Langston, Okla. — It was a tough afternoon for the 20th ranked Flying Queens as they suffered a 67-97 defeat against 24th ranked Mid-America Christian in the Sooner Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Semi-Finals match-up.
Wayland Baptist scored the first six points of this afternoon’s SAC Semi-Final contest – the run being capped off by a Kaitlyn Jerden three. Linda Brice and Peyton North followed with two straight threes for the Flying Queens to make it 12-5, but the Evangels went on a massive 19-0 scoring and took a 24-12 over Wayland Baptist with just over two minutes left in the opening frame.
The Queens knocked down 3 of 5 from the free throw line at the end of the first, but the Evangels held a 28-15 lead at the end of the first.
The Queens struggled defensively in the second quarter – those struggles allowed the Evangels to blow the game open and take a 31-point lead with just over two minutes until the halftime break. With the Queens down 54-23, Megan Nestor began to make her presence felt in the paint as she scored three straight buckets, but the Evangels answered each bucket with points of their own and didn’t allow the Queens to trim their deficit.
Bobbie Fouquet knocked down a late three for the Queens to make it 59-32 at the halftime break.
The Queens opened the second half with some energy and trimmed their deficit to 64-40 after a jumper from Jerden followed by a tough and-one from Fouquet. Unfortunately, the Evangels answered with a 16-5 scoring run to extend their lead back up to 38-points. The Queens closed the quarter with a half-court buzzer beater from Brice to make it 80-45.
The fourth quarter was the only quarter the Queens were able to outscore the Evangels – ultimately winning the quarter 22-17. However, the Evangels went on to win the game, 97-67, which eliminates the Flying Queens from the Sooner Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament.
The Queens struggled mightily from the field tonight as they finished the game shooting 35.5% from the floor and 33.3% from three, while the Evangels shot 55.7% from the floor and 41.7% from three. The Evangels finished with 22 points off turnovers compared to seven for the Flying Queens. MACU also had 50 points in the paint compared to 28 for the Flying Queens.
Nestor led the Queens offensively with 22 points on 9 of 15 shooting from the floor, 10 rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. Fouquet went for 12 points, four assists, and three rebounds. Jerden added 12 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
The 20th ranked Flying Queens will now wait until Thursday, March 6th to see where the selection committee decides to place them for the 2025 NAIA Women’s Basketball National Tournament. The Selection Show will begin at 6:00 PM on the NAIA Network.
source: wbuathletics.com