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The RHEMA Lady Eagles entered the 2011 ACCA National Championship Tournament with a big target on their backs. Not only were they the defending national champions, but they were also the number-one seed in the tournament. For three days, the Lady Eagles took the best shots from their opponents, but they still managed to walk away with another national championship after defeating Ozark Christian College 54-52 in Joplin, Missouri.

RHEMA started the game off slowly on offense, only scoring five points in the first nine minutes of the game. But team defense kept the Lady Eagles in the game, as they held the Lady Ambassadors to only 13 points over that same stretch of time. RHEMA finally found its stroke and outscored Ozark 16-7 over the next eight minutes to take a 21-20 lead with only two minutes remaining in the opening half. The Lady Ambassadors ended the half on a 7-2 run to take a 27-23 lead at the break.

After Ozark opened the scoring in the second half with a jumper to take a six-point lead, Hannah Daniel hit back-to-back three pointers to tie the game at 29. Over the next few minutes, the teams traded baskets until Hannah Brim nailed a three followed by Candace Tripke hitting a couple of free throws. After a deep jumper in the corner by Brim, the Lady Eagles found themselves with their largest lead of the game, 40-33.

Ozark fought back, going on a 15-8 run over the next five minutes to tie the game at 48 with 4:45 left in the contest. After trading baskets, Brim nailed a clutch three from the top of the key with 1:15 left on the clock to put RHEMA up 53-50. The Lady Ambassadors answered with a jumper on their ensuing possession to pull within one point with less than a minute remaining in the game.

The last minute was hectic as the pressure for winning the championship was coming down to the wire. After the Lady Eagles missed a jumper, Ozark rebounded the ball and called timeout with 30.8 seconds left. Tough defense by RHEMA caused the Lady Ambassadors to put up a bad shot, but the rebound bounced out of bounds off of a RHEMA player with 18 seconds remaining.

More tough defense by the Lady Eagles forced another tough shot by Ozark. A mad scramble for the rebound ended with a pile of bodies in the lane fighting for the ball. The referee whistled a jump ball with the possession arrow in RHEMA’s favor with only 11.4 seconds remaining.

After receiving the inbound pass, Devonna Mitchell, she dished the ball to Heidi Couturier, who was fouled with 6.5 seconds remaining on the clock. Couturier hit her first free throw to give the Lady Eagles a 54-52 lead. Couturier’s second free throw bounced off the side of the rim and was rebounded by Ozark. After advancing the ball to half court, the Lady Ambassadors called timeout with 2.5 seconds remaining.

Coming out of the timeout, Ozark lined a wall of players on the three-point arc to the left of the free-throw line. As the referee blew his whistle, Ozark’s Melea Cook stepped behind the line of players and took the inbound pass. As she turned to shoot, Brim circled the wall of players and got a hand in Cook’s face as she fired the potential game-winning three. Her shot, however, glanced off the rim and fell harmlessly to the court as the final buzzer sounded. RHEMA’s players, coaches, and fans stormed the center of the court and celebrated the Lady Eagles’ 2011 ACCA National Championship!

Brim, who was named the ACCA Tournament MVP, finished with a game-high 19 points while also grabbing seven rebounds. Daniel, an All-Tournament Team selection, had 10 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Tripke narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds. She also blocked two shots. Mitchell contributed nine points, four rebounds, four assists, and three steals, while Couturier finished with five points and eight rebounds.