In case Springfield-area college basketball fans haven’t noticed, good things are going on at Evangel University. Both the Valor men’s and women’s teams are off to outstanding starts as the holiday break nears.
And they’re doing it with a lot of local talent leading the way.
On the women’s side, Evangel is 9-1 overall and 6-0 in the Kansas Collegiate Athletics Conference. The team not only is winning, but is fun to watch, averaging 94 points a game while tripping triple digits in the last three games.
This is all happening under first-year head coach Madi Wallace, a 2018 Evangel graduate who hails from Ash Grove. Wallace laughed when asked if she thought it was possible for the Valor to be 9-1 at this point. Usually, it takes new coaches time to build.
“I always say that we expect to win because we’re going to do the work and preparation,” Wallace said on Dec. 11, a day after Evangel’s 102-73 KCAC victory at Ottawa. “I don’t think it’s realistic for any coach to come in and think specifics necessarily. My goal was for them to get better and play in a system that encourages one another to success.”
Two transfers who followed Johnson from Mission University have been instrumental. Junior Heaven Shockley, a Lebanon High School graduate, is averaging 16.4 points and 7.9 rebounds with her former Mission teammate Cassidy Hambelton, a graduate transfer from Dora, at 13.1 points.
Other offensive leaders have been senior Carson Dillard, a transfer from Southwest Oklahoma (15 points per game) and senior Ali Kamies from Nixa (14.7).
Evangel is off to a hot start under new coach Madi Wallace, née Johnson, who spent the previous three seasons at Mission University. She was a two-time all-state player at Ash Grove and later played at Evangel. (Photo by Mary Ellen Chiles.)
Johnson said Shockley and Hambelton have helped with the transition to a new system for the Valor.
“To have a couple of people who already know the system, it’s super helpful. They’ve been very encouraging with their teammates and have mixed in very well,” Johnson said. “They were both instantly welcomed when they came in here.
“Cassidy and Heaven have done a fantastic job with their leadership, along with the leaders who already were here, like Carson, Ali and Kamie Jenkins. Combining those five together has been great.”
Johnson said the impressive offensive numbers have been as much a product of defensive intensity as good shooting. The Valor is forcing 25.6 turnovers per game while turning it over only 14 times on average.
“Our offense is ignited by our defensive presence,” Johnson said. “Coming in, that was the biggest thing we wanted to do, increase the ball pressure and the tempo of our style of play. When you’re able to play faster, it’s easier to get more people involved.”
Evangel looks to finish strong before the holiday break, playing host to York (Nebraska) College at noon Dec. 13 before an exhibition game on Dec. 16 at NCAA D-II Central Oklahoma.
Wallace said it’s been fun to get off to a great start, especially with nearly half the roster (including the head coach) from southwest Missouri.
“I am a 417er myself. I grew up in Ash Grove and still live there. I love our locals,” Johnson said. “There is wonderful talent here in southwest Missouri and we will continue to build upon that in the future.”
Evangel men putting it together
Garrett Davault scored a career-high 30 to lead Evangel past Baker in the second round of the NAIA Tournament and into the Round of 16. (Photo by Evangel University Athletics)
The Evangel men have won five in a row after a 76-71 victory on Dec. 10 at Ottawa as Garrett Davault scored a game-high 19 points. Davault, a four-year player from Norwood, has been a mainstay with a 17.1-point average on the season.
Davault was named last week’s KCAC Defensive Player of the Week, helping the Valor beat KCAC foes Saint Mary and No. 17 Bethel.
Coach Bert Capel said the Valor (8-3 overall, 4-2 KCAC) did not discover a magical formula to ignite the winning streak. Sophomore Jacob Lafferty of Sparta, a Colorado State-Pueblo transfer, is averaging 14.4 points, with Republic High’s Drew McMillin, a graduate transfer from Southwest Baptist University, averaging 11.3.
“Overall, from the beginning I felt we had a good team,” Capel said. “We had good players. A lot of local guys. It was a matter of getting used to each other and playing together. We’ve lost quite a few kids the last two years. Two years ago, we lost five seniors and last year, six seniors. It’s just been a lot of new faces and new people playing.
“Sometimes, as a coach, you wish it would happen right away. I think the message to the team was, ‘Guys, let’s just keep getting better’ and we’ll be OK.’”
Evangel will get a good final nonconference test on Dec. 17 at Columbia College (10-1). Capel, who has guided the Valor to three NAIA Tournaments in his first four seasons as head coach, feels good about the potential to have a shot at the postseason again.
“I love the guys. We try to recruit guys that fit what we’re trying to do,” Capel said. “If there are some guys local that we can recruit, we try to go local first. There’s some pretty good talent around here. We’ve got quite a few of them.”
Drury teams off this weekend
Drury guard and Nixa grad Rhi Gibbons looks to shoot a free-throw against Southwest Baptist (Photo by Mary Ellen Chiles)
The Drury University teams are headed in opposite directions, with a weekend off before returning to action next week. The Lady Panthers (5-3) have won three straight, with a Dec. 15 non-league visit to Union the fourth of five straight road games in December.
Rhi Gibbons from Nixa is averaging 14.5 points and Ava’s Sara Mendel is getting 13.5 points and 9.3 rebounds.
After a promising 4-0 start, the Drury men look to break a five-game losing skid on Dec. 17 when Central Christian visits O’Reilly Family Events Center. Colin Hardrick averages 15.6 points and 6.9 rebounds, with Springfield Catholic High School grad Zach Howell averaging 14.7 points for the Panthers.
Road tests ahead for Mission U. teams
Over at Mission University, the men’s and women’s teams close out the 2025 portion of the schedule with road games. Both are at the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis on Dec 15. The men are at Benedictine on Dec. 17, and the women play at Southwest Baptist on Dec. 18.
Lyndal Scranton is a Springfield native who has covered sports in the Ozarks for more than 35 years, witnessing nearly every big sports moment in the region during the last 50 years. The Missouri Sports Hall of Famer, Springfield Area Sports Hall of Famer and live-fire cooking enthusiast also serves as PR Director for Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri and is co-host of the Tailgate Guys BBQ Podcast. Contact him at Lscranton755@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @LyndalScranton. More by Lyndal Scranton