St. Francis, Northwestern win NAIA championships

DeJovaun Davis-Sawyer poured in 22 points as 15th-seeded St. Francis (Ind.) defeated No. 1-ranked Walsh (Ohio) 67-66 to win the Division II NAIA national championship in Point Lookout, Mo., on Tuesday night.

St. Francis outscored Walsh 35-28 in the second half to close out their magical postseason run, handing the tournament’s No. 1 seed just their second loss of the season.

On back-to-back nights, Francis defeated the defending tournament champion Oklahoma Wesleyan Eagles and Walsh (32-2) to win the school’s first championship.

Matt Edmonds scored 14 points for St. Francis and Qadr Owens added 11, including the go-ahead basket with 39 seconds left. Ferdinand Soto-Morales was also in double figures with 10 points.

St. Francis (28-9) opened its tournament run with an 86-83 win over Black Hills State.

On the women’s side, Northwestern (Iowa) capped off its absolutely dominating run to the championship.

The Raiders, who won their 5 tournament games by a combined 139 points, thumped Shawnee State (Ohio) 85-66 Tuesday night in Sioux City Iowa.

Interestingly, it was Jamestown College that handed the Raiders their only lopsided loss of the season. The two teams played here on No. 6, with the Jimmies rolling handily 80-63.

Northwestern first-team All-American Becca Hurley carried the load in the title tilt for the Raiders with 23 points as they finished the season with a record of 31-5.

Tags: st francis, sports, basketball, naia, men, women, championship, northwestern