OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- Out-scoring the Bruins 62-12 in the middle quarters, the No. 19-ranked Mid-American Christian University defeated the Bellevue University women's basketball team 101-41 on Friday evening in each team's first game at the MACU Classic.
MACU stayed unbeaten, improving to 3-0 while the Bruins slipped a game below .500 at 2-3.
Bellevue took an early lead, scoring the first five points of the game, but MACU responded by scoring the next 12 to take their first lead of the game. A 6:22 scoring drought saw the Bruins fall behind by seven before Delaney VanBlaricon buried consecutive triples to make it a one-point game.
The Bruins took a lead on the subsequent possession with Shelby Little making a strong move in the post for a layup. Alex Borgstadt countered with an and-one at the other end as the Evangels took a 15-13 lead after a quarter.
While the first quarter was a game of runs, the second featured BU and Mid-America Christian trade blows until the Evangels closed out the half on a 26-2 run to push their lead to 26 points, 45-19. During the run, Shy Christopher scored 13-straight points for MACU and nine-straight overall.
Christopher led all players with 17 points at the break. Jaci Calavan dropped in eight and Kylee Scheer added seven for MACU. VanBlaricon paced the Bruins with six and Gabby Moore added five in the opening 20 minutes.
The Bruins shot just 28% and turned the ball over 14 times in the first half while Mid-America Christian connected at a 48% rate and committed just six turnovers.
MACU continued their offensive showcase out of the intermission, scoring 21 of the first 23 points of the second half. The hosts led 77-25 after three.
Arnold and VanBlaricon scored six apiece for the Bruins who struggled to just 30% shooting on the evening.
Christopher scored a game-high 29 and pulled down six rebounds for Mid-America Christian and she was joined in double figures by Scheer (16) and Calavan (13).
Bellevue faces on John Brown University tomorrow at noon to close out play in the MACU Classic
