CHICKASHA, Okla. – Senior guard Kylee Scheer put together another performance for the ages in a crucial Sooner Athletic Conference road contest at Science & Arts on Thursday night as her 25-point, 16-rebound performance propelled the Evangels to a 75-60 win inside the USAO Fieldhouse.
 
TOP PERFORMERS

• Kylee Scheer – 25 Points, 9-15 FG, 2-7 3FG, 5-6 FT, 16 Reb
• Hailey Tunnell – 16 Points, 5-11 FG, 4-9 3FG, 2-2 FT, 4 Reb, 2 Steals
• Shy Christopher – 7 Points, 3-12 FG, 5 Assists, 3 Reb

GAME SUMMARY

• First Quarter
  • Mid-America Christian (21-4, 17-4 SAC) got off to a strong start defensively, holding the Drovers scoreless through the first four minutes while a layup and a three by Kylee Scheer opened the scoring for MACU as the Evangels held the 5-0 advantage with 6:16 to go.
  • Science & Arts (14-11, 12-9 SAC) tied it up quickly on a long jumper and a left wing three by Evangelina Davlakou with 5:16 remaining, but the Evangels surged back by going on a 13-2 run due in-large part to three Hailey Tunnell three-pointers, stretching the MACU lead to 18-17 at the 2:19 mark.
  • The Drovers strung together a 7-0 run to close the gap to 18-14 on Devynn Harris' layup, but the Evangels answered back. Shy Christopher buried a three from the top of the key on the ensuing possession before Mia Smith was fouled with five seconds left and made a free throw to set the score to 22-14.
  • However, the Evangels were unable to stop Devynn Haris from driving the length of the court and getting a buzzer-beating layup to set the score to 22-16 at the end of one.
• Second Quarter
  • While Kendrick Bailey's long right corner after a Drovers free throw extended the MACU edge to 24-17 with 9:33 remaining.
  • Science & Arts shut down the Evangels offensively over the next four minutes as USAO strung together a 10-unaswered run. The streak was capped off on a pair of Alexia Corrales free throws with 5:49 left to give the Drovers a 27-24 lead, forcing MACU head coach Hannah Moeller to call a timeout.
  • After two more scoreless minutes, Mary Nyakundi finally snapped the cold spell by burying a left wing three to start an eight-unanswered surge for MACU as Nyakundi buried another left-side three with just over two minutes to go gave the Evangels the 32-29 edge.
  • The Drovers scored three of the final five points from the free throw line over the final two minutes as MACU took a 34-32 lead into the halftime break.
• Third Quarter
  • After the Drovers opened the second half on Corrales lay-in, Mid-America Christian took advantage of a pair of USAO technical fouls to spark a 9-2 run as Harrod's bucket with 6:53 to go gave MACU the 43-36 edge.
  • USAO scored seven of the next 10 to close the gap over the next three minutes as Daklakou's fastbreak left-hand scoop shot lay-in cut it to a 46-43 game at the 3:49 mark.
  • Scheer helped spark an incredible 13-0 run for the Evangel as her three started the streak before scoring nine of MACU's points as Talayah Thomas ended the run with an incredible drive and pivot reverse layup with 48 seconds left to stretch the edge to 59-43 with just 48 seconds remaining.
  • A pair of Daviellis Berroa foul shots with 16 seconds left closed it to 59-45 edge at the end of three.
• Fourth Quarter
  • Following Scheer's bucket at the 9:37 mark opened the period, MACU went cold over the next three minutes as a 5-1 Drovers run allowed USAO to cut it to a 62-50 game on a Corrales layup with 6:30 remaining.
  • A Scheer midrange jumper with just over six minutes to go finally snapped MACU's cold spell as the Evangels scored five of the next seven over the next two minutes with Mia Smith burying a pair of free throws with 3:53 left to stretch the advantage to 67-52.
  • USAO was unable to close it down to less than 12 the rest of the way as Tunnell drained a pair of freebies with 15 seconds left to wrap up the 75-60 final.

GAME NOTES

• It was a relatively tough shooting night for both teams as Mid-America Christian held the advantage by going 27-for-68 (39.7 percent) from the field and 9-of-29 (31.0 percent) from three while Science & Arts shot 20-of-62 (32.3 percent) and just 5-for-18 (27.8 percent) from distance.
• The Drovers held the slim advantage from the free throw line by knocking down 15-for-20 (75 percent) while the Evangels finished close behind at 12-of-16 (75 percent).
• USAO held the slim 44-43 advantage on the glass, including 12-10 in the offensive category, but the Evangels won the turnover battle, forcing USAO into 11 giveaways while MACU committed just nine.
• Even though just two Evangels cracked into double-figure scoring, MACU was balanced in the scoring column as seven players notched at least five points.
• Kylee Scheer recorded her second double-double of the season and the fifth of her two-year MACU career as she scored her 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting, which included going 7-for-10 inside the three-point arc to go with 2-of-7 from three and 5-for-6 from the free throw line.
• The 16 boards for Scheer marks the second-most rebounds in a single game in her Evangels career after she tied the program's NAIA Era (2007-present) record with 20 in a hard-fought 83-81 home loss to No. 12 Wayland Baptist on Jan. 11.
• Hailey Tunnell helped spark a MACU bench effort that produced 24 points as she scored her 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting, including going 4-for-9 from three-point range and buried both of her foul shots.
• Shy Christopher and Mia Smith paced the distribution efforts as both players did not commit a single turnover while Christopher dished out five dimes to go with her seven points while Smith recorded four assists.
• By getting the victory, the Evangels sweep the season series over Science & Arts after the Evangels notched a 77-64 win over the Drovers inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Jan. 2. Since suffering a 74-63 defeat inside the Gaulke to USAO back on Dec. 8, 2022, MACU has now won six straight in the series.
• The win also allowed MACU to stick within striking distance of No. 18 Wayland Baptist and No. 20 Langston at the top of the SAC standings as the Evangels sit just two games back with three games left in the conference slate with a head-to-head with the Flying Queens looming in just a week.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will now prepare for another critical SAC matchup on Saturday as the Evangels return home for their Senior Day game against Texas Wesleyan. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center and the Evangels will honor their senior class following the completion of the contest.