OKLAHOMA CITY – No. 18 MACU Women's basketball team came through with an explosive 53 points in the first half that allowed them to cruise to an 81-56 victory inside the Gaulke Activity Center Saturday afternoon.

TOP PERFORMERS

• Kylee Scheer – 23 Points, 9-19 FG, 5 Reb, 5 Ast
• Harley Harbour– 15 Points, 7-11 FG, 11 Reb, 2 Stl
• Syncere Harrod – 12 Points, 5-10 FG, 10 Reb

GAME SUMMARY

• First Quarter
  • Mid-America Christian (16-2, 12-2 SAC) jumped out the gates with an 8-2 run with all eights being accredited to Mary Nyakundi, after she knocked down a pair of free throws for the opening score, she banged back-to-back threes to provide an early advantage with 7:15 to go.
  • It did not take long for the MACU offense to strike again as they went on another surge scoring 12 of the next 14 points starting off with a jumper by Kylee Scheer and finished off on a lay-in by Hailey Tunnell. The Evangels saw five different scorers in the 12-2 run capturing a 20-6 lead with 3:03 remaining.
  • Nelson (4-14, 3-12 SAC) drilled two threes to close out the half with the quarter being closed out on a three-point shot by Caitlyn Tucker rejected by Scheer sending the Evangels into the second with a 25-14 lead.
• Second Quarter
  • The Evangels carried the red-hot offense into the second frame with Harley Harbour starting and capping off a 13-2 run that extended the MACU lead to a commanding 36-14 with 6:40 left in the half.
  • After Tucker connected for a three off the dish from Paris Miller, the Lady Lions defense continued to struggle surrendering nine unanswered to MACU, concluded on Scheers splash from the left elbow behind the arc on Mia Smiths feed.
  • Both teams proceeded to go dead even in the scoring column over the last 3:20 with an 8-8-point exchange. Lady Lions Kyla McMinn hit a jumper with :39 seconds remaining to make it 53-25 in favor of Mid-America Christian going into the halftime break.
• Third Quarter
  • Both teams exchanged buckets over the first half of the quarter with Scheer knotting it up at 7-7 with a triple from the right elbow off Shy Christopher's third assist of the contest.
  • The Lady Lions made some strides over the final 5:24 with a slight 11-9 edge in scoring, with the quarter being closed out on a lay-up by Kate Miller off Bailee Dorris's dime to cut the Evangel's lead to 69-43.
• Fourth Quarter
  • Aniya Smith got the fourth began with a trip to the charity stripe where she knocked down a pair of free throws to ignite an 8-2 streak that was capped off on an Alexis Borgstadt layup after Mia Smith came up with a takeaway.
  • Nelson pieced together an 8-2 run of their own that was finished off on a layup by Julianna Matlock that cut the Evangels advantage to 79-53 with 3:34 to go.
  • Each team only put up one bucket the rest of the way allowing the Evangels to cruise to an 81-56 victory.

 
GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian turned in a great overall performance going 31-for-77 (40.3 percent) while holding Nelson to 22-for-64 (34.4 percent.) MACU's defense was on point as they had a turnover differential of 19-10.
• Rebounding was another strong aspect of Mid-America Christian's game as they outrebounding the Lady Lions 49-36.
• It was a very strong first half for the Evangels, with 53 points scored being the most points in a half in a conference game this season.
• With 81 points put up this afternoon, it marks the fourth consecutive game the Evangels have scored at least 77 points.
• Kylee Scheer came through with one of her best games of the season, putting up season highs in points scored (23), threes made (5), and three-point shots taken (12.) She also contributed for five boards and five assists on top of her 23 point performance.
• The Evangels backcourt found great success today with both Harley Harbour and Syncere Harrod picking up double-doubles. Harbour had 15 points on an effective 7-of-11 from the field with a game-high 11 boards. Harrod nearly matched Harbour as she added 12 points with 10 rebounds on 5-of-10 shooting.
• 10 rebounds allowed Harrod to reach double-figures in boards for the first time this season, it also was the second time two Evangel players have had a double-double in the same game with the other occurrence in the 67-56 win over College of the Ozarks on Nov. 23, 2024.
• After scoring the first eight Evangel points, Mary Nyakundi was held scoreless the rest of the way, nonetheless she was still productive finishing the day with eight points with four rebounds and three assists.
• Shy Christopher was also relatively quiet on the offensive end with a season low of nine points, it was the first time she failed to reach double-digit scoring and only the fourth time out of 76 career games she has not executed at least ten points. Christopher however was still productive as she dished out a game high five assists.
• Mid-America Christian has now defeated Nelson in three straight games as well as nine of the last 10.

UP NEXT

• The Evangels will have a tough task this upcoming Monday Jan. 20 as they will be hosting Langston trying to avoid the regular season sweep with a tip-off set for 6 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center.