OKLAHOMA CITY – The Sooner Athletic Conference announced its 2021-22 All-Conference Team on Thursday as the Mid-America Christian women's basketball team earned five honors.
Senior forward Abby Bird was named the league's Sixth Woman of the Year while Ossyana Ozoani and Lexi Hernandez were selected to the All-SAC Second Team. Senior forward Presley Payahsape and junior guard Sydney Wycoff rounded out the Evangels recipients by receiving All-SAC Honorable Mention nods.
A fifth-year senior, Ozoani led the SAC in rebounding with 300 boards, ranking 15th in the NAIA in total boards while averaging a league-high 10.7 per game. The 5-10 forward from Oklahoma City is also the team's leading scorer, scoring 349 points (12.5 ppg) and is currently boasting the third-highest field goal percentage in the conference at 56.7 percent.
Ozoani also leads the team in free throws made and attempted at 76-of-112 (67.9 percent) as well as steals (47) while notching the third-most blocks (10). Ozoani has also notched a team-best 14 double-doubles this season.
This season, Ozoani has made her mark all over the MACU NAIA Era record book, as she became the program's career leading rebounder, surpassing Alexis Shannon and is currently second in the single season boards list, just five away from surpassing Karina Trindade's 2008-2009 mark.
In a win at Southwestern Assemblies of God last week, Ozoani became just the third Evangel since the 2007-08 season to surpass 1000 career points. Ozoani has also set the second-best mark for the most rebounds in a single game twice, pulling down 19 in a 71-58 win over SAGU on Jan. 1 before matching it in a 78-59 win over Langston on Jan. 15.
In her third season with the program, Hernandez has continued to be one of the offensive and defensive leaders of the team. The 5-6 guard is the team's second-leading scorer with 326 points (12.6 ppg), while posting the team's third-highest qualifying field goal percentage (117-of-257, 45.5 percent). The Canyon, Texas product ranks fifth in the SAC in both three-pointers made and three-point percentage, knocking down 55-for-136 for a 40.4 percent clip.
During the 2021-22 campaign, Hernandez led the SAC in assist-to-turnover ratio, recording 76 assists to just 33 turnovers for a 2.3 ratio while also ranking third on the team in steals with 44.
Hernandez recorded a double-double in just her second game of the season, notching 17 points and dishing out 10 assists in a 100-54 win over North American on Oct. 29 and scored a season-high 23 points in a 65-60 win over Science & Arts on Jan. 29.
It is the third time Hernandez has been recognized by the Sooner Athletic Conference after earning Honorable Mention acclaim during the 2019-20 season and being selected to the All-SAC First Team during the 2020-21 campaign.
In her lone season with the Evangels, Bird has been a big time producer off the MACU bench during the 2021-22 season. The 6-0 forward from Overland Park, Kan. is averaging 8.3 ppg on 41.7 percent shooting and is one of the team's most efficient free throw shooters at 76.7 percent. Bird ranks second on the team in rebounding average at 4.5 rpg and has dished out 48 assists while tallying the second-most blocked shots on the team with 11.
Bird came up big for MACU in its 102-93 win at Texas Wesleyan, scoring a season-high 20 points on 5-of-8 shooting and knocked down a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe.
Earning All-SAC accolades for the second time in her career, Payahsape ranks third on the team in scoring with 297 points (11.6 ppg) with the third-most three-pointers on the team with 44. The 5-9 forward from Cashion, Okla. is the team's leading shot blocker with 11 rejections and has also dished out 37 assists on the year.
A 5-6 guard from Ankeny, Iowa, Wycoff also earned Honorable Mention acclaim after finishing the regular season with 253 points (9.0 ppg) on the second-highest shooting percentage at 49.4 percent with the second-most free throws made and attempted at 64-for-92 (69.6 percent).
Wycoff has also been one of the floor generals for the Evangels this season, ranking second in rebounds with 120 (4.3 rpg), third in assists with 69 to go with the 10th-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the SAC at 1.8. Wycoff has also tallied the second-most steals with 46.
Overall, Mid-America Christian is putting together its winningest season in program history. With a 26-3 (.897) overall record, the Evangels are just one win away from tying the program record for the most wins in a single season, originally set by the 2003-04 team that went 27-8 after falling to Kentucky Christian in the NCCAA Division II National Championship game.
The Evangels also finished second in the SAC standings with a 19-3 conference mark, easily surpassing the previous best wins mark of 14 league wins set by the 2018-19 NCCAA Division I National Championship team.
Second-seeded Mid-America Christian will host No. 7 seed Oklahoma City on Friday night. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. inside the Gaulke Activity Center.
