Oklahoma City, Okla. - Parris Price's game-high 22 points and a stout defensive effort in the second half propelled the Mid-America Christian University Lady Evangels to a 67-58 victory over the University of Science and Arts Drovers in a Sooner Athletic Conference matchup Thursday night (Jan. 19) at the Gaulke Activity Center.

After the Drovers scored the first five points of the second half to turn a two-point halftime deficit into a three-point lead, the Lady Evangels had an answer as seven points from Parris Price fueled an 11-0 charge that made it 44-36 with 15:33 left.

Paige Pulliam then brought the Drovers back with five points of a 7-0 surge that squared things at 46-46.

The score would be tied on three more occasions before a three by Brooklyn Bell snapped a 54-54 gridlock that gave the Lady Evangels (9-8, 3-8 SAC) the lead for good.

The Drovers (5-12, 2-8 SAC) wouldn't go away quietly though as a pair of free throws by Lauren Campo brought USAO to within a point, but a two by Erica Jones and two freebies from Price stretched the advantage to 61-56 with 2:26 left. 

Nicole Wittman and Bell then each hit two at the charity stripe to close out the win for the Lady Evangels. 

The opening half was a back-and-forth affair that featured three ties and 12 lead changes. 

USAO gained the first separation as Pulliam started and capped a 10-4 run with two of her four first half treys to give the Drovers a 23-17 advantage.

The Lady Evangels answered right back as four points from Price, a three from Kourtni Williams and a bucket from Wittman keyed a 9-0 run that gave MACU a 26-23 lead at the 5:46 mark of the opening stanza.

Tashina Ototivo responded for the Drovers with six points of an 8-3 spurt that put USAO back in front by one.   

Erica Jones then nailed a three with 1:08 remaining that put the Lady Evangels up 33-31 heading into the locker room.  

Price's 22 points came on 8-of-11 shooting from the field. Price also had seven rebounds and a team-high four assists. Jones scored 12 and Bell added 11. Wittman chipped in with 10 points and a team-best eight boards.

Pulliam paced the Drovers with 21 points, but was limited to just seven in the second half and only one three after nailing four from beyond the arc in the first half. Ototivo had 19 and a team-high eight rebounds for the Drovers.

The Lady Evangels tightened things up defensively in the second half, allowing the Drovers only a 28.6 percent (8-of-28) in the final 20 minutes after USAO shot 46.4 percent (13-of-28) in the opening half.

MACU also out-rebounded the Drovers 38-31 overall and 9-7 on the offensive glass.

The Lady Evangels will next face a stern test against No. 15-ranked Southern Nazarene on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 21) at 3 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center.