No. 1 Champion Tigers chase 4th national title
With a 79-61 win over No. 6 Ozark Christian College in the Southwest Regional Tournament, March 1, the No. 1-ranked Champion Christian College women’s basketball team punched its ticket to the national tournament.
Junior Makayla Williams said the locker room was filled with excitement following the regional championship game.
“I think I was the most excited because this was my first one and everybody else was excited, but they are kind of used to it,” she said.
Champion competes at the National Christian College Athletic Association Division II level of women’s basketball.
Head coach DeAnthony Ellison highlighted the Tigers’ performance in the regional tournament.
“It was great, went into the regional tournament as the No. 1 seed, we had a bye in the first round, so just being able to get down there a day early, relax, watch a few ballgames and then prepare to play the next day was pretty good,” he said.
Junior power forward Brendeja Holloman said it feels amazing to be regional champions.
“When it happened, it did not feel real at the time,” she said. “It was kind of emotional, but it feels great.”
Williams said a highlight she will never forget from regionals was hitting a 3-pointer from the corner.
“There was a fan in the stands, he said, ‘If you hit this I am going to go crazy.’ And then I hit the shot and he was like, ‘Ah.’ That was great,” she said.
Ellison said his team did not shoot well at the beginning of the game.
“Defense was great, but they hit some shots that we would live with, but they were big shots for them, and then really the second half of the third quarter we started playing phenomenal defense — switching, rotating, flying around, and then our shots started falling. That is when the game kind of started going in our favor,” he said.
Holloman said it was a “fun” game and felt like they played hard.
“I feel like our defense was good and our offense was good,” she said. “We played together. It was just a good experience.”
After scoring multiple 3-pointers late, she knew they would win the game.
The Tigers leave next week for Minneapolis next week for a chance at a national title.
Ellison explained the road map for the Tigers for their national title journey.
“We will be the No. 1 seed and play against the No. 8 seed,” he said. “Those are always a scary game because they have nothing to lose. They are out playing hard. Our backs are against the wall, theirs are not.
“If we come out and play our style of play, it will be great. The second round of nationals the past few years has always been our make-or-break. We have lost in the second round once and the other two times we played, we won the second round, it helped us have what we need to win a championship. We are really excited about this next journey.”
This is the fifth year the Tigers have made the national tournament. Ellison and his team are chasing their fourth national championship. Ellison said the championships are a big boost to recruiting.
“(It helps) when you talk about being confident being in the big games, it helps when you are preparing for the national tournament when you are used to being in that regional championship game. The morale that we have right now is probably the highest it has been since I have been at Champion,” he said.
Staying confident is key on the na
tional stage, as is defense, he said.
“This is probably the first
group that I have had in the five years that I have been here that has really bought in on the defensive end, not that it is the best defensive team that we have had, but they buy in,” he said.
IMACT PLAYERS
Senior Kamryn Gentry — 20+ games with double-doubles
Senior Alysia Pickett — 25 points Against Ozark Christian College
Junior Makayla Williams — 23 points Against Ozark Christian College