OKLAHOMA CITY – No. 23 MACU Women's basketball team pulled away with a huge 74-63 victory over the visiting Texas Wesleyan Rams inside the Gaulke Activity Center Saturday Afternoon.

TOP PERFORMERS

• Shy Christopher – 20 pts, 8-14 FG, 4-6 3FG, 2 stl
• Syncere Harrod – 18 pts, 8-13 FG, 6 reb, 3 stl
• Kylee Scheer – 13 pts, 6-15 FG, 10 reb, 4 ast

GAME SUMMARY

• First Quarter
  • Mid-America Christian opened the contest with back-to-back threes from the top of the key by Shy Christopher with Kylee Scheer assisting her both times to capture a 6-4 lead through the first 1:35.
  • Syncere Harrod euro-stepped her way into a three-point play with the foul to extend the Evangels lead to 11-4 capping off an 8-0 run with 6:05 to go.
  • Both teams went bucket-for-bucket over the final six minutes with a slight 7-6 edge in favor of Texas Wesleyan, Scheer closed out scoring in the quarter on a layup with :49 seconds remaining to put the Evangels up 17-11.
• Second Quarter
  • Scheer and Harrod stayed strong from the field, connecting on a pair of layups with another and-one for Harrod to extend MACU's lead to double-digits up 22-11 with 9:21 left.
  • The Lady Rams proceeded to score eight of the next ten to bring it back to a two-possession game down 24-19 after Kameryn Phillips laid one in off the glass with 5:21 to play.
  • MACU held a 9-5 advantage the rest of the half scoring all nine behind the three-point line with Kendrick Bailey striking for a pair and Talayah Thomas drilling one of her own, TXWES concluded the half with a free throw by Savanna Smith with a second left giving MACU a 33-24 lead heading into the halftime break.
• Third Quarter
  • Christopher maintained her strong night behind the arc banging two more treys to give MACU a slight 6-4 edge through the first 2:54.
  • The Evangels scored six unanswered on a turnaround jumper from the free throw line by Talayah Thomas and a pair of layups by Christopher and Harrod to capture a 15 point lead up 45-30 with 5:18 to go.
  • The Lady Rams outscored the Evangels 14-11 over the final five minutes, including finishing the quarter on an 8-2 run with Aniyah Sanford hitting a three with :37 seconds remaining making it 56-44 MACU entering the fourth.
• Fourth Quarter
  • Mia Smith ignited a 7-0 run with 6:35 on the clock, she drilled a three from the right elbow on Alexis Borgstadt's dime allowing the Evangels to score the next five and take a 65-48 advantage with 4:46 remaining.
  • TXWES put up 15 points while only allowing nine to MACU, however Shy Christopher delivered the dagger off a Mary Nyakundi bounce pass finding the breaking Christopher who laid it in with the left extending the lead to 73-60 with :44 seconds left.
  • The Rams connected for a three, but Thomas got the last score of the game on a trip to the charity stripe where she hit one of two providing the final score with a 74-63 MACU victory.

 
GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian shot 30-of-64 (46.9 percent) from the field while Texas Wesleyan posted a 23-for-56 (41.1 percent), the biggest difference maker came from the turnover column with MACU outscoring TXWES 29-13 in points off turnovers.
• In her third season at MACU, Shy Christopher notched her career high in threes made in a game. She led the contest with 20 points, her 4-of-6 performance behind the arc toppled her previous career-high of three threes made in a contest.
• The Evangels defense gave the Lady Rams problems all game long, but especially in the first half. MACU held TXWES to just 24 first half points, forcing nine turnovers and picking up six steals.
• MACU dominated inside the paint, outscoring TXWES 38-28.
• Syncere Harrod had herself a great day, the senior center finished with 18 points on 8-for-13 from the floor with six rebounds, two blocks and a season-high three steals.
• Kylee Scheer picked up her third double-double of the season and her second straight game accomplishing the feat, she finished with 13 points with 10 boards and four assists.
• Kendrick Bailey led the reserve unit in scoring with six, she went 2-of-2 on the day with both her shots coming from three-point land.
• Alexis Borgstadt contributed off the bench as well, she led the game and set a career-high with four steals.
• With the victory the Evangels have now captured five consecutive wins against Texas Wesleyan dating back to Feb. 4, 2023.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian heads to Plainview, Texas to face-off against No. 17 Wayland Baptist with a tip-off set for 6:00 p.m.