VSN (administrator) Published on Sunday, January 1, 2023 – at 09:30
OKLAHOMA CITY – The 25th-ranked MACU women’s basketball team closed out the 2022 season with its biggest win of the campaign so far, as Evangel built a huge lead in the second half before holding on for an 83-77 victory at the Golka Activity Center. on Saturday.
TOP PERFORMERS
- Shy Christopher – 26 points, 10-15 rebounds, 2-3 game, 4-6 feet, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals
- Jack Littell – 13 pts, 3-8 3 fb, 2 -2 ft, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 rebounds
- Aneli Thomsen – 10 points, 4-7 FG, 6 reb
- Whitney Outon – 7 pts, 3-5 FG, 9 reb, 2 blocks
GAME SUMMARY
- The first quarter
- Mid-America Christian made a three-pointer on its first three three-point attempts through the first 1:05 of the game. Whitney Outon, Jack Littell and Shy Christopher gave the Evangels an early 9-5 lead.
- After Bailey Albright’s layup cut MACU’s lead in half, Evangel rattled off six unanswered as a pair of Littells made it 15-7 with 6:26 left.
- Sterling rallied to score seven of the next nine points to make it 17-14 at the 4:19 mark on Ty Wilson’s layup after a Becky Stuckey steal.
- With both teams going goalless over the next 1:47, Christopher’s second 3-pointer of the contest sparked a 12-6 MACU lead. Ashley Hopper A lay-in pushed the Evangels to the rim with 51 seconds left.
- Sterling’s Cassen Schultz finished the period with a layup with five seconds left to make it 29-22.
- Second quarter
- Sterling’s defense kept MACU off the board for the first 2:38 before Stucky and Taya Wilson closed it to 29-26 at the 8:21 mark.
- With six and a half minutes remaining, Christopher ignited the Evangels’ offense, finishing a three-point play with a brilliant drive and layup down the left baseline before a steal by Littel led to a layup. Kyle Leverich fastbreak three-ball to extend MACU’s edge to 37-28 with just under six minutes left.
- Sterling once again scored five in a row to claw back a two-goal lead, but for the remainder of the half “Warriors” couldn’t get any closer as another Leverich long shot extended MACU’s lead to 42-35 three minutes in. to the left.
- In the final possession of the two teams, Christopher again made a strong move down the left wing, getting Euro between two defenders, and then finished the play with his left hand to beat the shot clock at the 18-second mark, and the Warriors’ Carsen Schultz with 1.7 seconds left. was able to draw a foul and hit one of two free throws to make it 45-40 at the break.
- The third quarter
- Mid-America Christian opened the second half as a Sydney Wyckoff board and a quick layup by Littel led to another fast break 3-pointer for MACU’s first possession, but the Warriors scored five of the next six to get back to within 49-45 with just under eight minutes left in the game.
- When Bailey Albright finished the scoring at 6:37, Aneli Thomsen ignited a MACU run with a mid-range jumper from the right elbow as Evangel scored 11 of the next 13 points, capped by Leverich’s 3-pointer from the left corner after a press break to extend MACU’s lead to 64-49 with 3:23 left.
- Sterling scored the next seven to cut the deficit to 64-56 with just under a minute left, but Thomsen gave MACU momentum again in the fourth quarter with another 3-pointer from the left corner after a press break to make it 67-56. go to the last period.
- Fourth quarter
- The Evangels’ defense held Sterling to start the fourth as the Warriors were held to just two points in the first 3:20, while back-to-back layups by Outon and Christopher extended MACU’s lead to 74-58 at the 6:46 mark. grade.
- Although Albright’s 3-pointer helped end the drought on the ensuing possession, MACU came back to take its biggest lead of the game behind a steal by Christopher and a strong fastbreak finish at the rim before Wyckoff banked in two possessions later with 4:17 left to make it 79-61.
- Sterling got hot from behind the arc in the final four minutes as the Warriors went on a 14-2 run that drained four 3-pointers before Kali Briar’s layup from downtown with 1:07 left to bring them back to within two at 81-75. .
- After Ashley Hopper and Schultz traded goals to keep it a six-point game, Wyckoff made one of the biggest plays of the game for MACU’s final possession when she raced down the boards on a miss by Littell as Evangel dribbled it in for a block. Victory with 83:77.
GAME NOTES
- Mid-America Christian had its best shooting performance of the season in the win as Evangel shot a season-high 31-for-62 (50 percent) from the field and also a season-best 10-of-22 (45.5). percent) from a three-point range. Despite his poor execution in the loss, Sterling also shot well, hitting 30-of-70 (42.9 percent) on his attempts while also going 8-for-23 (34.8 percent) from downtown, including 5-for-7 ( 71 .4 percent) in the fourth quarter.
- While both teams shot well from the field, MACU and Sterling each struggled from the charity stripe as the Warriors went 9-for-15 (60 percent) while MACU went just 11-of-20 (55%).
- The two teams played relatively evenly at home as MACU held a 43-42 lead while both teams struggled to get the ball, with each team committing 20 turnovers and 17 assists.
- Shy Christopher had his second 20-point performance in the last three games as the redshirt sophomore guard had a career-high 26 points on 10-of-15 from the field, including a team-high 2-for-3 from three. five assists along with four rebounds and two steals.
- While Jack Littell struggled from the field, shooting just 4-for-14, the junior guard shot well from behind the arc, going 3-for-8 to finish with a team-high 13 points, four assists and three steals.
- Aneli Thomsen rounded out MACU’s double-digit scorers with 10 points on 4-of-7 from the floor for six points.
- Kyle Leverich She came up just short of breaking into double figures when she went 3-for-3 from behind the arc for nine points while dishing out four dimes and pulling down three boards.
- Whitney Outon led MACU with nine rebounds and seven points on 3-of-5 shooting and a pair of blocks. Sydney Wyckoff Also turned in a strong floor game with seven points to go with five assists and four assists.
- Mid-America Christian’s win over Sterling is its first against a team ranked in the NAIA Top 25 this season. MACU’s last top-25 win came against No. 9 Wayland Baptist (Texas) at the Gaulke Activity Center on Jan. 20 last season.
- Since 2012-2013 The Evangels have won three in a row against Sterling this season, and it is also the team’s first win over the Warriors at home.
NEXT
- Mid-America Christian will look to take the momentum into his first game in 2023 because “Evangel” will travel to Fort Worth, Texas on Monday, Jan. 2 to take on Sooner Athletic Conference leader Texas Wesleyan. The announcement is scheduled for 6:00 PM at the Sid Richardson Center.
Mid-America Christian University Sterling College Women’s Basketball Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Faster Athletic Conference Game Results
