‘Overwhelmed’ CCI Makes Quick Exit From Nationals

JACKSON, Tenn. — The painted lanes on the Oman Arena floor are the same width as those in any other gym Christ College Irvine has played in this season.

To Lady Eagles Coach Kent Schlichtemeier, however, they seemed to stretch forever.

CCI was no match for Wayland Baptist (Tex.) down on the blocks Wednesday in the first round of the NAIA national women’s tournament. The Flying Queens’ front-court foursome combined for 70 points, helping Wayland Baptist eliminate the Lady Eagles, 82-62.

“They didn’t really hurt us with their post-up moves. What hurt us is that they hit their jump shots from the baseline,” said Schlichtemeier, the fourth-year coach whose team finished 25-5 after its first-ever national tournament appearance.

“All the scouting reports said their post players were legitimate All-American candidates. Everything I found out about them proved to be true.”

The Flying Queens’ starting front court accounted for their first 19 points. Lisa Kolodziejczyk was the first of the bunch to catch fire, scoring 12 consecutive points for Wayland Baptist, which built a 17-11 lead 7 minutes 27 seconds into the contest.

Kolodziejczyk finished with a game-high 22 points. Starting forwards Verlonda Curry and Carol Bailey-Sessums added 18 and 16 points, respectively. Kristy Noble, Kolodziejczyk’s back-up, added 14 points in 17 minutes off the bench.

Those four Flying Queens shot a combined 69.7% (30 for 43) from the floor.

“Lisa and Carol are always real consistent, and Noble came in and hit some really big shots for us,” said Wayland Baptist Coach Sheryl Estes, whose team will face unseeded Northwestern Oklahoma Friday.

The Lady Eagles were unable to defend Wayland Baptist (26-5) in the low post, and they didn’t have much success inside on offense. Sophomore center Gitte Mejer, CCI’s leading scorer at 18 points per game, picked up three early fouls. Mejer spent all but five minutes of the first half on the bench, further diminishing CCI’s chances of matching up with Wayland Baptist inside.