Box Score
OKLAHOMA CITY – The last time the Wayland Baptist Flying Queens defeated Mid-America Christian, they set off on a seven-game winning streak. Alesha Robertson hopes they can put together another run like that after toppling MACU here Thursday night in Sooner Athletic Conference play, 81-73.
"Mid-America is playing some good basketball, so I'm glad we got out of there with a 'W,'" the Flying Queens coach said.
Wayland (12-9, 9-3 SAC) broke away in the first half and then held off a late surge by Mid-America to win for the eighth time in the last nine outings. The Queens outscored the Lady Evangels (13-10, 7-7) by a 24-7 count over the last eight minutes of the first half to lead comfortably at intermission, 40-22.
"We ran the ball like we wanted," Robertson said of the team's first-half success. "(Christie) Mooney played a really good game, and AD (Angeleigh Davis) put in some really tough shots. Our post layers are getting involved on both ends and taking it to the hole on offense. When you get everybody involved in your offense, it helps a bunch."
Wayland maintained close to a 20-point lead until MACU made a late surge.
The Queens led 73-54 with 5:42 to play before the Lady Evangels went on a 15-3 run to close to within seven, 76-69, with 1:19 left. After a Wayland turnover, the Lady Evangels had a chance to close even closer, but missed a 3-point try.
Mooney then came up with a pair of offensive rebounds for Wayland and hit 3-of-4 free throws to seal the win.
Robertson was happy with the play of her starters, but disappointed in the performance of her second five.
"The first group did a really nice job coming out and playing, but the second group didn't play like they normally do. They did just enough to pull us through," the coach said. "I tried to rest my first group but ended up having to put them back in at the end to finish it."
Mooney ended with 15 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. Davis led the Flying Queens in scoring with 23 points, including 18 in the first half. Stephanie Afunugo added 12 points and eight rebounds while LaTericka Anderson had nine points and seven boards. Laura Castillo chipped in eight points and as many assists.
MACU, which is directly behind tied-for-third-place Wayland in the SAC standings, got 15 points and 17 rebounds from Tierra Brown. Cheyenne Been also had 15 points, while Lauren McKinney and Ashlee Ferguson put in 13 apiece.
Wayland made 21-of-27 free throws (78 percent), while MACU was also impressive from the stripe by hitting 27-of-37 (73 percent). The Lady Evangels put up 31 3-pointers, hitting just six (19 percent). Wayland was 4-of-11 (36 percent) from beyond the arc and 28-of-70 (40 percent) from the field overall.
The Queens held a 50-47 rebounding edge, but also had three more turnovers than MACU, 20-17.
Wayland will have its hands full on Saturday when it takes on No. 4 Oklahoma Baptist (20-2, 12-0) beginning at 1 p.m. in Shawnee. The Lady Bison, who defeated Wayland, 64-78, in Plainview on Jan. 9, have won 13 in a row, their most recent win a close 65-64 road decision over MACU on Tuesday.
"Hopefully we can come back Saturday and play a good game against OBU. That would be a nice win if we can get that one," Robertson said. "They're a complete team. They have some shooters and some quick people who can get up and down the floor, and their defense is one of the things that separates them from the rest of the conference."
Robertson said the Flying Queens would love to hand the Lady Bison their first SAC loss.
"We want to be their first loss," she said. "If we can take care of the ball and be smart with it, then we should be able to hang with them."
