GREENVILLE, S.C. – The National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) announced its All-Central Region Team on Wednesday as the Mid-America Christian women's basketball team had four honorees, headlined by senior guard Lexi Hernandez being named the Central Region Player of the Year and Hannah Moeller tabbed the region's Coach of the Year.
Along with Hernandez, junior forward Presley Payahsape was selected to the First Team while senior forward Ossyana Ozoani garnered Second Team accolades.
In her fifth season at the helm of the MACU women's basketball program, Moeller guided MACU to a 9-2 overall record and the team was named the Sooner Athletic Conference Co-Regular Season Champions after going 6-0 in league play.
Under Moeller, the Evangels finished the regular season as the No. 25 team in the NAIA and the program earned a spot in the NAIA National Championship Tournament for the first time in the program's history.
A 5-6 senior guard from Canyon, Texas, Hernandez was named to the NCCAA All-Region team for the second year in a row and was the fifth Evangels player in the last six years to be named the Central Region Player of the Year, joining two-time honoree Alexis Shannon, Sarai Rodriguez and Kelli Tolar.
On the season, Hernandez averaged 17.6 points per game on a 50 percent shooting clip, which included knocking down 42.4 percent of her three-point attempts as well as going 78.8 percent from the foul line. Hernandez made an impact all over the court, ripping down a team-leading 62 rebounds (5.6 rpg) as well as dishing out a team-high 46 assists (4.2 apg) and nabbed 38 steals (3.5 spg).
In her first season with the MACU program, Payahsape was one of the top offensive threats for the Evangels all season. A 5-9 junior forward from Cashion, Okla., Payahsape finished the regular season with a 15.6 ppg scoring average on 43.1 percent shooting and was the team's most lethal three-point shooter, knocking down 44.1 percent from range. Payahsape also pulled down 4.7 rpg and dished out 15 assists to go with 12 steals on the defensive end.
A four-year member of the MACU women's team, Ozoani returned from injury midway through the season and was dominant in the low-post for the Evangels. Over the final seven games, the 5-10 Oklahoma City native averaged 14.0 ppg on a blazing 60.6 percent shooting clip and nearly averaged a double-double with an 8.6 rpg rate. The senior forward also made a big impact on the defensive end, averaging 1.7 spg and blocked a pair of shots.
Mid-America Christian will return to play on Friday as it will face Columbia (Mo.) in the opening round of the NAIA Tournament. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. inside Hartman Arena in Park City, Kan.
