Box Score OKLAHOMA CITY – Freshman
Deborah VanDijk scored 18 points and
Nina Sato 17 to lead six players in double figures as Wayland Baptist won its eighth straight game here Thursday night over Mid-America Christian, 101-88.
"Any win on the road is a steal, but especially that one," Wayland coach
Alesha Robertson-Ellis said. "MACU is a scary team to play because they're well-coached, athletic and they hustle. Plus we have to be ready for everybody's best.
"That was a tough game."
Reigning NAIA Player of the Week
Jade Jones, fresh off a 46-point effort Saturday, finished the Sooner Athletic Conference contest with 15 points while
Maci Merket and
Kendrick Clark added 14 each.
Morgan Bennett chipped in a dozen to match her 12 assists.
"I was proud of that. We've been balanced most of the year," Robertson-Ellis said of six players in double figures. The coach was especially proud of Bennett's performance. "She didn't play like freshman, and that's what we're going to have to have out of her. It's nice to be a freshman and ease into things, but we need those players to step up for us this year, and Morgan did tonight."
Wayland (13-2, 4-1 SAC), ranked the equivalent of 27
th in the NAIA, was ahead by just seven points when Merket nailed a long 3-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer to boost the Flying Queens to a 70-60 lead. The Flying Queens then scored the first six points of the fourth and never looked back.
Wayland stretched its lead to as many as 20 points, 95-75, and wound up reaching the century mark for the second time this season and the second straight game, despite 21 turnovers.
Jones came up one rebound short of a double-double as the Flying Queens dominated the boards, 43-28. Sato added six caroms. Wayland ended with 27 assists, compared to nine for the Lady Evangels (12-4, 3-2).
MACU is one of the top rebounding teams in the NAIA, averaging over 50 a game to rank second.
"I was really proud of how we rebounded. We've been focusing on that," Robertson-Elllis said. "I knew tonight was going to come down to effort, and it did…who was getting the loose balls and that kind of stuff."
The Flying Queens shot 56 percent (35-of-63) from the field and 83 percent (25-of-30) from the free-throw line.
MACU got 36 points from Sarai Rodriguez, who drained 14-of-15 foul shots.
"They came out with a lot of fire," Robertson-Ellis said of MACU.
Wayland returns to Plainview for its next game against No. 8 Oklahoma City (14-1, 5-0) at 1 p.m. Saturday. That game could be delayed due to expected inclement weather. More information should be available by noon Friday.
The Flying Queens fell to OCU, an 81-51 winner over Southwestern Christian on Thursday, on Dec. 3 in Oklahoma City, 100-65. That was Wayland's last loss since its current eight-game streak. The Stars, who were ranked No. 19 at the time, are on a 13-game winning streak.
Robertson-Ellis said the Flying Queens are anxious for another crack at OCU.
"We've played two pretty good games in a row, and I would be shocked if our team didn't show up against OCU. They've proven to step up for those games in the past," she said. "We're all looking forward to that. We want to give it another shot, for sure."
