In the final provision year of transitioning to the NCAA, the Lady Bulldogs claimed the NCCAA Div. I national championship title March 22 against Lee University in Winona Lake, Ind.
Union defeated Lee University 73-64.
Our Lady Bulldogs went 25-6 overall and 15-5 in the Gulf South Conference.
The team won the Mideast Region title with a win over in-state rival Lee University. The Lady Bulldogs then advanced to the NCCAA national tournament.
Union defeated Southern Wesleyan University in the first round and faced off with Azuza Pacific in the second round, a team that the Lady Bulldogs met in the NAIA National Title game in 2010 and 2011.
The Lady Bulldogs won 56-36 to advance to their fifth national title game in the last six years. Union defeated Lee University behind junior guard Amy Philamlee’s game-high 24 points to claim the NCCAA national title.
Union senior guard LaTesa McLaughlin was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament while she and Amy Philamlee were both named all-tournament players.
Head Coach Mark Campbell was named NCCAA National Coach of the Year. Junior guards Amber Rechis and Emily Sissom joined McLaughlin as the Lady Bulldogs’ own NCCAA Scholar Athletes.
Bulldog basketball update
This season was one of highs and lows for the Union’s men’s basketball team. The team finished with a 15-16 overall record but managed to finish fifth in the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association national tournament.
The team had a 10-5 record at Union’s Fred DeLay Gymnasium but only had a 3-9 record away from home.
These are just some of the various highs and lows, but one definite high of the season was advancing to the tournament after a 91-76 win of region tournament host Bluefield College for the Mideast Region title.
The Bulldogs fell to eventual national champions Point Loma Nazarene in the first round of the national tournament, which put them in a win or go home matchup with Carver.
The Bulldogs won 88-74. The win against Carver advanced the Bulldogs to a fifth-place game in the consolation bracket against Mid-America Nazarene University.
The Bulldogs one the matchup 89-75, powered by their second best shooting game of the season at 57 percent.
Union University junior guard and leading scorer Corieon Pearson was named NCCAA All-American, and Senior Center Paul Valdor was named to the NCCAA Scholar Athlete list for the second straight year.
