The Wayland Baptist Flying Queens don't have to look far for inspiration as they prepare to take on the No. 3 team in the nation. In fact, the Flying Queens got to witness the inspiration first-hand on Saturday afternoon in Hutcherson Center when the Wayland Pioneers knocked off the No. 4 team in the country.
The Flying Queens and Pioneers return to the road this week to kick off the second half of Sooner Athletic Conference play, first taking on Oklahoma City University on Thursday night then going up against Mid-America Christian University on Saturday afternoon. Thursday's games are at 6 and 8 p.m. while Saturday's action is at 1 and 3 p.m. Links to audio and video streaming and/or LiveStats are available at
www.wbuathletics.com.
The Flying Queens (12-10 overall, 4-4 SAC), who are tied for fourth place in the conference, will have their hands full in Abe Lemons Arena as they meet defending national champion OCU (16-2, 8-0). The Stars, who last season claimed their first crown since winning four in a row from 1999-2002, have strung together 15 victories in a row, the NAIA's longest winning streak this season.
OCU brings a well-balanced game plan to the table with the third highest-scoring team in the NAIA, averaging 83.7 points a game, as well as the third stingiest defense, giving up just 48.8 ppg.
The Stars topped Wayland when the teams met on Jan. 12 in Hutcherson Center, 84-64. The game was closer than the 20-point final margin appears as the Flying Queens were within eight points with six minutes left.
In that game, junior guard Kayla Mackenzie led the Stars with 17 points, followed by 6-0 senior forward Desiree Jeffries with 16, 5-2 senior guard Jessica Lankston with 14 and 6-2 senior forward Lauren Gober with 11. Currently, the hottest player on the OCU roster is 6-0 senior center Katie Hall, who was named the SAC Player of the Week after averaging 17 points and 11½ rebounds in OCU's wins last week over Mid-America Christian (75-49) and St. Gregory's (94-43).
For Wayland last time against OCU, junior guard
Christie Mooney scored a season-high 18 points while freshman
Laura Castillo added 16. Castillo missed the Flying Queens' games last week with a concussion, but head coach
Tory Bryant said she will play Thursday night as Wayland looks to snap a two-game slide.
On Saturday, the Queens face Mid-America Christian (12-7, 3-5), a team Wayland defeated at home, 84-73, three weeks ago. That game featured the Flying Queens' leading scorer,
Angeleigh Davis, racking up a season-best 26 points while Castillo and Mooney added 13 each.
Davis' 26 points in the Jan. 10 game was three short of the game-high 29 put up by MACU's Kourtni Williams, a 5-foot-11 senior forward. Williams, who also pulled down 11 rebounds against the Queens, is averaging 17.4 ppg.
The Lady Evangels are tied for sixth place in the SAC standings, a game behind Wayland.
While the Flying Queens are looking to get back on the winning track and gain some momentum, the Pioneers (13-8, 4-4) are riding high in the afterglow of their 84-70 win over John Brown University. The Golden Eagles' first SAC loss knocked them from a tie for fourth to sixth in this week's NAIA Top 25.
Wayland coach
Matt Garnett didn't allow his team long to celebrate their victory, knowing that two more tough conference opponents await in OCU and MACU.
The Stars (9-7, 2-6) have fallen on tough times of late. Ranked as high as No. 22, OCU fell out of the polls while losing five games in a row, including a 70-68 decision to the Pioneers back on Jan. 12 in Hutcherson Center. That game saw several large swings, starting when Wayland went up by 13 points in the first half before the Stars rallied and took a seven-point lead in the second half.
Ultimately, the Pioneers pulled out the win when OCU missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds. The Stars finished the game making just four 3-pointers in 24 tries.
Wayland's
Eric Milam scored a team-high 17 points, followed by
Reggie Fondren with 13 points and 15 rebounds,
Tanner Hazelbaker with 12 points and
Travis Payton with 10 points. The Stars got a season-high 25 points from senior guard Troynell Adams and 22 from junior guard Terry Johnson.
OCU began righting its ship last Thursday when the Stars edged last-place St. Gregory's, 67-66.
