Women's Basketball | 1/11/2020 4:29:00 PM

Box Score GOODWELL, Okla. -  Oklahoma Panhandle State University women's basketball lost its Sooner Athletic Conference match-up versus Mid-America Christian University by a 79-53 score at Anchor D Arena. The loss dropped the Aggies to 4-10 and 0-6 in the SAC, while the Evangels – who received votes in the latest NAIA national poll – improved to 12-3 and 5-1 in conference.
 
Panhandle State and the Evangels went back-and-forth in t opening stanza. The teams had five lead changes in the opening salvo, with MACU grabbing a 19-15 lead after one period. The hot shooting of junior guard Laura Moya Demures, who went 4-for-4 from the floor in the first ten minutes of the game, helped the Aggies stay close.
 
MACU opened the second quarter on a 6-2 run, making it 25-17, and built that to 33-19 by the 3:25 mark of the period for its biggest lead of the half.  The Evangels matched that advantage heading into the locker room with a 38-24 margin, out-scoring the Aggies 19-9 in the second quarter.
 
The nationally-considered Evangels opened the third quarter on a 5-0 mini-run, before OPSU tallied eight points in a row of its own to make it 43-32 at the 5:24 mark. But MACU closed out the third on a 17-8 streak, leading 60-40 after three periods. The fourth also went in the Evangels' column, out-dueling the Aggies, 19-13, for the 79-53 final.
 
Moya Demures had an OPSU career high, finishing the day with 22 points. Moya Demures hit 5-of-8 from the floor overall – 1-of-1 from beyond the arc – and was 11-for-12 from the free throw stripe. She also led the Aggies with five assists and a pair of steals.
 
Freshman Shay Audrain chipped in nine points during her stint on the floor. Audrain led OPSU with five rebounds.
 
Junior Cassia McCaskill, back in action for the first time after missing three games due to injury, booked six points, two rebounds, two assists, one block and a steal in just 17 minutes of playing time off the bench. Naomi Rodriguez and Hannah Bennett each tallied four points, and Vanessa Gonzalez three. Shaylynn Choate and Nadia Hayes added two apiece, while Skylar Cleavinger scored one to round out the Panhandle scoring.
 
Choate grabbed four boards, while Rodriguez and Bennet pulled down three caroms each. Kaylee Morgan and Lowendie Laporal each had one block, as well, for OPSU.