Tigers Women’s Basketball Falls in Tough Battle with Nationally Ranked MACU

By Chad Clevenger

OKLAHOMA CITY (CCCTigers.com) – Rebounding and 2^nd chance points were the doom for the Tigers as they played their 2^nd straight game against a ranked opponent, Mid America Christian University on Monday Night. Despite hot shooting behind the arc (14-24, 58%), and a career high scoring night by Charmayne Marshall (21 points), the Tigers struggled to rebound, and the Lions were able to outscore the Tigers 34-6 in 2^nd chance points, as the Tigers fell, 86-73.

Foul trouble also haunted the Tigers, where after a Chloe Clevenger 3 gave the Tigers a 29-28 lead, she picked up her 3^rd foul and was relegated to the bench for the final 8:33 of the half, and the Tigers were without a field goal for the next 5:34 until a Marshall 3 pointer, but the Lions damage was done and they went into the half with a 47-37 lead.

The Tigers marched right back and had 2 quick baskets, with a Marshall 3, and another by Cristina Laudan, cut into the lead. But as hot shooting Kayla Hall (13 points), and Clevenger (14 points) picked up their 4^th fouls, Coach Willems looked for Hallee Winsea (17 Points) and Marshall to pick up the scoring slack, and they answered the call as the Tigers were able to go score for score in the 3^rd quarter. However, rebounding and 2^nd chances were the back breaker for the Tigers as MACU ended up with 34 offensive rebounds, which led to buckets or opportunities at the Foul line, where the Lions were 25-33 from the line, compared to the Tigers 9-15. It was not enough as the Tigers fell 86-73 to the nationally ranked MACU Lions.

Key Stat: MACU had 34 2^nd chance points to Central’s 6, and Outrebounded the Tigers 58-25

Team Leaders:
Points: Charmayne Marshall (21)
Rebounds: Cristina Laudan (5), Charmayne Marshall (5)
Assists: Charmayne Marshall (4), Kayla Hall (4), Chloe Clevenger (4)
Steals: Chloe Clevenger (2)
Blocks: Cristina Laudan (8)

The Tigers (2-5) finally return home after a brutal 3 game road trip to take on the Oklahoma City University Stars (2-3) on Saturday. Tip is scheduled for 2pm, and can be seen on the SAC Sports Network.