OKLAHOMA CITY – MACU Women's Basketball dominate the second half outscoring Oklahoma Panhandle State 33-17 to overcome a gritty Aggies team with a 65-49 win on Saturday afternoon inside the Gaulke Activity Center.  
 
SCORE

• No. 23 Mid-America Christian 65, Oklahoma Panhandle State 49
  • Mid-America Christian: (12-3, 7-2 SAC)
  • Oklahoma Panhandle State: (3-12, 0-9 SAC)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Aniya Smith: 14 Points, 5-8 FG, 2-3 3FG, 2 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl
• Taliah Lee: 10 Points, 4-13 FG, 8 Reb, 7 Stl, 5 Ast, 3 Blk
• Caitlynn Jordan: 8 Points, 2-4 3FG, 10 Reb, 3 Blk, 1 Stl
• Sincere Roberts: 10 Points, 4-7 FG, 2 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Blk, 1 Stl

GAME SUMMARY

• First Quarter
  • MACU started slow with a 1-7 start from the field in the opening five minutes. However, the defense kept them in the contest allowing just four points, for a 4-4 scoreline at the first quarter media timeout.
  • Aniya Smith sparked Evangel offense off the bench with a three pointer on her first offensive possession, followed by consecutive free throws to take a one-point lead. Taliah Lee cashed it for three to go up 16-14 but was answered on the final possession by the Aggies to knot it up at 16 apiece after the opening quarter.
• Second Quarter
  • Caitlynn Jordan and Mia Smith converted five quick points to extend the Evangels' lead to five, three minutes into the quarter. However, OPSU rattled off 13 consecutive points to take its largest lead of the afternoon at 31-23, with three minutes left in the half.
  • Aniya Smith continued her stellar offensive night with a second triple, followed by paint points to ignite a late quarter push.
  • Sincere Roberts and Jordan closed out the half with consecutive layups to get the Evangels back into the fight and squaring it up at 32-32 going into the halftime break.
• Third Quarter
  • Jordan splashed home a three for the first points of the third quarter in efforts to get the Evangel offense going. However, much like the first half, the Aggies continued to show tremendous fight back and had answers. At the third quarter media timeout, it remained level at 39-39.
  • Out of the media timeout, MACU closed the quarter on a 11-2 run to take control of the game. Sincere Roberts and Aniya Smith combined for nine of the Evangel 11 points during the stretch. Taliah Lee showed elite passing with a pair of assists, while contributing on the defensive end with two steals and a block. The Evangels led 51-41 with one quarter remaining.
• Fourth Quarter
  • MACU jumped to an early start in the fourth quarter and Talayah Thomas knocked down a tough contested baseline jumper, followed by a corner three on the next possession as the Evangels now led 58-41.
  • Allie Harris scored the final three MACU points, as Coach Morris was able to go to his bench to close out the final three minutes and secure a 65-49 victory outscoring the Aggies 33-17 in the second half.

GAME NOTES

• MACU finished 25-56 (44.6%) from the field, 27.3% from behind the arc at 6-22, and converted 9-of-14 (64.3%) free throws. The Aggies shot 19-55 (34.5%) from the field, 4-14 (28.6%) from three, and a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line.    
• Mid-America Christian had three players finish with double digit scoring. Aniya Smith led the way off the bench with two threes off an efficient 5-8 from the field. While Taliah Lee and Sincere Roberts both contributed 10 points as both excelled inside the paint.  
• Caitlynn Jordan finished with a team-high 10 rebounds, while Lee snagged eight boards and three of them on the offensive side.
• The Evangels dominated the turnover margin and took over defensively with seven blocks and 13 team steals. MACU forced 24 turnovers to its 16, scoring 29 points off turnovers.
• Mid-America Christian improves to 7-2 in conference play to keep the Evangels top three, remaining just a game back of the top spot.
• MACU improved its all-time record against OPSU to 14-1, winning 14 consecutive games against the Aggies.   

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian stays at home next week for a huge top of the SAC standings clash against Nelson inside the Gaulke Activity Center at 6 p.m.