NAIA DISTRICT 3 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL : Christ College Irvine Reaches the Finals

Top-seeded Christ College Irvine relied heavily on its defense in the second half to defeat Biola, 94-82, Wednesday night in the semifinals of the NAIA District 3 Women’s Basketball Tournament at Christ College Irvine.

CCI (25-4) will meet second-seeded Fresno Pacific, a 60-57 winner over third-seeded Azusa Pacific, Thursday in the championship game.

“(Biola) had five seniors, so they were playing with a lot of heart.” said CCI Coach Kent Schlichtemeier. “We had better ball pressure on the perimeter and did a better job defending their posts down low.”

Schlichtemeier’s “defensive stopper” Genevieve Graff had 15 points and three rebounds. And center Gitte Mejer led the Lady Eagles with eight rebounds. Point guard Stacy Kirch had 14 assists.

Once CCI took a 26-25 lead with 8:15 left in the first half, it never relinquished its lead over Biola (14-13).

The lead, and the victory, came down to one player.

“If we keep Gitte (Mejer) in the game, it’s hard to stop us,” Schlichtemeier said. “She’s definitely a pivotal person, as she has been all year.”

Mejer, who had been shooting 57% from the field before this game, made eight of 12 and led all scorers with 24 points. Mejer also was eight of 11 from the free-throw line. CCI was 22 of 27 from the free-throw line.

Biola came within 10 points, 92-82, with eight seconds left thanks to a three-pointer by Krista Granger, who finished with 23 points.

Forward Amber Andreasen scored 20 points and had five rebounds for Biola.

In the other NAIA District 3 Women’s Basketball Championship semifinal:

Fresno Pacific 60, Azusa Pacific 57--Erica John had 19 points and Dana Coates had 13 points and nine rebounds for Fresno Pacific (20-7). Rolynn Rienstra had 24 points and 11 rebounds for Azusa Pacific (17-9).