OKLAHOMA CITY – MACU Women's Basketball defends home court during Day 2 of the MACU Classic off the back of a 29-point career high for Talayah Thomas to defeat Mission 85-63 on Saturday afternoon inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
 
SCORE

• (RV) Mid-America Christian 85, Mission University 63
  • Mid-America Christian: (3-1)
  • Mission University (1-3)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Talayah Thomas: 29 Points, 6 Reb, 2 Assists
• Caitlynn Jordan: 15 Points, 14 Reb
• Monique Carter: 13 Points, 4 Reb
• Sincere Roberts: 12 Points, 4 Reb, 4 Assists, 4 Steals
• Taliah Lee: 9 Points, 10 Reb

GAME SUMMARY

• First Quarter
  • Mission jumped to an early 5-1 lead two minutes in off the back of an Autumn Gunter three-pointer and rushed MACU offensive possessions. However, two quick layups from Sincere Roberts and Caitlynn Jordan squared us up at five a minute later.
  • Talayah Thomas scored her first field goal four minutes into the quarter, to kickstart her historic game as MACU took its first lead. Threes started to rain in as Jordan and Thomas cashed in on consecutive possessions to give MACU a 13-8 lead.
  • Mission made it tough on the Evangels by getting to the free throw line and making them count, but it was Thomas once again, this time finishing through the contact for a four-point play to close the quarter as MACU led 23-13.
• Second Quarter
  • Both offenses started slow, but Miya Nieto buried a triple three minutes into the quarter to cut into the Evangel lead. Thomas knocked down a third triple, as MACU restored its double-digit lead.
  • Jordan feasted off offensive rebounds with consecutive second chance points buckets to bring her to 12 points, and the Evangels an 11-point lead halfway through the quarter.
  • Thomas' smooth jump shot gave her 19 first half points with 1:30 remaining in the half and a MACU 44-29 lead. Backed up by a pair of offensive rebounds in the final minute to tally Jordan's 10^th rebound to record her first double-double as an Evangel in the first half.  
• Third Quarter
  • The Patriots showed tremendous fight coming out of halftime as their leading scorer Ireland Jones drilled a three-pointer to give her 14 points and cut the lead to single digits. But it was once again Thomas who rallied the Evangels' offense finishing at the basket two minutes into the quarter for 21 points.
  • A four-minute scoring drought from both teams was broken with another Nieto three-pointer, as the Evangel lead was once again single digits at 48-40. Jordan ended the Patriots' run to spark MACU's offense with the fastbreak bucket, backed up by Thomas splashing in two more triples to total her 27 points and a 62-44 score after three.
• Fourth Quarter
  • Monique Carter electrified the Gaulke with the second four-point play of the game, eight seconds into the quarter. Carter followed it up with a drive to the basket on the next possession for six quick points.
  • With 2:25 remaining, Carter threaded a beautiful pass into the path of Thomas who laid it up and in to cap off a career afternoon with 29 points. A minute later, Carter drilled another three, to record her 13^th point, 11 of which coming in the final quarter.
  • Freshmen Berlin Bartlett finished off the game by knocking down a pair of free throws on the final possession as she finished with five points and the Evangels defeated the Patriots, 85-63.

GAME NOTES

• MACU didn't have its best shooting afternoon but was efficient enough finishing 32-81 (39.5%) from the field, 11-35 (31.4%) from 3pt, and knocking down 11 of their 14 free throws.  
• The Evangels dominated the glass, outrebounding the Patriots 51-32, including 24 offensive rebounds to cash in 23 second chance points.   
• MACU finished with 14 total turnovers, while forcing 20 from Mission, and tallying nine steals.
• Talayah Thomas led MACU offense with a career-high 29 points, 11-20 (55%) from the field, and buried 5-of-11 (45%) three-pointers. Thomas' previous high was 20 points, scored on Day 1 of last year's MACU Classic against Cottey exactly one-year ago on November 8, 2024. She went 6-7 from the field, cashed in three triples, and added five more from the charity stripe in that game.
• Caitlynn Jordan led rebounding for MACU, finishing with a first-half double-double, totaling 14 rebounds and nine on the offensive glass. Taliah Lee was a point away from a double-double herself, as she finished with seven offensive and 10 total boards.
• MACU improved to 13-0 all time against Mission, to extend the win streak dating back to its first meeting on Jan. 18, 2003.  

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will hit the road for its final tune-up before jumping into conference play as the Evangels head to Point Lookout, Mo. for the COFO Lady Cat Classic, where they will play Stephens (Mo.) Friday evening Nov. 14, for a 5 p.m. tipoff. The Evangels will face No. 22 LSU Shreveport on Day 2 of the classic, tipping off at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon.