OKLAHOMA CITY – MACU Women's Basketball returned to the win column off the back of a career night from Taliah Lee who finished with 14 points, and a career-high 13 rebounds and five blocks. The Evangels closed out the Flying Queens 77-65 on Thursday night inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
 
SCORE

• No. 23 Mid-America Christian 77, Wayland Baptist 65
  • Mid-America Christian: (11-3, 6-2 SAC)
  • Wayland Baptist: (5-8, 4-4 SAC)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Taliah Lee: 14 Points, 6-10 FG, 1-1 3FG, 13 Reb, 5 Blk, 2 Ast, 2 Stl
• Caitlynn Jordan: 13 Points, 5-11 FG, 3-6 3FG, 7 Reb, 2 Blk, 2 Stl, 1 Ast
• Monique Carter: 13 Points, 3-6 FG, 6-6 FT, 3 Reb, 2 Ast
• Aniya Smith: 11 Points, 3-4 FG, 4-4 FT, 1-1 3FG, 2 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl
• Talayah Thomas: 10 Points, 4-8 FG, 4 Ast, 2 Reb, 2 Stl, 1 Blk

GAME SUMMARY

• First Quarter
  • Wayland Baptist struck the scoreboard first from the first of three first quarter threes from Peyton North. However, this sparked 13 unanswered points from the Evangels to quickly jump out to a 13-3 lead. Caitlynn Jordan knocked down the lone triple on the run, while Taliah Lee added a pair in the paint.
  • The Evangels looked towards their bench to close the opening quarter as Aniya Smith chipped in six first quarter points to give MACU a 21-12 lead.
  • On the final possession with three seconds left on the clock, Mia Smith heaved a half court pass into the running arms of Talayah Thomas who drilled the triple at the buzzer to extend a 24-12 lead after the opening 10 minutes.
• Second Quarter
  • MACU stayed hot from range with two threes on the opening two possessions from Thomas and Jordan, to force an early timeout from the Flying Queens as the Evangels led 30-12.
  • Aniya Smith added another triple before Wayland found a bucket on the offensive end to stop the 14-0 Evangel run. MACU again found points off the bench this time coming from Allie Harris who found the bottom from range, then followed it up with paint points for a 46-18 MACU advantage.
  • Wayland Baptist found momentum going on a quick scoring run to close the first half and cut into the Evangel lead. However, it was Berlin Bartlett who laid it in at the basket as time expired to give MACU a 48-25 lead going into halftime.
• Third Quarter
  • The Evangels opened the third quarter struggling from the field at just 1-10. However, it was the Evangel defense that kept the 20-point advantage into the third quarter media timeout.
  • Jordan cashed in for three out of the timeout, while Aniya Smith closed the quarter with four consecutive points to give MACU a 64-37 lead, a 27-point margin, its largest of the night to close out a low scoring quarter.
• Fourth Quarter
  • Wayland Baptist showed tremendous fight to start the fourth with three consecutive triples from North, to see the lead trimmed to just 16 two and half minutes into the final period. However, Jordan ended the quick Flying Queens' run with a tough finish at the basket.
  • It was Peyton North once again for WBU with five consecutive points and pulled the Flying Queens within single digits for the first time since the early stages of the first quarter, with just under two minutes to play.
  • However, Monique Carter drilled a three and Mia Smith closed it out from the line to pull the Evangels across the line by a 77-65 margin.

GAME NOTES

• MACU finished an efficient 26-51 (51.0%) from the field, 50% from behind the arc at 9-18, and converted 16-of-18 (88.9%) free throws. The Flying Queens shot 17-56 (30.4%) from the field, 9-26 (34.6%) from three, and 22-28 (78.6%) from the free throw line.    
• Mid-America Christian had five players score double-digit points led by Taliah Lee with 14 points off 6-10 from the field, Caitlynn Jordan and Monique Carter finished with 13 apiece with Jordan knocking down 3-of-6 threes, and Carter a perfect 6-6 from the line. Aniya Smith chipped in 11 off the bench off an efficient 3-4 from the field and 4-4 from free throws, while Talayah Thomas had 10 with a pair of triples.
• Taliah Lee finished her career night off with a career-high 13 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. As well as a career-high five blocks, which sees her second place all-time in program history for blocks in a single game.
• The Evangels dominated the paint finished with a 32-14 points in the paint margin to secure its bounce back win in the 2026 opener.
• Mid-America Christian improves to 6-2 in conference play to hold them top three, remaining just a game back of the top spot.
• MACU improved its all-time record against WBU to 9-28, winning two consecutive matches against the Flying Queens.  

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian stays at home for its weekend clash against Oklahoma Panhandle State inside the Gaulke Activity Center on Saturday afternoon tipping off at 2 p.m.