KANSAS CITY – John Brown junior Terrah Stephens was named NAIA Women’s Basketball National Player of the Week for Week 8 of the 2021-2022 season.

In JBU’s 78-73 overtime win over Panhandle State, Stephens rewrote three single-game program records, including total points, field goals made and field goals attempted by finishing the afternoon with a 45-point outing on 18-of-27 shooting from the floor. Finishing 9-of-10 from the charity stripe, she completed her fifth double-double of the season with 11 rebounds.

Stephens also hit another milestone and punched her ticket into the 1,000 point club. The Wyandotte, Okla. native became the 19th entry onto the prestigious list in the third when her hook shot fell after shedding a defender with a pivot back into the middle.

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KANSAS CITY – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced today that it is cancelling the spring 2020 sports season, effective immediately.

“All possible scenarios that would have supported a spring sports season were seriously considered by multiple NAIA governance groups,” said NAIA President and CEO Jim Carr. “However, the growing state of emergency due to COVID-19, as well as the Center for Disease Control’s recommendation yesterday to limit gatherings to fewer than 50 people for eight weeks, meant we could not in good conscience move forward with the spring sports season and championships.”

In an effort to provide relief, no spring sport student-athlete will be charged a season of competition. Any spring sport student-athlete who was enrolled full-time in 2020 will be awarded two additional semester terms of attendance or the equivalent.

The NAIA is continuing to address outstanding questions related to these unprecedented changes and will share new information as it becomes available.

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Kansas City, Mo. – Densier Carnes of John Brown has been named the NAIA National Men’s Basketball Division I Player of the Week, the national office announced Tuesday. Carnes was nominated for his performances during the week of Jan. 13-19 and was selected out of a pool of conference award winners.

Player of the Week

Densier Carnes, John Brown
Jr., Forward, Atlanta, Ga.

• Hauled-in a career-high 18-rebound performance against Southwestern Christian (Okla.)
• Weekly Stats:
  • 65 points
  • 31 rebounds
  • Shot 60 percent (18-30) from the floor

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – As the Lyon College women’s wrestling team gets set for their first competition of the new year, the Scots are ranked No. 10 in the NAIA Women’s Wrestling Coaches’ Poll as the conference office released the rankings today. Lyon’s No. 10 ranking means that the Scots have earned a spot in the top ten for all four editions of the NAIA Women’s Wrestling Coaches’ Poll this season.

Life University claimed the top spot this week, while Campbellsville University trails by just one point for the second position. The University of Jamestown and Menlo College follow closely behind in the No. 3 and No. 4 rankings, respectively. Southern Oregon University edged Wayland Baptist University for the fifth spot. The University of the Cumberlands and the University of Providence maintained their spot at No. 7 and No. 8 in the poll, while Oklahoma City University jumped Lyon College for the No. 9 position.

The Scots placed 12 wrestlers in the individual standings as well. Elissa Douglass jumped into the top five in the 143 pound weight class, while Brianna Ribucan-Leong and Jasmine Hernandez both earned the No. 6 ranking in their respective weight divisions. Mariah Spix and Logan Mize also notched spots in the top ten of their weight classes as the wrestlers claimed the No. 7 and No. 8 positions, respectively. Seven additional Scots registered a spot in the individual rankings – Ashley Whetzal (No. 13), Jessienna Burkett-Erice (No. 14), Kelani Corbett (No. 15), Alexandrea Banag (No. 15), Rebekah Garcia (No. 16), Ashley Cook (No. 16), and Sierra Alfonso (No. 16).

Last time the Scots were in action, the Lyon College women’s wrestling team dominated the Wayland Baptist University Invitational as the Scots had four wrestlers – Ashley Whetzal, Jasmine Hernandez, Alexandrea Banag, and Kelani Corbett – claim first place in their respective weight classes.

Lyon returns to the mat on Jan. 10-11 for the NWCA National Duals. The two-day tournament will take place in Louisville, Kentucky.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A day after being named as the American Midwest Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Week, Lyon College senior center Samantha French added another honor to her resume as she was recognized as the NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball Player of the Week, which was announced by the national office on Tuesday.

