The No. 2-seed MidAmerica Nazarene University women's basketball team capped off its season with a championship title as the Pioneers knocked off No. 6-seed Baker University (Kansas) Tuesday night, 49-35.

The 2016 NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Championship was held at the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena in Independence, Missouri, for the second-straight year. 

“I knew our team was going take care of business, they know what to do in winning time,” said Jon Lewis, MNU head coach. “We were in winning time that entire quarter, so I knew that we were going to control the game and just let it ride with them. We knew that they were going to come out hot and heavy in the first half. We got back to our defensive principles and I knew that if we did that we could win this game.”

MNU used a 19-0 run from the last 2:43 of the second quarter util 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter to take a lead for good. 

The Pioneers extended its lead to a game-high 15 points after a pair of free throws from Kyleesha Weston with 54 seconds left in the game. MNU outscored Baker 28-10 in the second half. The 10 points scored in a half by Baker ties the championship record for fewest points in a half with former member Nazareth (New York) and Southwestern Oklahoma in 1983.

Weston led the Pioneers with a career-high 21 points. Jasmine Webb added 11.

The Pioneers are the first team from the state of Kansas to win the NAIA Division I Women’s National Championship since former-member Fort Hays State defeated Southeastern Oklahoma in the 1991 title game. The 2016 event was the first time since 2009 that teams from the same conference squared off in the title game – Union (Tennessee) defeated Lambuth (Tennessee), 73-63, as part of the TranSouth Conference. 

Baker finishes its season with a 28-9 overall record and 5-3 in the national championship. Baker, 0-4 against MNU this season, led at the half in all four games. The 35 points scored were a season low for the Wildcats. 

MNU, 32-5, ran its championship record to 7-4 overall. 

This is the first team national championship for the Pioneers since men’s basketball won the NAIA Division II title in 2007. 

2016 NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball Most Outstanding Player – Kyleesha Weston, MNU 
2016 NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship Hustle Award – Jasmine Webb, MNU
2016 NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year – Jon Lewis, MNU

2016 NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball All-Championship Team:
First Team: 
Erin Legel, Great Falls (Montana)
Kelah Eldridge, Pikeville (Kentucky)
Ericka Simpson, Baker (Kansas)
Jami Hodge, Baker (Kansas)
Megan Balcom, MNU (Kansas)

Second Team:
Kristen Murphy, Benedictine (Kansas)
Lindsey Burd, Campbellsville (Kentucky)
Caelyn Orlandi, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)
Kayla Styles, Lindsey Wilson (Kentucky)
Kandice Porter, Pikeville (Kentucky)

--NAIA