Mid-America Christian University

OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Women's Basketball team opened its season with a tough loss to Texas A&M San-Antonio in a competitive 77-69 result highlighted by Caitlynn Jordan's 24-point and 11-rebound double-double on Homecoming weekend inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 69, Texas A&M San Antionio 77
  • (RV) Mid-America Christian: (0-1)
  • Texas A&M San Antonio: (1-0)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Caitlynn Jordan: 24 Points, 8-17 FG, 6-6 FT, 11 Reb, Stl
• Aniya Smith: 12 Points, 7-8 FT, 5 Reb, Blk
• Noel Crabtree: 8 Points, 5 Ast, 4 Reb, Stl
• Jacey Crawford: 8 Points, 8 Reb, 3 Stl, 2 Ast, Blk

GAME SUMMARY

• First Quarter
  • Texas A&M San-Antonio jumped to an early 8-0 lead with a couple of triples knocked down in the first minute. Caitlynn Jordan got the Evangels on the board with a pair from the free throw line. However, the momentum stayed with the Jaguars as the lead quickly grew to double digits at 15-5 just four minutes in.
  • Jordan continued to produce the MACU offense from the free throw line and added one from behind the arc, but the onslaught continued through the rest of the quarter. Jordan finished with nine of the Evangels' 16 first quarter points, as MACU faced a 34-16 deficit after 10.
• Second Quarter
  • TAMUSA grew the lead to 20 with the first bucket of the second quarter. However, the MACU defense turned up the heat, forcing turnovers over the next few possessions.
  •  Jacey Crawford joined the Evangels offense with consecutive finishes at the basket. While Aniya Smith provided a bright spot of the MACU bench with aggressive drives earning her points from the free throw line. Smith trimmed the lead back to single digits at 41-33 with two more from the charity stripe in the final moments to take us to the halftime interval.
• Third Quarter
  • MACU cut into the halftime deficit in the opening two possessions as Mackenzie Heeke added one from the line, while Ana Moleon drilled a big time three as the Evangels trailed just four, two minutes into the third quarter.
  • However, every time the Evangels went on a run, the Jaguars answered. TAMUSA added consecutive buckets just before the media timeout to lead by eight at 45-37. Caitlynn Jordan took over on offense again with a layup and big-time trey ball as the deficit was three at 45-42 with four minutes left in the quarter.
  • The Jaguars stormed back in front with a dominant final three minutes to the quarter to take a 61-49 advantage into the final 10 minutes of action.
• Fourth Quarter
  • Mid-America Christian worked a late comeback after the fourth quarter media timeout. Fia Filoialii added two in the paint to cut the lead to nine. Sarah Davison finished at the basket, then Aniya Smith hit a clutch triple to pull the Evangels within four at 66-62.
  • The Jaguars pushed the lead back up to eight after consecutive three pointers, but Crawford and Jordan responded with two more in the paint to restore the four-point deficit.
  • However, MACU ran out of offensive firepower and a few late turnovers shut down any late comeback efforts as the Evangels dropped the season opener 77-69 to Texas A&M San-Antonio.

 
GAME NOTES

• MACU struggled to shoot off the rust finishing 20-59 (33.9%) from the field, 21.1% from 3-pt, and 56.8% (25-44) from the free throw line. TAMUSA shot more efficient at 25-60 (41.7%) from the field and 8-21 (38.1%) from behind the arc.
• Caitlynn Jordan led the Evangels offensively with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Jordan recorded the first double-double of the season after an 8-17 performance from the field and a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line. Aniya Smith reached double-digits off the bench with 12 points inspired by an efficient 7-8 from the line.
• Noel Crabtree led distribution efforts in her first game starting at guard in Evangel colors. Crabtree finished with five assists. Jacey Crawford returned from injury and scored an effective eight points and eight boards, with three steals and a block on the defensive end.   
• MACU and TAMUSA met for the first time Saturday afternoon as the Jaguars win gave them the 1-0 all-time series lead.     

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian stays at home to face Friends on Wednesday evening for a 4:30 P.M. tipoff inside the Gaulke Activity Center.