GREENVILLE, S.C. – The National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) announced its 2021-22 postseason honors over the weekend as senior forward Ossyana Ozoani earned Second Team All-America accolades while seven members of the team received Scholar-Athlete acclaim.
Joining Ozoani with those receiving Scholar-Athlete awards were senior guard Lexi Hernandez, senior forward Presley Payahsape, junior guard Sydney Wycoff, junior guard Kyleigh Leverich, junior guard McKenzi Lamer and junior guard Kaylee Hurst.
A 5-10 forward from Oklahoma City, Ozoani is coming off her best season with the program as she ended the year as the team's leading scorer (407 points, 12.7 ppg), leading rebounder (338 rebounds, 10.6 rpg) and top defender (55 steals, 1.7 spg).
Ozoani is the first player since the program joined the NAIA in 2007 to average double-digit rebounds per game as well as the first player to average a double-double. Overall on the season, Ozoani recorded 16 double-doubles over the course of the year, including a 20-point, 11-rebound performance over Briar Cliff (Iowa) in the Opening Round of the NAIA Tournament on Mar. 11.
Ozoani's 338 boards also set the program's NAIA Era single-season rebounds mark and by shooting 56.6 percent from the field (159-281), Ozoani recorded the second-highest single-season field goal percentage, placing only behind Treasure McCoy's 2007-08 mark (118-of-208, 56.7).
On top of her season records, Ozoani narrowly missed breaking D'Shana Culberson's NAIA Era single-game rebounds record of 20 by pulling down 19 on New Year's Day against Southwestern Assemblies of God and then again on Jan. 15 against Langston.
Over the course of her five-year Evangels career, Ozoani is one of only three Evangels to score 1000 career points in the NAIA Era with 1093 and also holds the program's career rebounds record (892) and career field goal percentage record (53.0).
It is the third postseason honor for Ozoani after she earned NCCAA All-Central Region First Team accolades and an All-Sooner Athletic Conference Second Team nod.
Ozoani also garnered the NCCAA Scholar-Athlete award for the fourth time in her illustrious MACU career. Ozoani is the first player in MACU history to receive the honor four times as she is maintaining a 3.88 cumulative grade-point average while majoring in Biology.
Earning her third Scholar-Athlete honor, senior guard Lexi Hernandez received the honor after finishing the fall with a 3.88 GPA as well with a double major in Biology and Psychology.
Hernandez wrapped up another outstanding season, earning All-SAC Second Team, NCCAA All-Central Region First Team and NAIA All-America Honorable Mention acclaim. The 5-6 guard finished second on team in scoring (370 points, 11.9 ppg) as well as the second-most assists (86, 2.8 apg) and the third-most steals (51, 1.6 spg).
The Canyon, Texas native and 2021 NCCAA Player of the Year is wrapping up a stellar playing career that saw Hernandez set several career NAIA Era top 10 mark, including: points (952, 7th), assists (193, 6th), steals (141, 5th), made field goals (331, 6th), field goal percentage (43.7, 6th), made three-pointers (174, 2nd), three-point field goal percentage (37.8, 4th) and free throw percentage (77.3, 5th).
Also earning her third NCCAA Scholar-Athlete accolade, Sydney Wycoff had a strong year on the court and in the classroom after being named to the NCCAA All-Central Region Second Team as well as an All-SAC Honorable Mention.
Heading into the spring, the 5-6 guard is maintaining a 3.73 GPA while majoring in Psychology.
Overall, Wycoff is one of the toughest offensive and defensive players on the team, ranking fourth on the squad in scoring (282 points, 8.8 ppg), second in shooting percentage (49.5), third in assists (77) and second in steals (52).
Garnering her second NCCAA Scholar-Athlete award is Presley Payahsape. The 5-9 forward was named to the list after maintaining a 3.41 GPA while majoring in Business and Ethics.
The Cashion, Okla. product was the third-leading scorer on the team, tallying 329 points (11.0 ppg) while also dishing out 42 assists as well as leading the team in blocked shots with 15.
Payahsape receives the honor after being named an NCCAA All-Central Region Second Team honoree and an All-SAC Honorable Mention recipient.
Another two-time Scholar-Athlete honoree, McKenzi Lamer finished the fall semester with a 3.55 cumulative GPA with a major in Business and Ethics.
The 5-8 guard was one of the top three-point shooters on the team, going 36-for-97 (37.1 percent) while averaging 5.7 ppg for the season. The Loyal, Okla. native scored a team-high 20 points after going 7-for-11 from the field and 5-for-7 from three in a 99-74 win over UNT-Dallas on Jan. 3. Lamer also helped the Evangels make a big comeback against Clarke (Iowa) in the second round of the NAIA Tournament on Mar. 12, scoring 14 points off the bench in an 84-77 defeat.
Earning her first NCCAA Scholar-Athlete nod, junior point guard Kyleigh Leverich wrapped up the fall semester with a 3.87 GPA in Business and Ethics.
The 5-4 guard was the team's top distributor during the 2021-22 campaign, finishing with a team-high 118 assists, the seventh-most in a single season in the NAIA Era. The Cushing, Okla. product also placed third on the team in rebounding (126, 3.9 rpg) and fourth in steals (44, 1.4 spg).
Rounding out the Scholar-Athlete honorees, junior guard Kaylee Hurst finished 2021 with a 3.52 GPA with a major emphasis in Psychology.
In her first season with the program, the Woodward, Okla. native competed in 31 games, scoring 52 points and averaging 9.1 minutes per game. Hurst's best game of the season came against UNT-Dallas on Jan. 3, as she poured in eight points on 2-of-4 shooting and went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.
Overall, Mid-America Christian put together one of its most successful seasons in program history. The Evangels wrapped up the year with a 28-5 (.848) overall record, not only breaking the program's all-time single-season wins record, but also boasting the highest single-season win percentage since its inception. By defeating Briar Cliff in the NAIA Opening Round, the program notched its first win in the NAIA Tournament. The Evangels also set one of its best marks ever in Sooner Athletic Conference play, rounding out the year with a 19-3 record against league competition.
