OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 18 MACU Women's Basketball team after coming off a huge comeback win on Saturday will be looking to stay hot on a snowy night in its return to the Gaulke Activity Center as the Evangels are prepared to host Oklahoma Panhandle State for a 6 p.m. tip-off on Thursday night.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 13-1 (9-1 SAC)
• Last Game: Won at Texas Wesleyan – 55-53 – Jan. 5, 2024 – Fort Worth, Texas
• Stat Leaders:
  • Points: Shy Christopher (257, 18.4 ppg), Kylee Scheer (156, 12.0 ppg)
  • FG Percentage (Min. 3 FGM/G): Harley Harbour (46.4, 45-97), Shy Christopher (43.3, 91-210)
  • 3FG Percentage (Min. 1 3FGM/G): Talayah Thomas (44.4, 20-45), Kylee Scheer (28.4, 23-81)
  • FT Percentage (Min. 2 FTM/G): Shy Christopher (79.8, 67-84), Kylee Scheer (79.4, 27-34)
  • Rebounds: Harley Harbour (131, 9.4 rpg), Shy Christopher (81, 5.8 rpg)
  • Assists: Kylee Scheer (39, 3.0 apg), Shy Christopher (29, 2.1 apg)
  • Steals: Kylee Scheer (34, 2.6 spg), Harley Harbour (18, 1.3 spg)
  • Blocks: Harley Harbour (7, 0.5 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian had to overcome one of its toughest first half performances of the season in a 55-53 win at Texas Wesleyan on Jan. 5 as the Evangels found themselves down 34-17 at the break after shooting just 6-for-23 (26.1 percent) from the field and committed 15 turnovers. However, MACU made some stellar halftime adjustments, committing just three turnovers in the second half while shooting 50 percent from the field to outscore the Rams 38-19 over the final 20 minutes.
  • As the Evangels are heading into their final weekend to wrap-up the first half of Sooner Athletic Conference play, MACU is in the midst of one of its best seasons by entering the slate with a 13-1 overall record and a 9-1 mark against SAC competition. In the NAIA Era (2007-present), MACU's previous best start through 14 games came during the 2021-22 season where the Evangels were 12-2 overall and 8-2 through 10 conference games. That year, MACU wrapped up the regular season with a 28-5 overall record while going 19-3 in league play, finishing just a game back of Wayland Baptist for the conference title.
  • One of the big reasons for MACU's recent resurgence is a return to balanced scoring output as the Evangels have six players averaging at least 7.0 points per game, marking the first time MACU has had that many since the aforementioned 2020-21 campaign.
  • As the season has progressed, graduate student transfer Mary Nyakundi has continued to become more comfortable in MACU's lineup. Through the first eight games with MACU, the Wylie, Texas product was averaging just 4.1 ppg and had not cracked into double-figure scoring in any of those games. However, over the last six contests, Nyakundi has scored in double-figures in five of those six games and is averaging 13.3 ppg on a solid 45.5 percent shooting, including going 8-for-20 (40 percent) from three after starting out the year shooting 24.4 percent, going 0-of-17 from downtown through the first eight contests.

SCOUTING REPORT
Oklahoma Panhandle State

• Record: 1-14 (1-11 SAC)
• Last Game: Lost vs. No. 12 Wayland Baptist (Texas) – 90-56 – Jan. 6, 2024 – Goodwell, Okla.
• Series vs MACU (2018-): MACU leads 11-1
• Last Game vs MACU: MACU won 65-53 – Jan. 27, 2024 – Gaulke Activity Center
• Series Streak: MACU won 11
• Players to Watch:
  • Jana Radovanovic – SR – F
    • 25 Points (8.3 ppg), 10-26 FG (38.5%), 15 Reb (5.0 rpg), 4 Blocks (1.3 bpg)
  • Zamari Reece – FR – G
    • 91 Points (7.0 ppg), 26-116 FG (22.4%), 3-31 3FG (9.7%), 36-54 FT (66.7%), 35 Reb (2.7 rpg), 28 Assists (2.2 apg)
  • Lyric Carpenter – FR – F
    • 99 Points (6.6 ppg), 44-133 FG (33.1%), 52 Reb (3.5 rpg), 17 Steals (1.1 spg)
• Team Notes:
  • Since picking up a 63-56 victory over Central Christian back on Nov. 14, it has been tough sledding for Oklahoma Panhandle State as the Aggies have lost 11 straight while being outscored 804-435, posting an average margin of loss at 33.5 ppg. The Aggies were last in-action on Monday as OPSU suffered a 90-56 home defeat to No. 12 Wayland Baptist.
  • One of the biggest reasons for the Aggies' struggles has been due to lack of offensive production as OPSU ranks second-to-last in the NAIA in points per game (42.4) while posting the nation's fourth-lowest field goal percentage (29.3) and 13^th-lowest three-point percentage (21.2). Panhandle State has not fared much better on the defensive end as OPSU ranks second-to-last in scoring defense (71.1 ppg) while allowing the league's highest field goal percentage (43.4).
  • Rebounding could play a major factor in the contest as well as OPSU enters the contest as the second-worst rebounding team in the conference at -9.0 rpg while taking on an Evangels team that ranks fifth in the entire NAIA in rebounding margin at 14.4.
  • While things have been challenging for the Aggies, OPSU has gotten a little bit of a spark back with the return of Jana Radovanovic to the lineup. After missing the fall semester, OPSU's second leading scorer from last season has been the squad's top scorer through the first three games of 2025, averaging 8.3 ppg on a 38.5 percent shooting clip.
  • Ever since losing their first-ever meeting back on Jan. 11, 2018, Mid-America Christian has downright dominated the all-time series, winning 11 straight contests against Oklahoma Panhandle State. The last time MACU played the Aggies, the Evangels struggled to get things going offensively inside the Gaulke as the Evangels pulled away in the second half with a 65-53 win after leading by two at the halftime break.