PLAINVIEW, TEXAS – MACU Women's Basketball defeated Wayland Baptist on the road 77-75 on Saturday afternoon, highlighted by a new single game program record 14 assists from Junior guard Mia Smith to go along with 16 points and six rebounds.  
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 77, Wayland Baptist 75
  • (RV) Mid-America Christian: (22-6, 17-5 SAC)
  • Wayland Baptist (Texas): (12-15, 11-11 SAC)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Mia Smith: 16 Points, 3-7 FG, 10-12 FT, 14 Ast, 6 Reb, 1 Stl
• Caitlynn Jordan: 17 Points, 7-13 FG, 6 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Blk
• Taliah Lee: 15 Points, 5-7 3FG, 6 Reb, 3 Stl, 2 Ast, 1 Blk
• Sincere Roberts: 14 Points, 6-11 FG, 3 Reb, 3 Stl, 2 Ast, 1 Blk

GAME SUMMARY

• First Quarter
  • Taliah Lee and Mia Smith combined for MACU's opening 10 points as Lee cashed in two from range, while Smith did damage in the paint to give the Evangels a 10-6 lead, three minutes into the contest.
  • The Evangels surrendered the lead at 10-11 but responded with seven straight approaching the media timeout to lead 17-11.
  • Lee connected on a third triple in the opening quarter in the last few possession, while Caitlynn Jordan tallied two paint points to end the quarter as MACU held a 24-20 advantage after the first quarter.
• Second Quarter
  • Smith and Lee combined for three once again to extend MACU's largest lead thus far to seven. However, the Flying Queens clawed back within two at the seven-minute mark of the second quarter.
  • Freshman Brooklyn Hunt converted on a big and-one with two minutes remaining. As the Evangels saw out the remainder of the first half to hold a narrow four-point, 42-38 lead at the intermission.
• Third Quarter
  • MACU's lead grew as large as eight in the early stages of the third quarter as this time it was Talayah Thomas notching two more under the basket. Monique Carter finished on the drive for a 10-point Evangel lead at the halfway point of the quarter.
  • The Evangels maintained a double-digit lead down the stretch as Thomas splashed home a triple with two minutes left to lead 65-53.
  • Jordan converted 1-of-2 from the free throw line in the final action of the quarter as MACU dominate the third to take a 68-56 advantage into the final quarter.
• Fourth Quarter
  • The first four minutes of the fourth quarter was all Wayland Baptist as the Flying Queens quickly trimmed the lead to 58-66 with six minutes left. Jordan stopped the skid with a triple and the lead was five.
  • The Flying Queens drilled a three out of the media timeout to cut the lead down to one. However, the Evangels had the response again with a fifth triple from Lee to go back up four.
  • The talented freshman Cania Mitchell brought WBU back to one with a three at 75-74 with two minutes to play. Jordan came up big with two more in the paint, receiving the pass from none other than Mia Smith for her record-breaking 14^th assist of the afternoon. MACU closed out the 77-75 win in the regular season finale.

 
GAME NOTES

• MACU shot 27-57 (47.4%) from the field, 8-17 (47.1%) from 3-pt, and 15-18 (83.3%) from the free throw line. The Flying Queens finished 26-60 (43.3%) from the field, 13-28 (46.4%) from behind the arc, and 10-13 (76.9%) from the stripe.
• The Evangels had three players score in double digit figures, led by Caitlynn Jordan with 17 points of 7-13 (53.8%) field goal percentage. Mia Smith added 16 points, shooting 10-12 (83.3%) from the free throw line. Sincere Roberts chipped in 14 points off the bench on a 6-11 (54.5%) clip.  
• MACU tallied a season-high 23 assists led by Mia Smith's program record breaking 14. Smith's 14 assists broke the single-game assist record held by Alliyah Spatafora who recorded 12 assists against Science & Arts on Jan. 26, 2016. She also recorded her second double-double of the season on a 16-point and 14-assist afternoon.
• The Evangels once again disrupted defensively and forced 14 turnovers with nine steals. Sincere Roberts and Taliah Lee had joint most three steals apiece.
• Mid-America Christian finished the Sooner Athletic Conference regular season with a 17-5 record, earning a second-place finish in the Evangels first season under Head Coach Scott Morris.  
• MACU still trails all-time against WBU 10-28. However, the Evangels have won three consecutive games against the Flying Queens, their longest win streak to date.    

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian won the tiebreaker over Nelson for the two-seed and will face this same Wayland Baptist side on Thursday evening at 5:30 p.m. inside the Abe Lemons Arena in Oklahoma City for the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament Quarterfinals.