On Saturday afternoon, the Pioneers get a chance to gain ground on one of the three teams above them in the SAC standings. MACU (10-7, 5-3), which just missed making the Top 25 this week for the first time this season, stands alone in third place, a game up on Wayland, Lubbock Christian and Rogers State.
In their first meeting, Wayland picked up one of its signature wins of the season as the Pioneers rallied from 17 points behind early in the second half to beat the Evangels, 79-74. Hazelbaker led the way with 20 points, followed by
Theo Hatcher with 17,
Juhreece Thompson with 15 and Payton with his first double-double, 11 points and 10 boards.
Wayland won that game without Fondren, who in Saturday's win over John Brown threw in a season-high 30 points. Fondren has missed a double-double by one rebound in each of his last two games.
MACU, coming off an 81-70 loss to No. 9 Oklahoma Baptist, is led by the SAC's leading scorer in Charlie Shorter. The 6-1 senior guard from Dallas is averaging 21.7 ppg, which ranks sixth in the NAIA. He got 18 points against the Pioneers as teammate Angelo Lewis, a 6-4 junior forward, ended with 15 points and 15 boards.
SAC Standings
Men
|
School |
SAC |
Overall |
GB |
Streak |
|
John Brown |
7-1 |
.875 |
18-4 |
.818 |
-- |
Lost 1 |
|
Oklahoma Baptist |
6-2 |
.750 |
18-4 |
.818 |
1.0 |
Won 3 |
|
MACU |
5-3 |
.625 |
10-7 |
.588 |
2.0 |
Lost 1 |
|
Rogers State |
4-4 |
.500 |
16-6 |
.727 |
3.0 |
Lost 1 |
|
Wayland Baptist |
4-4 |
.500 |
13-8 |
.619 |
3.0 |
Won 1 |
|
Lubbock Christian |
4-4 |
.500 |
11-9 |
.550 |
3.0 |
Won 1 |
|
USAO |
4-5 |
.444 |
11-6 |
.647 |
3.5 |
Won 1 |
|
Oklahoma City |
2-6 |
.250 |
9-7 |
.563 |
5.0 |
Won 1 |
|
Saint Gregory's |
0-7 |
.000 |
6-11 |
.353 |
6.5 |
Lost 9 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Women
|
School |
SAC |
Overall |
GB |
Streak |
|
Oklahoma City |
8-0 |
1.000 |
16-2 |
.889 |
-- |
Won 15 |
|
Lubbock Christian |
7-1 |
.875 |
20-1 |
.952 |
1.0 |
Won 4 |
|
Rogers State |
6-2 |
.750 |
16-6 |
.727 |
2.0 |
Lost 1 |
|
Oklahoma Baptist |
4-4 |
.500 |
11-8 |
.579 |
4.0 |
Won 2 |
|
Wayland Baptist |
4-4 |
.500 |
12-10 |
.545 |
4.0 |
Lost 2 |
|
MACU |
3-5 |
.375 |
12-7 |
.632 |
5.0 |
Lost 1 |
|
John Brown |
3-5 |
.375 |
8-12 |
.400 |
5.0 |
Won 1 |
|
USAO |
1-8 |
.111 |
10-11 |
.476 |
7.5 |
Won 1 |
|
Saint Gregory's |
0-7 |
.000 |
7-14 |
.333 |
7.5 |
Lost 9 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NAIA Top 25
Men
|
RANK |
LAST WEEK |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
2012 – 13 RECORD |
TOTAL POINTS |
|
1 |
1 |
Columbia (Mo.) (11) |
22-0 |
281 |
|
2 |
2 |
Lee (Tenn.) |
19-1 |
272 |
|
3 |
4 |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) |
21-2 |
254 |
|
4 |
7 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
19-2 |
252 |
|
5 |
6 |
Westmont (Calif.) |
18-3 |
250 |
|
