OKLAHOMA CITY – The MACU Women's Basketball team battled from behind for most of the second half, but the Evangels' late rally came up just short on Thursday night inside the Gaulke losing to Langston 69-66.
 
SCORE

• Mid-America Christian 66, Langston 69
  • (RV) Mid-America Christian: (18-5, 13-4 SAC)
  • (RV) Langston: (20-2, 14-2 SAC)

TOP PERFORMERS

• Caitlynn Jordan: 16 Points, 3-7 3FG, 9 Reb, 2 Blk, 1 Ast
• Sincere Roberts: 13 Points, 6-11 FG, 5 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl
• Monique Carter: 13 Points, 3-4 3FG, 1 Ast
• Talayah Thomas: 9 Points, 4-4 FT, 5 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Blk

GAME SUMMARY

• First Quarter
  • Langston started on the front foot early with consecutive baskets from behind the arc, while the Evangels found points from Caitlynn Jordan in the paint. The Lions led 11-7 at the first quarter media timeout.
  • Sincere Roberts added two more out of the timeout, followed by Jordan splashing in her first triple to give the Evangels its first lead at 12-11 with three minutes left in the first.
  • The Lions rallied off 10 straight, but four points in the final six seconds of the quarter for MACU kept them down just four at 22-18 after the opening quarter.
• Second Quarter
  • Jordan canned a three from deep to open the second quarter and get the Evangels back within one. Both teams traded buckets down to the media timeout until Monique Carter added two consecutive threes as MACU led again at 31-29 with five minutes remaining.
  • The Lions came roaring back with a quick 10-4 run in three minutes to snatch the lead right back. The final points of the quarter came with two minutes left as Langston added two more from the free throw line and led 39-35 at halftime.
• Third Quarter
  • Taliah Lee got the scoring rolling in the third with a triple from the top of the key. However, the Lions stayed in front at the media timeout up by five, 49-44.
  • Both teams scoreless for a three-minute stretch before offenses took off and MACU came storming back to close quarter. Jordan knocked down another three, followed by Aniya Smith getting to the hole and Mia Smith stealing the inbound and laying it up and in. the Evangels scored seven points in 45 seconds to knot it up at 51 headed into the fourth.
• Fourth Quarter
  • Langston jumped out to an early start in the fourth, scoring the opening five points in the first two minutes. Thomas scored the first MACU bucket in the fourth, then Carter hit her third three of the game to answer a Langston triple to trail 59-56.
  • Roberts and Thomas connected from deep again to stop a Langston run and pull within one point at 63-62 with four minutes left.
  • Lee connected from range again in response to a quick four-point Langston stretch with two minutes left, to cut the lead to 67-65.
  • After a great defensive stop, the Evangels had a great look at the rim to tie it up at 67 that didn't fall. The Lions would close out the game from the free throw line by a final score of 69-66.

 
GAME NOTES

• MACU shot 23-51 (45.1%) from the field, 10-20 (50.0%) from 3-pt, and 10-12 (83.3%) from the free throw line. The Lions finished 25-70 (35.7%) from the field, 8-22 (36.4%) from behind the arc, and 11-19 (57.9%) from the stripe.
• The Evangels had three players score double digits led by Caitlynn Jordan finished with 16 points cashing in three triples while adding 3-of-4 from the line. Monique Carter and Sincere Roberts chipped in 13 apiece as Carter shot an efficient 3-of-4 from 3-pt, while Roberts shot 6-11 (54.5%) from the field.  
• Caitlynn Jordan snagged a team-high nine boards, followed by six from Taliah Lee, and five apiece from Talayah Thomas and Sincere Roberts.
• Mid-America Christian falls to 13-4 in Sooner Athletic Conference play. The Evangels are now two games back of the top spot, remaining one behind Nelson in second.    
• Langston got a game back on MACU as the all-time record moved to 11-8, while splitting the regular season meetings.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian hits the road this weekend headed to McPherson, Kan. to take on the Tigers of Central Christian on Saturday afternoon tipping off at 2 p.m. inside the Jerry E. Alexander Arena.