French played a big role for the Scots last week as she led the team in scoring with 20.5 points per game and a team-high nine rebounds per game. French propelled the Scots to a huge, 65-56, over top-ranked and previously unbeaten Freed-Hardeman. She recorded a new career-high as she finished with a game-high 25 points to go along with 10 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season. French followed that up with 16 points and eight rebounds against Park. For the week, French finished 15-of-25 from the field and 11-of-12 from the charity stripe.

For the season, French is averaging 12.4 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game. She is shooting 57.4-percent from the field this season, which is the best in the AMC and ranks fourth in the NAIA.

The 22nd-ranked women’s basketball team will open up a three-game road trip on Thursday night at St. Louis College of Pharmacy. Tip-off for Thursday night’s game is 5:30 p.m.

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WALNUT RIDGE – The Williams Baptist University wrestling team enters the 2018-19 season tied for the 10th in the national rankings. The NAIA released its Coaches’ Preseason Top 20 Poll on Wednesday.

The Eagles finished in third place nationally in 2017-18 season.

“We have a lot of hard work to put in. We lost a lot of talent last season and have holes to fill, but I am confident in our process and training. I know we will have guys step up by the end of the year,” head coach Todd Allen said.

Williams has now been ranked in the top 20 for twenty straight polls. The last time WBU was outside the top 20 was Dec. 9, 2015. The team’s highest ever ranking was three, which they have reached on six occasions.

Seven individuals are ranked in their respective weight divisions.

All-American Nicholas Drendel is the highest ranked Eagle, coming in at fourth in the 157 lb. weight class. The 133 lb. weight division has two WBU representatives. Tanner Irwin is ranked seventh, followed by Jaitlan Pitts at eight.

Another All-American comes in ranked ninth in the 184 lb. division. Jeff Haley enters the year ranked after redshirting in 2017-18.

Kyle Lee joins Drendel in the 157 lb. division, ranking 11th. Meanwhile, Maleek Canton enters his first year of competition at WBU ranked 17th in the 197 lb. weight class, while Tyler Giorgini holds the 20th ranking in the 285 lb. division.

“I have seen a tremendous amount of growth off the wrestling mat this year. Typically that progress off the mat translates directly into success on the mat. Our guys want to prove that it is not one person or one success that make up this team, but that we are fighters and we will meet a challenge head on,” Allen added.

The Eagles were picked by the American Midwest Conference coaches to finish first in the AMC this season. WBU has won the championship in all three seasons the conference has sponsored the sport.

Individually, two Williams wrestlers are picked to win their respective weight classes in the conference. Drendel and Irwin are favored in their divisions.

“I am excited to see outside competition this year. We have a lot of guys that need to prove themselves this year and I believe they will. It will be another exciting year,” Allen concluded.

Williams opens its season on November 3 at the Patriot Open in Williamsburg, Ky. The event will begin at 7 a.m.

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CBC Athletics
Erik Holth, Sports Information Director

GREENVILLE, S.C. – The final award of the season was presented earlier this morning by the National Christian College Athletic Association. Ben Madison (JR/Benton, AR) was named first-team All-American, three days after being drafted in the ninth round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the San Francisco Giants.​

The award is the fifth of the season for Madison. He was also an honorable mention NAIA All-American, First-team All-AMC, AMC Co-Pitcher of the Year and NCCAA Central Region Pitcher of the Year selection and became the first Central Baptist College Mustang ever to be drafted to play professional baseball. Congratulations Ben on all the awards!

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John Brown junior Baily Cameron was placed on the Second Team of the All-America women’s basketball roster. She led the Golden Eagles in scoring (18.8 ppg), rebounding (7.2 rpg), blocks (34) and shooting percentage (57.1).

Others from Arkansas schools to be recognized were:

Women’s Basketball All-American Honorable Mention
Terralyn Dominick, Philander Smith, junior
Liz Henderson, Lyon, sophomore
Madison Riley, Lyon, sophomore

Men’s Basketball All-American Honorable Mention
Shackeel Butters, Williams Baptist, sophomore
Jake Caudle, John Brown, junior
Tyler Robinson, Lyon, sophomore
Da’Jon Streeter, Central Baptist, junior

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BILLINGS, Mont. – In the first round of the NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball National Tournament, the third-seeded Lyon College women’s basketball team used a big fourth quarter to claw past No. 6 seed Pikeville University (Ky.) Thursday morning at the Rimrock Arena. The Scots went on a 16-1 run at one point in the final period, and survived a late surge from the Bears to advance to the second round.

