FORT WORTH - With Texas Wesleyan's leading scorer Nicole Gleason bogged down in foul trouble and still without Bailey Broadnax and Tomi Sanchez in the lineup, the Lady Rams (5-5, 3-1 SAC) racked up another 'W' in conference play Saturday afternoon - seemingly each victory more impressive than the next - this one a 79-73 victory over Mid-America Christian (7-2, 2-2 SAC), who received votes in the most recent NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll released December 4.

Lexi Burns absolutely stole the show in the first half. She came out firing, scoring the Rams' first four points and 10 of the team's first 19 as Texas Wesleyan raced out to a 19-11 advantage. Burns finished with a career high 25 points, which she did all in the first 27 minutes of the game. Burns previous season high was 14, as she sunk three after three to total five made shots from downtown. She also had a team-high three steals. Burns had 24 last season against Oklahoma Panhandle State when she also hit five treys.

It was a complete team effort to finish off the Lady Evangels in the fourth with MACU not allowing Burns to do any further damage. Up 62-57, Kyla Grant got the first bucket of the fourth quarter, followed by a Lorian Benjamin score in the paint. Then Karah Sicurella nailed a jump shot just before Chrystal Ngawuchu scored off of Benjamin's steal. Up 70-64 with 3:36 to play, Evie Whorley hit a bucket - the fifth different Lady Ram to score in less than five minutes preventing MACU from ever getting closer than three points.

While MACU became the first team to score over 70 against TXWES this season, The Lady Evangels were held to 16 points in the fourth quarter - the least amount of points scored in a fourth quarter this season, after scoring a season high 33 two nights earlier against Southwest Assemblies of God. The Lady Rams forced 19 turnovers and held MACU to 44 percent shooting, just 29 percent from downtown. After losing the paint 20-8 in the first half, Texas Wesleyan flipped the narrative topping the Evangels inside 18-14. MACU's two leading rebounders - Alexis Shannon and Darby Price, averaging 12.8 rebounds per game combined - hauled in just five boards.

Whorley scored 15 points with five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Kyla Grant recorded 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting in 26 minutes off the bench. Grant made hustle play after hustle play keeping possession through traffic in critical moments and hitting a crucial eight-footer off an inbounds pass with the shot clock expiring, part of the Rams' second half balanced surge. Jordan Brightwell filled the box - five points, five rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Lorian Benjamin had a team-high five assists to go with eight points, joining Sicurella's eight. Gleason finished with just four points but only got to play 13 minutes, but hit the game's final shot on a late free throw to put the Lady Rams further out in front.

The win places Texas Wesleyan tied for third in the Sooner Athletic Conference, behind No. 3 Wayland Baptist, No. 10 Oklahoma City and Oklahoma Panhandle State. It's the first time the Lady Rams have won their first four home games (still unbeaten at home this season) since the 2011-2012 season, when the program won its first eight in the comforts of the Sid Richardson Center.

WHAT'S NEXT
A California road trip, with games against Vanguard in Costa Mesa and Hope International in Fullerton. Vanguard, 2008 NAIA National Champion, is currently No. 1 in the Top 25 and 7-0.