbling around a defender at the free throw line to attempt a left-handled layup, but was fouled with six seconds left, giving the senior guard the opportunity to give MACU the lead from the line.
    • The SAC's best free throw shooter knocked down both freebies to put MACU in-front for good. Langston did have one last chance with Moore throwing up a wild running mid-range jumper that was knocked out-of-bounds off MACU with 0.3 seconds to go. However. LU would not get another chance at a game-winner as Karley Miller tapped away any potential buzzer-beating shot on the in-bound lob to wrap-up the 70-69 final.
GAME NOTES
  • As a team, Mid-America Christian shot 25-for-59 (42.4 percent) but struggled from beyond the arc and from the foul line by going 5-of-15 (33.3 percent) and converted 15-for-25 (60 percent) from the charity stripe.
  • Defensively, the Evangels held Langston to only 27-of-72 (37.5 percent) shooting, including 3-for-19 (15.8 percent) from three while making 12-of-15 (75.0 percent) from the free throw line.
  • Both teams were relatively even when it came to the floor game as LU won the rebounding battle by a 43-40 margin while also holding a slim 14-13 lead in forced turnovers.
  • The reigning SAC Player of the Week led the Evangels offensively with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting, going 6-for-10 from the foul line to go with five boards and a team-high four assists.
  • Overall, four Evangels finished in double-figure scoring with Jaci Calavan (13), Alexis Borgstadt (11) and Sydney Savage (10) adding to the offensive attack. Savage led MACU's rebounding efforts with eight boards.
  • By getting the win, Mid-America Christian split the season series with Langston while dropping the Lions to third in the SAC standings at 12-4. With the Evangels holding an 11-6 league mark, MACU sits just a game back of Science & Arts from breaking into the top four of the conference standings.
UP NEXT
  • Mid-America Christian will be back on the road on Saturday as the Evangels will head to McPherson, Kansas for a 2 p.m. showdown against Central Christian inside Jerry Alexander Arena.
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