KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Two members of the Central Methodist University women's basketball team were honored Thursday by the National Association of Intercollege Athletics (NAIA) when junior DaJonee Hale and sophomore Lexie Moe were named NAIA All-Americans, the national office announced.
Hale, a 5-8 guard from Anchorage, Alaska, and Moe, a 5-10 forward from St. Peters, Mo., led the Eagles to a 24-10 season record, a No. 20 ranking and a third-place finish in the Heart of America Athletic Conference with an 18-8 record. CMU then received a No. 5 seed in the NAIA DI Women's Basketball National Championship, as the Eagles picked up a first-round win over Biola University, before seeing their season come to an end in a loss to top-seeded Lindsey Wilson College. Hale, who was a 2016 NAIA DI Women's Basketball All-American as well, earned Second-Team All-America honors, while Moe received honorable mention status.
Hale (left photo) led Central Methodist in points and scoring this season, throwing in 629 points for an 18.5 points per game average. She was second on the team in assists with 84, while picking up 54 steals and 4.8 rebounds a contest. Her point total ranked seventh in the nation and her scoring average ranked ninth. She also ranked 14th in free throw percentage (.827), 15th in three-point field goals made (82), 19th in three-point field goal percentage (.400), 24th in three-pointers made per game (2.41) and 36th in field goal percentage (.474).
Moe (right photo) was second on the squad in scoring, dropping in 16.1 points per game, while leading the team in rebounds with a 6.9 boards per game average. She ranked 15th nationally in free throw percentage (.824), 17th in total steals (75) and total points (549), 27th in three-point field goal percentage (.391), 31st in field goal percentage (.479) and points per game, 32nd in steals per game (2.21), 37th in defensive rebounds per game (5.7), 43rd in three-point field goals made (63) and 45th in total rebounds (235).
The duo helped the Eagles to rank sixth in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (.368) and total steals (391), eighth in total points (2,654) and scoring per game (78.1).
Both Hale and Moe were First-Team All-Heart of America Athletic Conference selections.
Three other players in the HEART were named All-American first, second or third-team members. They included Kelsey Larson of Baker University (second team), Kristen Murphy of Benedictine College (second team) and Kelsey Ernst of Clarke University (third team). Five conference players earned honorable mention.
2017 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball All-America Teams
| First Team | ||||
| Name | Institution | Pos. | Class | Hometown |
| Taleeah Cross * | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | G | Sr. | South Fulton, Tenn. |
| Kim Mallory | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | F | Jr. | Nettleton, Miss. |
| Caelyn Orlandi * | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | G | Sr. | Coeur d'Alene, Idaho |
| Kayla Styles | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | F | Jr. | Louisville, Ky. |
| Starla Daggan | Mobile (Ala.) | G | Sr. | Prentiss, Miss. |
| Natalee Faupel * | Montana State-Northern | G | Sr. | Butte, Mont. |
| Daniela Wallen * % | Oklahoma City | F | Sr. | Caracas, Venezuela |
| Jonessa Moore | Shawnee State (Ohio) | C | Sr. | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Claire Lamunu | Vanguard (Calif.) | F | Sr. | Kampala, Uganda |
