BACK-TO-BACK: LADYJACKETS WIN SECOND STRAIGHT NCCAA TITLE
Not many teams can claim back-to-back national championships, but the 1997-98 LeTourneau women's basketball team is one that accomplished the feat.
The LadyJackets toppled the NCCAA mountain again to claim a second straight national title under head coach Mary Ann Otwell.
With NCCAA Player of the Year Kim Chatman, the LadyJackets went undefeated through the Big State Conference once again and claimed a third straight conference tournament title. LeTourneau finished the year 24-10 overall.
Entering the NCCAA Tournament with a 21-9 record, the LadyJackets ran through the tournament with all three wins by double-digits. LeTourneau defeated Northwest (Wash.) in the first round 78-56 before defeating Oakland City, 71-60, for a second straight year in the semifinals.
In the national championship, the LadyJackets scored the final 19 points of the game to pull away from Indiana Wesleyan for a 93-73 victory and another NCCAA crown.
Teresa Denton was named the tournament's Outstanding Player while she and Chatman were both on the All-Tournament team. Chatman earned NCCAA National Player of the Year honors, while Otwell collected her second straight NCCAA Coach of the Year honor.
Chatman and Denton were both first team NCCAA All-Americans, while Shannon Greenhouse and Olivia Taylor Smith were second-team All-America.
In LeTourneau's final year in the NAIA, the LadyJackets also punched a ticket back to the NAIA Tournament for a third straight year after going 10-0 in Big State play and winning the conference tournament. LeTourneau went 10-0 in Big State play to finish its time in the league winning 24 straight regular season games. The league tournament title gave LeTourneau another shot in the NAIA Tournament, but the LadyJackets fell to No. 6-seed Campbellsville, 92-56, in the first round in Jackson, Tenn.
Chatman was the Big State co-MVP and Otwell was the conference's Coach of the Year. Smith and Chatman were both selected to the first team All-Big State.
Despite the toughest schedule in the program's four-year history, LeTourneau went 19-9 in regular season play.
The LadyJackets played six teams from the tough Sooner Athletic Conference, including four-time NAIA champion Southern Nazarene and Oklahoma Baptist, both of which were ranked No. 1 in the nation when LeTourneau played them. The LadyJackets led Oklahoma Baptist late inside Solheim Arena before falling, 82-78, and had a six-point lead at the half on Southern Nazarene before a second-half rally lifted SNU to the win.
A local star from Longview High School, Chatman finished her two-year career with the LadyJackets by leading the team in scoring (15.9), rebounding (8.5), and assists (3.7). She was one of four seniors in the starting lineup, including Smith, Denton, and Greenhouse.
The 1997-98 season capped LeTourneau's first four years as a program and finished its time in the NAIA as the University transitioned to NCAA Division III beginning in fall 1998. The LadyJackets were 50 games above .500 (87-37) overall and 28-2 in Big State Conference games.
