Uniontown, PA- After an overtime victory against Rochester College in the semifinals of the 2017 USCAA Division I Women's Basketball National Championship, the second seeded Berea College returned to the court for the game they had been practicing for all season, the USCAA National Championship game. Waiting on the other side of the court was the top seed in the tournament, the Concordia College Alabama Hornets.
Jaime Roberts three-pointer gave the Mountaineers a 3-2 lead, eventually moving ahead 5-2 on Bethanie Williams layup. Berea fail behind by three points to the Hornets before Roberts' second three-point basket tied the game 8-8. A third three-point basket from Roberts', who scored 24 points in the game with all her baskets from beyond the arc, as part of a 9-2 run gave the Mountaineers a 17-10 lead as the teams prepared for the second quarter.
Bri Lanham's free throw gave Berea a nine point lead as the score changed to 21-12 with 7:19 remaining until halftime. A 10-3 scoring run by Concordia cut the Mountaineers lead to just two points before Roberts' fifth three-point jumper gave Berea a five point cushion, 27-22. After a pair of free throws cut Berea's lead to three, Williams' free throws and a Lanham layup pushed the Mountaineers ahead 31-25 as the halftime buzzer sounded.
Out of the intermission, the Hornets scored six of the first eight points to pull within two points of Berea's lead, making the score 33-31. The sixth and seventh three-pointers in a back-to-back sequence from Roberts extended the Mountaineers' advantage to eight points, moving the score to 39-31. The eight three-point jumper came from Roberts with 5:13 remaining in the third and pushed Berea's lead back out to seven after Concordia cut it to four. The score soon became tied at 45 before the Hornets hit a free throw to take a one point lead as the teams headed to the final quarter of the season.
Concordia scored five straight points to open the fourth quarter, taking a 51-45 lead as 7:20 remained in the game. A pair of free throws from Williams brought the Mountaineers back to within four points of the lead, 55-50. Even though Berea shot 10-12 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter, 14.3 shooting and only two made field goals doomed the offense, as the team went on to fall 70-59.
Williams finished in double-figure scoring along with Roberts as she scored 22 points, including 14-16 from the free throw line, to go along with five rebounds and two steals. Nakeisha Greene finished with a game-high 14 rebounds, adding two points and three blocks to her stat line. Lanham put seven points on the board to, also adding 11 rebounds, three assists and a steal. Williams and Roberts were named to the All-Tournament team. The team finishes the season as 21-7, including winning 13 game in a row during the regular season.