GOODWELL, Okla. – MACU Women's Basketball once again put on a second-half clinic outscoring Oklahoma Panhandle State 40-22 in the second half, on the way to a 77-55 road win on Thursday evening.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 77, Oklahoma Panhandle State 55
  • (RV) Mid-America Christian: (21-6, 16-5 SAC)
  • Oklahoma Panhandle State: (6-21, 3-18 SAC)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Taliah Lee: 20 Points, 7-13 FG, 4-6 3FG, 2 Ast, 2 Blk, 1 Reb
• Mia Smith: 19 Points, 7-11 FG, 2-4 3FG, 3-3 FT, 4 Reb, 4 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk
• Talayah Thomas: 12 Points, 5-10 FG, 2-4 3FG, 6 Stl, 5 Ast, 3 Reb
• Aniya Smith: 9 Points, 3-5 FG, 2-4 3FG, 2 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl

GAME SUMMARY

• First Quarter
  • The Aggies jumped on the front foot right away with an 11-2 lead five minutes into the opening quarter. Mia Smith connected from deep to stop the run, trailing 11-5 at the media timeout.
  • Taliah Lee found her shooting stroke from range as well cashing in consecutive triples out of the timeout. However, the Aggies stayed in front with excellent three-point shooting of their own to lead 18-13 with two and a half minutes left.
  • The Evangels closed the final two minutes of the quarter on a 9-2 run as Lee sandwiched a three between a pair of Talayah Thomas triples on three consecutive possessions, as the Evangels led 22-20 after the first 10 minutes.
• Second Quarter
  • OPSU's offense traded buckets with MACU through the first five minutes. Mia Smith found consecutive baskets at the rim for seven early points. However, the Aggies took a slim 27-26 lead.
  • Mia Smith scored in the lane again, followed by Aniya Smith from deep to pull the Evangels back in front again at 31-29.
  • MACU continued to score in the paint, while OPSU converted from the free throw line. The Evangels led 37-33 at halftime.
• Third Quarter
  • After the Aggies field goal to open the second half, Lee splashed in her fourth triple of the evening on the Evangels' opening possession. Mia Smith got to double-digit scoring shortly after with more paint points to give MACU a 42-35 lead.
  • MACU's lead quickly ballooned to 16 as the Evangels rallied of nine straight points all of which occurred inside the paint of on the free throw line. Aniya Smith ended the paint points stretch with another triple as the Evangels led 57-39 with four minutes left.
  • The Aggies fought down the stretch of the third quarter with 10 quick points in the final three minutes, trailing the Evangels 62-49 with 10 minutes remaining.
• Fourth Quarter
  • Much like the third quarter, MACU connected for three on the opening possession as this time it was Mia Smith for a 19-point outing. Neither team scored for the next four minutes, until the Aggies cut the lead to 10, 65-55, at the media timeout.
  • Taliah Lee took back over the game with six consecutive points in a two-minute stretch, to quickly extend the lead back up 71-55.
  • Freshman Brooklyn Hunt checked in to the contest for the final three minutes, making good work of her time with four points to close out MACU's 77-55 win over OPSU.

 
GAME NOTES

• MACU shot 30-71 (42.3%) from the field, 10-29 (34.5%) from 3-pt, and 7-8 (87.5%) from the free throw line. The Aggies finished 17-50 (34.0%) from the field, 4-19 (21.1%) from behind the arc, and 17-23 (73.9%) from the stripe.
• The Evangels had three players score in double digit figures, led by Taliah Lee with 20 points off four made three-pointers. Mia Smith added 19 points from an efficient 7-11 shooting from the field. Talayah Thomas tallied 12 points, while also contributing two from behind the arc.
• MACU continued to disrupt opponents' offense as the Evangels forced 23 Aggies' turnovers with 13 steals and three blocks. Talayah Thomas finished with six steals, while the SAC's leading blocker Taliah Lee had two blocks.
• The Evangels were brilliant offensively with 16 team assists. Thomas led the way with five assists, followed by Mia Smith with four. Although Caitlynn Jordan was held scoreless for the first time this season, she had a team-high 10 rebounds.
• Mid-America Christian improves to 16-5 in Sooner Athletic Conference play, sitting just one-game back of the top spot in third place headed into the final game of the season.
• MACU continues to dominate the all-time record against OPSU, improving to 15-1, winning 15 consecutive games against the Aggies.   

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian stays out West for its final regular season game as the Evangels face Wayland Baptist on Saturday afternoon tipping off at 2 p.m. in Plainview, Texas.