OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 24 MACU Women's Basketball team opened Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament play in emphatic fashion as the Evangels cruised to an 87-57 victory over sixth-seed Science & Arts in the quarterfinal round inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Thursday night.
 
TOP PERFORMERS

• Shy Christopher – 18 Points, 7-15 FG, 4-6 FT, 5 Reb, 5 Assists
• Syncere Harrod – 17 Points, 7-7 FG, 3-5 FT, 8 Reb
• Kylee Scheer – 15 Points, 6-9 FG, 3-5 3FG, 4 Reb, 2 Steals
• Hailey Tunnell – 13 Points, 4-11 FG, 4-9 3FG, 7 Reb
• Sydney Savage – 10 Points, 4-6 FG, 2-3 FT, 3 Steals, 2 Reb

GAME SUMMARY

• First Quarter
  • It was a back-and-forth battle through the first five minutes as the lead exchanged seven times before Science & Arts (16-13) captured a 10-8 lead on Hannah Harris' and-one bucket with 5:03 remaining.
  • On the ensuing possession, Mid-America Christian (24-5) captured the momentum on a Sydney Savage layup off of Shy Christopher's dish as the Evangels strung together an eight-unanswered capped off on Hailey Tunnell's trey with 3:32 to go to set the score to 16-10.
  • USAO's Devynn Harris and Tunnell traded threes on back-to-back possessions before the Drovers scored the last five points in the final minute on a Madison Hays jumper and a Harris three-ball to close it to 19-18.
• Second Quarter
  • While the Drovers opened the scoring in the second quarter on a Caroliena Diaz foul shot at the 9:32 mark, the Evangels clamped down on the defensive end by holding USAO scoreless over the next four minutes as Kylee Scheer's three-ball on the following possession ignited a 13-0 run finished a Christopher midrange jumper with 5:50 left to stretch the lead to 32-19.
  • With 5:25 to go, Evangelina Davlakou snapped the scoring streak with a three off a screen, but the Evangels once again responded with another seven-unanswered run as a pair of Mia Smith foul shots with 1:13 remaining extended the MACU advantage to 39-22.
  • The Drovers wrapped up a rough six-point quarter on a Davielis Berroa layup at the 52 second mark, but the Evangels closed out their dominant 22-point second just nine seconds later on Scheer's quick dribble down the left side and six-foot jumper from the left baseline to send MACU into the break with the 41-24 advantage.
• Third Quarter
  • Mid-America Christian briefly extended its lead over 20 with back-to-back buckets out of the break from Syncere Harrod and Scheer in the first two minutes before the Drovers netted six of the next eight to knock it back to 47-30 on Madison Hays midrange jumper with 6:42 to go.
  • A Scheer triple on the following possession started a run that saw the Evangels score seven of the next nine before the Drovers responded with a 7-2 surge of their own to bring it back to 56-39 on a Berroa with 3:20 left.
  • The Evangels sprinted away over the final three minutes as an 11-2 streak allowed MACU to extend the edge to 67-41 following Sydney Savage's free throw at the 19 second mark before the Drovers got a bucket at the buzzer to set the score to 67-43.
• Fourth Quarter
  • After Alexis Corrales opened the final period with a lay-in, MACU strung together nine-unanswered, finished off on Aniya Smith with 7:17 remaining to extend the advantage to 76-45.
  • Following Diaz's layup with just over seven minutes left, Mid-America Christian scored the next seven to seize its largest lead of the contest on Syncere Harrod's right side layup off a nice Mary Nyakundi dish, setting the score to 83-47 with 5:09 to go.
  • Most of the work for both teams down the stretch came from the free throw line as the Evangels closed out the 87-57 victory.

GAME NOTES

• Mid-America Christian put together one of its best shooting performances of the season, posting its third-best percentage from the field at 31-for-61 (50.8 percent) while tallying 8-for-22 (36.4 percent) from the three-point arc and 17-of-24 (70.8 percent) from the foul line.
• Defensively, the Evangels frustrated the Drovers, holding Science & Arts to only 21-for-60 (35.0 percent) shooting, including 7-for-23 (30.4 percent) from three while knocking down just 8-of-13 (61.5 percent) from the stripe.
• The feisty MACU defense also forced the Drovers into eight more turnovers at 18-10, allowing the Evangels to hold a commanding 26-5 edge in points off takeaways.
• Mid-America Christian controlled the glass by outrebounding USAO 38-33 even though the Drovers held an 11-7 edge on the offensive glass.
• Shy Christopher led five Evangels into double-figures with 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting, going 4-for-6 from the stripe while tallying five boards and a game-high five assists.
• Syncere Harrod finished a perfect 7-for-7 from the field and knocked down 3-of-5 from the line to finish with 17 points and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.
• Kylee Scheer recorded her 15 points on a great shooting night as well, going 6-of-9 from the floor and 3-for-5 from three while yanking down four boards and picking a pair of thefts.
• Hailey Tunnell continued to stay hot from three, making 4-for-9 to finish the contest with 13 points and pulled down a MACU career-high seven rebounds.
• Rounding out MACU's double-digit scorers was graduate student forward Sydney Savage as she notched 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 2-for-3 from the line and recorded a game-high three steals in her final game inside the Gaulke.
• On-top of Savage, it was also the final game inside the Gaulke Activity Center for six MACU seniors, including Christopher, Scheer, Harrod, Alexis Borgstadt and Liberty Hill.
• The win allowed MACU to go 3-0 against Science & Arts during the 2024-25 season after getting a 77-64 inside the Gaulke on Jan. 2 before winning a 75-60 road battle on Feb. 13.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will see No. 20 Wayland Baptist for the second time in less than two weeks as the Evangels will take on the Flying Queens in the SAC Semifinal on Monday, Mar. 3 inside C.F. Gayles Fieldhouse in Langston, Oklahoma. The contest is slated for a 3 p.m. tip-off.