6 |
4 |
John Brown (Ark.) |
18-4 |
237 |
|
7 |
3 |
Pikeville (Ky.) |
18-3 |
228 |
|
8 |
9 |
Cal State San Marcos |
18-4 |
211 |
|
9 |
10 |
Oklahoma Baptist |
18-4 |
208 |
|
10 |
14 |
Emmanuel (Ga.) |
20-2 |
194 |
|
11 |
12 |
Bethel (Tenn.) |
20-2 |
188 |
|
12 |
15 |
Hope International (Calif.) |
20-2 |
171 |
|
13 |
11 |
Xavier (La.) |
18-4 |
167 |
|
14 |
16 |
SAGU (Texas) |
18-3 |
163 |
|
15 |
13 |
Montana State-Northern |
18-5 |
156 |
|
16 |
20 |
Faulkner (Ala.) |
19-3 |
130 |
|
17 |
17 |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
17-6 |
129 |
|
18 |
8 |
William Carey (Miss.) |
17-4 |
127 |
|
19 |
22 |
Westminster (Utah) |
18-4 |
120 |
|
20 |
18 |
Rogers State (Okla.) |
16-6 |
112 |
|
21 |
19 |
Evangel (Mo.) |
16-5 |
107 |
|
22 |
25 |
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
17-5 |
101 |
|
23 |
23 |
Philander Smith (Ark.) |
15-5 |
97 |
|
24 |
RV |
LSU Shreveport (La.) |
15-4 |
74 |
|
25 |
RV |
Arizona Christian |
13-5 |
48 |
Others receiving votes: Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 35; Culver-Stockton (Mo.) 35; Shawnee State (Ohio) 34 Montana Western 21; Southern-New Orleans (La.) 18; Georgetown (Ky.) 12; Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 10; St. Thomas (Texas) 10; Martin Methodist (Tenn.) 6; Park (Mo.) 4.
Women
|
RANK |
LAST TIME |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
2012-13 RECORD |
TOTAL POINTS |
|
1 |
1 |
Lubbock Christian (Texas) (6) |
20-1 |
276 |
|
2 |
2 |
Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) (3) |
20-1 |
270 |
|
3 |
4 |
Oklahoma City (2) |
16-2 |
262 |
|
4 |
3 |
Vanguard (Calif.) |
14-1 |
261 |
|
5 |
5 |
Westminster (Utah) |
19-2 |
245 |
|
6 |
7 |
Cumberland (Tenn.) |
20-1 |
236 |
|
7 |
6 |
Lee (Tenn.) |
17-2 |
224 |
|
8 |
9 |
Westmont (Calif.) |
15-3 |
221 |
|
9 |
8 |
The Master's (Calif.) |
19-1 |
201 |
|
10 |
10 |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
20-2 |
200 |
|
11 |
10 |
Campbellsville (Ky.) |
17-4 |
199 |
|
12 |
13 |
Georgetown (Ky.) |
15-6 |
181 |
|
13 |
12 |
Bethel (Tenn.) |
16-5 |
168 |
|
14 |
14 |
Xavier (La.) |
15-4 |
167 |
|
15 |
16 |
Benedictine (Kan.) |
20-3 |
153 |
|
16 |
15 |
Rogers State (Okla.) |
16-6 |
145 |
|
17 |
17 |
Wiley (Texas) |
18-2 |
128 |
|
18 |
24 |
Columbia (Mo.) |
16-5 |
126 |
|
19 |
22 |
Faulkner (Ala.) |
19-4 |
116 |
|
20 |
18 |
Lyon (Ark.) |
18-3 |
111 |
|
21 |
21 |
Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) |
19-1 |
109 |
|
22 |
19 |
Shawnee State (Ohio) |
16-6 |
100 |
|
23 |
20 |
William Woods (Mo.) |
16-3 |
83 |
|
24 |
25 |
Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) |
16-5 |
75 |
|
25 |
RV |
Carroll (Mont.) |
14-6 |
58 |
Others receiving votes: Central Methodist (Mo.) 51; LSU Shreveport (La.) 49; Southern Poly (Ga.) 30; St. Catharine (Ky.) 29; Robert Morris (Ill.) 23; Southern-New Orleans (La.) 14.
