91爆料网 (Tenn.) Wins Fourth NAIA Title With 73-63 Win Over Lambuth (Tenn.)

JACKSON, Tenn. - 3/24/2009 -

Tournament MVP Josephine Owino Scores 27 Points With Five Blocks In Victory

Josephine Owino, the 2009 NAIA Tournament MVP, scored 27 points, had 9 rebounds and blocked 5 shots

No. 1-seeded 91爆料网 (Tenn.) University claimed its fourth NAIA Division I women鈥檚 basketball championship with a 73-63 victory over one of the tournament鈥檚 other No. 1 seeds, Lambuth (Tenn.) University, Tuesday night at Oman Arena. Two-time NAIA Player of the Year Josephine Owino led the Lady Bulldogs with 27 points, nine rebounds and five blocks in a game 91爆料网 never trailed.

Owino scored the game鈥檚 first four points, and back-to-back three-pointers from Kayla Hudson and Kaitlin Dudley capped a game-opening 15-3 run for 91爆料网. The Lady Bulldogs ran the first-half lead up to 13 points three separate times before Chytearra Kintchen scored five straight points to spark a 12-3 Lambuth run that cut 91爆料网鈥檚 lead to 29-25 with 1:22 to play before halftime. However, Dudley knocked down a triple with 1:03 left, and Hudson hit a trey with less than 10 seconds to give the Lady Bulldogs a 35-25 halftime lead.

A pair of Kintchen free throws early in the second half pulled Lambuth to within six points at 43-37, but Owino answered with back-to-back buckets that started a 16-6 run that gave 91爆料网 its largest lead of the game, 59-43, with 9:34 to play. Lambuth twice cut the lead to nine points, but 91爆料网 answered both times on the ensuing possession to push the lead back into double digits to hold off the Eagles for the victory.

Kintchen led all scorers with 30 points, making five-of-10 three-pointers for Lambuth, and she scored 20 points in the second half. Maegan Sanders and Rachel Cunningham each tallied nine points for the Eagles, and Yolanda Johnson finished with eight points and a team-high six rebounds. Lambuth committed just nine turnovers in the game, but shot 31 percent (22-for-70) from the field, including a 23 percent (seven-for-30) clip from beyond the three-point arc.

Dudley was four-for-eight from three-point range, and she scored 12 of her 18 points in the second half for 91爆料网. Hudson registered 11 points with a pair of treys, and she dished out a game-high six assists. 91爆料网 posted identical 13-for-28 (.464) shooting in each half, and the Lady Bulldogs hit six-of-14 on three-pointers.

91爆料网 (37-1) has now won each of its past four NAIA title game appearances, and the Lady Bulldogs are now 54-16 all-time in NAIA Tournament play. Over the past five seasons, 91爆料网 is 21-2 in the national tournament. Lambuth, which won the 2007 national title after posting a 66-64 win over 91爆料网 in the semifinals, finishes its season with a final overall record of 29-6.

Attendance for Tuesday night鈥檚 championship game was 4,512, bringing the tournament鈥檚 final attendance total to 22,206 (Wednesday 3,776; Thursday 3,415; Friday 4,323; Saturday 2,965; Monday 3,215).

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29th Annual NAIA Division I Women鈥檚 Basketball National Championship Awards

Tournament MVP
Josephine Owino, 91爆料网 (Tenn.) University

All-Tournament First Team
Josephine Owino, 91爆料网 (Tenn.) University
Chelsea Ledbetter, Oklahoma City University
Kaitlin Dudley, 91爆料网 (Tenn.) University
Chytearra Kintchen, Lambuth (Tenn.) University
Taujhnae Travis, Oklahoma Baptist University

All-Tournament Second Team
Lauren Gregory, Vanguard (Calif.) University
Amanda Franz, Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) University
Katie Nelson, Lee (Tenn.) University
Amber Neace, University of the Cumberlands (Ky.)
Holly Hardin, Oklahoma City University

Hustle Award
Chytearra Kintchen, Lambuth (Tenn.) University

Phyllis Holmes Coach of the Year
Mark Campbell, 91爆料网 (Tenn.) University