OKLAHOMA CITY – Making it to the NAIA Tournament final site for the first time in program history, the No. 24 MACU Women's Basketball team will see a familiar foe in its Round of 16 game on Friday night as the Evangels prepare to battle No. 5 Briar Cliff (Iowa) for an 8 p.m. tip-off inside the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.
 
SEASON REPORT

• Record: 27-6 (17-5 SAC)
• Last Game: Won vs. (15) Kansas Wesleyan – 94-74 – Mar. 15, 2025 – Olathe, Kan. (NAIA Tournament – 2^nd Round)
• Stat Leaders:
  • Points: Shy Christopher (566, 17.2 ppg), Kylee Scheer (481, 15.0 ppg)
  • FG Percentage (Min 3 FGM/G): Syncere Harrod (48.5, 117-241), Shy Christopher (46.1, 210-456)
  • 3FG Percentage (Min 1 3FGM/G): Hailey Tunnell (38.0, 46-121), Talayah Thomas (36.8, 35-95)
  • FT Percentage (Min 2 FTM/G): Kylee Scheer (78.3, 65-83), Mary Nyakundi (77.3, 75-97)
  • Rebounds: Kylee Scheer (224, 7.0 rpg), Shy Christopher (154, 4.7 rpg)
  • Assists: Kylee Scheer (92, 2.9 apg), Shy Christopher (79, 2.4 apg)
  • Steals: Kylee Scheer (63, 2.0 spg), Syncere Harrod (29, 0.9 spg)
  • Blocks: Syncere Harrod (19, 0.6 bpg), Sydney Savage (14, 0.7 bpg)
• Team Notes:
  • Mid-America Christian advanced to the NAIA Tournament Final Site after putting together a downright remarkable second half performance against a 15-seed Kansas Wesleyan team that upset No. 2 seed MidAmerica Nazarene in the opening round. After Syncere Harrod made a bucket to put MACU up 33-35 at the half, the Evangels came out firing on all cylinders to start the second half. MACU went on to outscore the Coyotes 58-39 in the second half to run away with the victory.
  • The Evangels have proven to be a second half team throughout the first two rounds of the NAIA Tournament thus far as MACU has outscored its opposition 100-70 in the second half after having an even 67-67 split in the first half scoring against Northwestern (First Round) and Kansas Wesleyan (Second Round).
  • One of the biggest reasons for MACU's offensive success has been the play of redshirt senior guard Shy Christopher, who is coming off two of her career-best performances in the First and Second Round of the NAIA Tournament. In the first two games, Christopher has scored 70 points (35.0 ppg) while shooting 26-for-45 (57.6 percent) from the field and 16-of-21 (76.2 percent) from the free throw line. The Jacksonville, Arkansas native has also been strong on the glass, pulling down 6.5 rpg thus far.
  •  The Evangels have also gotten some very strong play from senior guard Kylee Scheer and senior forward Syncere Harrod through the first two rounds as well. Scheer is averaging a double-double at 13.5 ppg and 12.0 rpg while defensively tallying four steal. Meanwhile, Harrod has paced MACU on the inside by averaging 11.5 ppg and pulling down 6.0 rpg with making her presence known on the defensive end with three blocked shots and a pair of steals.

SCOUTING REPORT
Briar Cliff (Iowa)

• Record: 28-5 (18-4 GPAC)
• Last Game: Won vs. (6) No. 25 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) – 71-60 – Mar. 15, 2025 – Sioux City, Iowa (NAIA Tournament – 2^nd Round)
• Series vs MACU (2022-): Series Tied 1-1
• Last Game vs MACU: BCU won 81-67 – Mar. 15, 2024 – Wichita, Kan. (NAIA Tournament – 1^st Round)
• Series Streak: BCU won 1
• Players to Watch:
  • Mallie McNair – JR – G
    • 535 Points (16.2 ppg), 190-425 FG (44.7%), 64-154 3FG (41.6%), 91-110 FT (82.7%), 111 Reb (3.4 rpg), 83 Assists (2.5 apg), 49 Steals (1.5 spg)
  • Adrianna Webster – SR – F
    • 383 Points (11.6 ppg), 165-352 FG (46.9%), 52-75 FT (69.3%), 216 Reb (6.5 rpg), 81 Assists (2.5 apg), 80 Steals (2.4 spg), 41 Blocks (1.2 bpg)
  • Kennedy Benne – SR – G
    • 364 Points (11.0 ppg), 109-294 FG (37.1%), 29-88 3FG (33.0%), 117-130 FT (90.0%), 147 Reb (4.5 rpg), 113 Assists (3.4 apg), 98 Steals (3.0 spg)
• Team Notes:
  • Briar Cliff faced a pair of tough tests in its first two NAIA Tournament games as the Chargers were able to sneak out a 65-61 win over 14-seed Spring Arbor (Mich.) before putting together a monster fourth quarter in the second round to defeat No. 25 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 71-60 to advance to the final site.
  • BCU is excellent on both ends of the floor as the Chargers are the best scoring defense from the powerhouse Great Plains Athletic Conference, allowing the opposition to score just 60.0 ppg while offensively the Chargers are the third-best scoring team from the GPAC at 79.0 ppg. However, if there is an area where Briar Cliff has struggled, it has been on the glass as the Chargers own a -0.2 rebounding margin for the season.
  • The Evangels will need to contend with a pair of All-GPAC First Team honorees in junior guard Mallie McNair and senior forward Adrianna Webster as McNair is an outstanding all-around shooting guard averaging 16.2 ppg while Webster keys the Chargers in the low post, averaging 11.6 ppg on a solid 46.9 percent shooting and leads BCU on the glass. All-GPAC Second Team senior guard Kennedy Benne runs the point for the Chargers and not only is a solid shooter (11.0 ppg) and distributor (3.4 apg), but is outstanding on the defensive end by averaging 3.0 steals per game.
  • While MACU is currently in its fifth consecutive appearance in the NAIA Tournament, Briar Cliff has become a familiar face for the Evangels in the tourney as the Evangels and Chargers will be facing off for the third time in the last three years in the tournament. However, both of the previous meetings came in the first round as MACU defeated BCU 76-64 in their first ever meeting back on Mar. 11, 2022 in Wichita, Kansas. The two teams met up in Wichita once again last year, but this time the Chargers were able to get the better of the Evangels as BCU came away with the 81-67 win on Mar. 15, 2024.