OKLAHOMA CITY – In leading the No. 25 Mid-America Christian women's basketball team to its first Sooner Athletic Conference regular season championship since joining the league in 2007, senior guard Lexi Hernandez and junior forward Presley Payahsape were named to the All-SAC Team on Thursday.
Since MACU joined the Sooner Athletic Conference in 2007, it is only the second time that the program has ever had a recipient on both the First Team and Second Team as the last time it occurred was when Alexis Shannon was named to the First Team and Shaylan Coleman was selected to the Second Team during the 2018-19 season.
Hernandez, a 5-7 guard from Canyon, Texas, has been the team's leader both offensively and defensively. Her 17.6 points per game ranks as the eighth-best clip in the Sooner Athletic Conference while 50 percent shooting average sits in a tie for fourth in the league. Where Hernandez has made her biggest impact statistically is on the defensive end, as her 3.46 steals per game average not only leads the SAC, but also ranks as the seventh-best rate in the NAIA.
Despite being a two-guard, Hernandez has been one of the primary catalysts for the MACU offense as her 46 assists at 4.18 assists per game ranks as the sixth-highest clip in the conference and is the team's leading rebounder with 54 boards on the season.
Hernandez was named the SAC Player of the Week for Nov. 9-15 after she scored a career-high 39 points on 13-of-22 shooting, including going 5-for-10 from three and 8-of-9 from the free throw line in a 97-76 victory at Southwestern Assemblies of God on Nov. 12. The scoring effort was the highest mark of any individual player in the SAC during the regular season and is the fourth-highest single game scoring mark in MACU's NAIA era record book (2007-present).
On top of finding herself in the scoring record book, Hernandez also set the program's single game steals record when she nearly nabbed a triple-double in a 116-31 win over Baptist Bible on Oct. 28. Hernandez finished that contest with 16 points and 10 steals to go with eight rebounds and six assists in the victory. Hernandez also tied the previous record of seven held by seven different players in a 97-71 victory against SAGU on Jan. 21.
In her first season with the Evangels, Payahsape is a combo guard/forward that has been a matchup nightmare for her opponents. The 5-9 Cashion, Okla. product is the team's second-leading scorer at 15.6 ppg while knocking down 62-of-144 (43.1 percent) from the floor, 26-of-59 (44.1 percent) from beyond the arc and 22-of-32 (68.8 percent) from the foul line. The Northwestern Oklahoma State transfer has also presented a strong defensive challenge for opponents as one of the team's leaders in both steals (12, third) and blocked shots (3, third).
Payahsape has scored 20 or more points in four games this season, which included a career-high 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting with 5-for-9 on three-pointers in a 70-66 comeback victory over Texas Wesleyan on Jan. 23. Payahsape hit one of the biggest shots of the game with her go-ahead, pull-up jumper from 16-feet out put the Evangels in-front 68-66 with 1:08 left.
That performance against the Rams jumpstarted a dominant stretch in late January, as Payahsape averaged 24 ppg on 48.3 percent shooting, including 46.2 percent from three in the Evangels' three wins over TWU, Science & Arts and John Brown between Jan. 23-28.
Mid-America Christian will return to action after the Evangels find out if they will be competing in the NAIA Tournament from Mar. 12-23. The NAIA will be holding its selection show on Thursday, Mar. 4 at 6 p.m.