| Aysia Shellmire * | Westmont (Calif.) | F | Sr. | Burbank, Calif. |
| Second Team | ||||
| Name | Institution | Pos. | Class | Hometown |
| Kelsey Larson | Baker (Kan.) | F | Sr. | Iola, Kan. |
| Kristen Murphy | Benedictine (Kan.) | F | Jr. | Olathe, Kan. |
| DeMoria White | Biola (Calif.) | G | Jr. | Inglewood, Calif. |
| Emily Fox | Campbellsville (Ky.) | G | Sr. | McKinney, Ky. |
| DaJonee Hale * | Central Methodist (Mo.) | G | Jr. | Anchorage, Alaska |
| Brittany Tackett * | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | F | Jr. | Coeur d'Alene, Idaho |
| Chanel Roberts * ^ | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | F | Sr. | Radcliff, Ky. |
| Aniese Palmore | Montana Western | G | Sr. | Santa Monica, Calif. |
| Madison Ridout | Shawnee State (Ohio) | F | Jr. | Jackson, Ohio |
| Bianca Cubello * | The Master's (Calif.) | F | Sr. | Riverside, Calif. |
| Third Team | ||||
| Name | Institution | Pos. | Class | Hometown |
| Shamon Pearson * | Bethel (Tenn.) | G | Jr. | Ridgely, Tenn. |
| Annie Park | Biola (Calif.) | G | Sr. | Torrance, Calif. |
| Kelsey Ernst | Clarke (Iowa) | F | Sr. | Bellevue, Iowa |
| Nicole Bowers | Cumberland (Tenn.) | F | Sr. | Nashville, Tenn. |
| Baily Cameron | John Brown (Ark.) | F | So. | Siloam Springs, Ark. |
| Meghan Temple | Loyola (La.) | F | Sr. | Houston, Texas |
| Kourtney Pennywell * ^ | LSU Shreveport (La.) | C | Sr. | Shreveport, La. |
| Kiara Moore | Lyon (Ark.) | G | Sr. | Little Rock, Ark. |
| Kyoko Wade | Martin Methodist (Tenn.) | F | Sr. | Nashville, Tenn. |
| Tajanee Wells | Talladega (Ala.) | F | Sr. | Columbus, Ohio |
* 2016 All-American
^ 2015 All-American
% 2017 National Player of the Year
Honorable Mention
| Name | Institution |
| Courtney Christmas | Arizona Christian |
| Raven Bunn | Avila (Mo.) |
| Serena Parker | Benedictine (Kan.) |
| Brandi Goodman | Bethel (Tenn.) |
| Joclyn Kirton | Biola (Calif.) |
| Cassidy Hashley | Carroll (Mont.) |
| Lexie Moe | Central Methodist (Mo.) |
| Ashlee Marlatt | Columbia (Mo.) |
| Morgan Brandt | Columbia (Mo.) |
| Faith LeGate | Faulkner (Ala.) |
| Lashae Brown | Fisk (Tenn.) |
| Emilie Ziese | Georgetown (Ky.) |
| Sydney Vaughn | Graceland (Iowa) |
| Maddie Westergard | Grand View (Iowa) |
| Stephanie McDonagh | Great Falls (Mont.) |
| Brionna Taylor | Harris-Stowe (Mo.) |
| Brianna Mueller | Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) |
| Alison Webb | Lindenwood-Belleville (Ill.) |
| Zoie Miller | Loyola (La.) |
| Sarai Rodriguez | Mid-America Christian (Okla.) |
| Kali Koenig | Mobile (Ala.) |
| Sierra Richards | Montana State-Northern |
| Martha Dembek | Montana Tech |
| Hattie Thatcher | Montana Tech |
| Kaye Bignell | Montana Western |
| Daniela Galindo | Oklahoma City |
| Alyssa Ward | Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) |
| Kelah Eldridge | Pikeville (Ky.) |
| Devin Conley | Pikeville (Ky.) |
| Dierra Ely | Science & Arts (Okla.) |
| Brandie Snow | Shawnee State (Ohio) |
| Maghen Lormand | St. Thomas (Texas) |
| Katelynn Threats | Texas Wesleyan |
| Megan Lindsley | The Master's (Calif.) |
| Jade Jones | Wayland Baptist (Texas) |
| Shawna Monreal | Wayland Baptist (Texas) |
| Aimee Brakken | Westmont (Calif.) |
| Lauren McCoy | Westmont (Calif.) |
| Alyssa Phillips | William Penn (Iowa) |
| Jasmine Brown | William Woods (Mo.) |
CMU Women's Basketball Contact: John Kruger
Phone: 936-332-9332 | jkrueger@centralmethodist.edu
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Website: www.CMUEagles.com