The Scots used a balanced effort from their guards as Liz Henderson led the team with 14 points and seven assists. Sarah Elkins finished with 12 points, while Madison Riley and Elliot Taylor chipped in 10 apiece.

Pikeville was led by Kandice Porter and Devin Conley’s 13 points.

Lyon improves to 28-5 on the season and continues their run in the National Tournament. Pikeville’s season comes to an end, as they finish with a 21-11 record.

BY THE NUMBERS

16.7 – Lyon has been strong on the defensive end all year, and today they were able to hold Pikeville to just 16.7 percent from beyond the arc. The Bears were limited to just 3-of-18 from long range, and shot 38.2 percent on 26-of-68 from the floor. Lyon went 9-of-23 from long range for 39.1 percent, led by four from Henderson.

19 – The Scots totaled 19 assists in the game led by seven from Henderson. Kiara Moore finished with four, while Riley had three. Pikeville was limited to just 11.

40.0 – Lyon finished shooting 26-of-65 for 40.0 percent in the game. The Scots picked up the pace in the second half by shooting 14-of-32 for 43.7 percent.

42 – Both teams rebounded the ball well, but the Scots grabbed the advantage with 42 in the game. Elkins had a team high eight rebounds, while Riley and Moore had five apiece. Taylor and Hailey Hastings each had four.

6 – Lyon blocked six total shots in the game, with Moore leading the team with three. Henderson, Riley and Hastings each had one. Pikeville entered the game ranked fourth in the nation with 146 total blocks, but had just three in the game.

GAME FLOW

The first quarter was close as neither team could quite break away for a big lead. Henderson broke a 10-10 tie for the Scots after she hit a three-pointer, followed by a basket from the Bears as the Scots would take a 13-12 lead after the first quarter. The second quarter proved to be just as close, as the Scots had a 26-21 lead at the 3:40 mark. Pikeville then went on a 9-3 run to close out the period and take a 30-29 lead.

Pikeville would try to build a big lead in the third quarter, but the Scots were able to keep pace with the stingy Bears’ defense. With the game tied at 36, Hastings, Ali Tucker and Moore scored seven straight points for Lyon to give the team a little bit of breathing room at 43-36 with 3:10 left in the quarter. Lyon would lead 45-42 after three quarters of play.

Lyon would go on a huge run in the fourth quarter as they shot 8-for-13 in the period. With an early quarter lead of 45-44, the Scots built their lead to double-digits as a plethora of Scots in Kelsey Smith, Riley, Elkins, Taylor and Henderson helped Lyon take a 61-45 lead. Pikeville would make one last run to try and keep it close, but the Scots held them back for the 12-point win.

WHAT’S AHEAD FOR THE SCOTS
Lyon will play the winner of No. 2 seed Westmont College (Calif.) and No. 7 seed Louisiana State University-Shreveport, Friday at 4:30 p.m.

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Both are ranked in the top 20 of the second regular season edition of the poll for the 2016-2017 season.

The Scots fell a spot in the rankings to No. 9, switching places with Oklahoma City. Lyon (11-2) split games last week, losing to undefeated and top-ranked Freed-Hardeman and then beating Williams Baptist on New Year’s Eve.

Lyon travels to Central Bapitst on Tuesday and hosts Hannibal-LaGrange on Thursday.

John Brown moved up two places to No. 18 in the poll. The Lady Eagle (9-4) have won three straight, but haven’t played since defeating Ecclesia, 96-42, on Dec. 8.

JBU gets back into conference play hosting Southwestern Christian on Thursday and then traveling to Wayland Baptist on Saturday.

Complete poll:

Dropped from the Top 25: none

Others receiving votes: Montana Western 40; Wayland Baptist (Texas) 39; Talladega (Ala.) 33; Biola (Calif.) 19; Harris-Stowe State (Mo.) 8; Wiley (Texas) 8; William Penn (Iowa) 8; Martin Methodist (Tenn.) 6; William Woods (Mo.) 6; Xavier (La.) 4.

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