MNU Wins National Championship, 49-35
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. - MidAmerica Nazarene won the 2016 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship with a 49-35 win over Baker, Tuesday evening at the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena. Box Score
Kyleesha Weston scored a game- and career-high 21 points for the Pioneers, who captured the first team national championship for any MNU team since the men's basketball team won the 2007 NAIA Division II crown. Weston scored 13 of her 21 points in the second half, including seven in the fourth quarter as the Pioneers pulled away.
Baker hit the first shot of the game, then finished the first quarter with a 10-2 run to own a 12-7 advantage after the opening stanza. MNU was 3 of 19 (.158) from the field in the first quarter and went without a point for the final 2:18.
The Wildcats carried the momentum from the end of the first quarter into the second, stretching the lead to 17-7 thanks to a 14-3 run that spanned almost 10 minutes of the two periods. Megan Balcom ended the MNU scoring drought with a three-pointer at the six-minute mark, but Kelsey Larson would hit a pair of treys to give Baker its biggest lead of the game at the 2:43 mark.
The Pioneers got the ball to Jasmine Webb late in the half, much as they did in the fourth quarter of the Heart championship game, and gave MNU some life with a pair of baskets after the second of Larson's three-pointers. Weston hit a three-pointer just before the half to complete a 7-0 run and finish the half with Baker leading 25-21.
MNU (32-5) carried over its late first half turnaround and dominated the third quarter to take control of the game. Baker went scoreless until Macy Wallisch hit a bucket in the lane with 30 seconds left, but MNU won the quarter by a 14-2 scoreline that included a lay-up by Tristin Wicks at the buzzer for a 35-27 advantage.
Jasmine Webb hit a three-pointer to beat the shot clock, her first long-range connection of the season, as MNU scored the first seven points of the quarter for a 41-27 lead. The Wildcats would go almost 4:00 to start the fourth quarter without a field goal and were unable to break the double-digit barrier the rest of the game.
Webb finished with 11 points and eight rebounds, and was named to the all-tournament team along with Megan Balcom, who scored five points to finish her career with 1,481 points. The Pioneers outscored the Wildcats in the second half, 28-10, allowing the fewest points in championship game history.
Larson and Wallisch led the way for Baker (28-9) with eight points apiece, while Wallisch grabbed a game-high nine rebounds to finish her Baker career with over 900 points and 900 rebounds. Jami Hodge added seven points, four rebounds and three steals.
2016 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Most Outstanding Player– Kyleesha Weston, MidAmerica Nazarene
2016 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Championship Hustle Award– Jasmine Webb, MidAmerica Nazarene
2016 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coach of the Year– Jon Lewis, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)
2016 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball All-Championship Team:
First Team:
Erin Legel, Great Falls (Mont.)
Kelah Eldridge, Pikeville (Ky.)
Ericka Simpson, Baker
Jami Hodge, Baker
Megan Balcom, MidAmerica Nazarene
Second Team:
Kristen Murphy, Benedictine
Lindsey Burd, Campbellsville (Ky.)
Caelyn Orlandi, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)
Kayla Styles, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
Kandice Porter, Pikeville (Ky.)