NAIA Division I women’s semifinalMonday night at Jackson, Tenn.AZUSA PACIFIC 64, LEE 60Azusa Pacific (29-6)Hall 12, Hala’Ufia 13, Moore-Porter 14, Hill 13, Byrd, Williams 10, Higgenbottom, Raber 2, Eddington, Hughes.Lee (31-6)Spann 5, Rader 20, McKinnon 16, Carlisle, Nelson 11, Addison 5, Eldridge, Zimmerman 3.Halftime: Lee, 28-24.
Azusa Pacific gave Lee University double heartbreak in the NAIA Division I basketball tournaments.
Two days after the San Diego-area school ended the Lee men’s season in the quarterfinals in Kansas City, Mo., the female Cougars ended the Lady Flames’ best year ever in the women’s semifinals in Jackson, Tenn.
Azusa Pacific came from behind to defeat Lee 64-60 in Monday’s late game, as Alex Moore-Porter and Kristie Hala’Ufia had 14 and 13 points with 10 rebounds apiece. Senior point guard Allison Rader led Lee (31-6) with 20 points and four assists, after scoring 25 in its quarterfinal upset win, and junior backcourt mate Brooke McKinnon had 15 points and three assists.
Rader, who had scored 25 points in the Lady Flames’ upset win in the quarterfinals, made five of nine 3-point shots in her final game. All-American post Katie Nelson had 11 points and four rebounds before fouling out, and Kayce Addison had nine rebounds. The Cougars outboarded the Lady Flames 46-32 to overcome 37.1 percent shooting from the field. Lee shot 43.6 percent.
Kayla Carlisle, who started with Nelson inside, had the rare feat of reaching two NAIA final fours this school year. The 6-foot-2 resident of Greer, S.C., and Berry College transfer helped both the Lee volleyball team and the basketbal Lady Flames reach the national semifinals for the first time.
It was the second semifinal appearance for Lee coach Marty Rowe, who got there with Brescia University before taking the job at the Cleveland school.
Azusa Pacific (29-6) will play tonight at 10 EDT against top-ranked Union University, which is 35-2 after edging Oklahoma City 63-61 in Monday’s first semifinal. The hometown favorite outscored OCU 32-23 in the second half.
Oklahoma City (32-4) was ranked sixth in the final pre-tournament poll. Lee was 10th but defeated fourth-ranked Oklahoma Baptist and No. 3 Vanguard to reach the semifinals against No. 6 Azusa, which beat No. 2 St. Xavier in the quarterfinals.
C.J. Hill also scored 13 points Monday for Azusa and added four assists, while Briana Hall had 12 points and three steals and Amber Williams scored 10 points off the bench.
Rader was announced Monday as a Division I NAIA Scholar-Athlete, as was Shorter point guard Whitni Young from Pisgah, Ala. Lee senior Chad James and junior Elizha Burdette were men’s honorees.