COLLEGE ROUNDUP : David Lipscomb Shoots 86% : in First Half, CCI Women Fall

Christ College Irvine women’s basketball Coach Kent Schlichtemeier had never seen anything like it. Neither had Frank Bennett, the coach at David Lipscomb (Tenn.).

In fact, nobody associated with the NAIA Division I National Women’s Basketball Tournament could recall a comparable performance in the tournament’s 13-year history.

David Lipscomb, the tournament’s sixth-seeded team, shot 86.2% (25 of 29) from the floor in the first half and ended CCI’s season with a 106-75 victory Thursday night before 5,693 at Oman Arena in Jackson, Tenn. The winners wound up shooting 67.2% (43 of 64) for the game.

It was the second consecutive season the Eagles have traveled to western Tennessee only to be sent packing after the first round. Last year, four-seeded Wayland (Tex.) Baptist defeated CCI in the first round.

“That was definitely a first in my career,” said Schlichtemeier, whose team finished 25-6. “That’s the best I’ve ever seen a team shoot, and I don’t think we were all that bad defensively.”

Actually, it didn’t seem as if David Lipscomb noticed CCI’s defensive effort. The Bisons used a 21-2 run to extend an early 12-11 lead and put the game out of reach.

“It was just unbelievable,” Bennett said after his team improved to 27-5 and moved into a second-round showdown against Campbellsville (Ky.), which is 27-4. “It’s a dream to shoot that well against this type of competition.”

Bennett’s dream was CCI’s nightmare. By the time Kim Herron hit a three-pointer with 1 minute 23 seconds left in the first half, four Bisons already were in double figures.

“We thought going in that we had some good defensive match-ups,” Schlichtemeier said. Lipscomb was able to push the tempo by forcing CCI into bad shots. With senior point guard Stacy Kirch hampered by a severely injured ligament in her back--she’s been unable to practice regularly for two months--and center Gitte Mejer dominated by Lipscomb’s front court, the Eagles shot only 37.5% (12 for 32) before the break.

Mejer finished with a game-high 23 points, 11 of which came in the final 5:05. Stacey Giem hit five three-pointers and had 19 points.

In Big West Conference women’s basketball:

UC Santa Barbara 66, UC Irvine 61--Playing her last game for the Anteaters, senior Yvonne Catala scored a career-high 33 points. Catala had 15 rebounds. Cori Close had 20 points for UC Santa Barbara (15-10, 13-4). UC Irvine finishes the season at 2-27, 1-17.

Cal State Long Beach 99, Cal State Fullerton 73--Neisha Williams scored 26 points to lead the 49ers at Titan Gym. Allison Jackson led Fullerton (7-18, 4-13) with 34 points. Long Beach is 8-16, 7-10.

In the National Christian College Athletic Assn. Division II national tournament:

Pacific Christian College 109, Mid-America Bible (Okla.) 100--Forward Charles Ross had 33 points and 20 rebounds for the Royals (25-12), who advance to play top-seeded Baptist Bible of Clarks Summit, Pa., today in the semifinals.

In nonconference men’s tennis:

USC 6, UC Irvine 3--Former Laguna Beach star Jon Leach won in No. 2 singles and teamed with Brian MacPhie in No. 1 doubles to lead USC (8-1), the nation’s top-ranked team. Carlos Bustos and Marco Zuniga each won in singles for UCI (3-5) and teamed to win in No. 2 doubles.

In nonconference softball:

Southern California College 2-4, CS San Bernardino 0-1--Angie Vega’s two-run triple keyed a four-run fourth inning in the second game as the Vanguards (7-5-2) swept previously unbeaten San Bernardino (10-2). In the first game, SCC’s Shannon Saylor pitched a two-hit shutout.