Box Score

HOLLAND, Mich. – Tournament MVP Kristen Shielee scored two huge baskets in the final two minutes of a what had become a one-point game, lifting the George Fox University Bruins to a hard-fought 60-53 win over the Washington University-St. Louis Bears in the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball National Championship game Saturday afternoon here at Hope College's DeVos Fieldhouse.

With the win, the Bruins put the finishing touches on a perfect 32-0 season that began with no returning starters, 10 freshmen on the roster, and no higher predictions than a fifth-place finish in the Northwest Conference.  Instead, they are now the sixth undefeated national champion since the NCAA women's D-III tournament began in 1982, only the second team west of the Central time zone to reach the title game (Cal State-Stanislaus was the other, losing to Elizabethtown in 1989), and the first Northwest Conference team, men or women, to win an NCAA D-III crown.

Washington scored the first four points of the game on a three-pointer by Zoe Unruh and a free throw by Jill Brandt, and the Bruins appeared to be in serious trouble when leading scorer Keisha Gordon drew her second foul only 1:11 into the game.  She sat out the remainder of the half, but the rest of the Bruins stepped up.

B.B. Gardner's driving layup at 17:31 got the Bruins on the board, and the teams battled on even terms over the next six minutes.  Leading by two, the Bruins caught a break when Washington was assessed a technical foul for an illegal substitution (a wrong number in the scorebook) with 10:56 remaining.  Elise Kuenzi, who was at the free throw line to shoot two for the Bruins, took the technicals as well and hit all four shots, boosted the Bruins to an 18-12 lead.

The Bears responded with an 11-4 run to take a 23-22 lead on a jumper by Janice Evans with 5:11 left.  George Fox went on a 16-6 run from that point on, capped by a three-pointer from the right wing by Lindsay Keener at the buzzer for a 38-29 Bruin halftime lead.  Keener had come in for the final five minutes of the half when point guard Gardner had exited with her third foul of the half.

Kuenzi led all scorers with 13 points in the first half as she hit 6-7 from the line.  The Bruins shot .480 (12-25) from the field in the first half to .400 (12-30) for the Bears, but held a big advantage at the line (11-13 to 3-4 for Washington).

The Bruins opened the second half by scoring baskets by Gordon and Sage Indendi and holding the Bears scoreless for over four minutes, boosting their lead to 42-29.  However, the Bears went on a 6-0 run as the Bruins went cold for a four-and-a-half minute stretch, closing within seven at 42-35 before the Bruins broke the streak with a pair of free throws by Kristen Shielee at the 11:33 mark.  Shielee added a short jumper and Gordon a three from the top at the 10:11 mark for the Bruins' largest lead of 14 points at 49-35.

Once again, the Bears battled back, scoring seven unanswered points and pulling within seven at 49-42 on a three-pointer by Unruh with 6:36 left.  Gardner broke the string with a layup at 4:35, but the Bears answered with three straight baskets by Jaimie McFarlin, Brandt, and McFarlin twice again to cut the deficit to 51-50 with 3:10 to go.

A Shielee layup with left put the Bruins back up by three, and when Kelsey Robb missed a short jumper at the other end, the Bruins went back to Shielee for another layin with a minute to go for a 55-50 lead.  Brandt was fouled with 26 seconds left while taking an off-balance lean-in three and cashed in all three freebies, drawing the Bears within a pair at 55-53.  McFarlin then stole the inbounds pass but Halsey Ward missed a go-ahead three, and Kuenzi then hit one free throw with 17 seconds left after collecting the rebound for a 56-53 edge.

With one last chance to tie, Brandt missed a three from the corner with 0:09 left and the ball went out of bounds to the Bruins, who then iced the win with a pair of Indendi free thows with five ticks left and Shielee with a second to go.

The Bruins' victory denied the Bears a fifth national title in their eighth Final Four appearance.  Washington, which finished with a 26-5 record, captured four straight crowns from 1998 through 2001, and lost in the championship games in 1994 and 2007.

Shielee led all scorers with 17 points, including 7-8 from the free throw line, and had a game-high seven rebounds and two blocked shots.  She totaled 32 points, 16 rebounds, and seven blocks to win the Mot Outstanding Player award.  Kuenzi finished with 14 points, and Indendi, who was also named to the All-Tournament team, added 13, along with three assists and three steals. 

Unruh and Evans scored 11 apiece for the Bears and McFarlin added 10.  Evans and Unruh,who were also named to the All-Tournament team, grabbed six rebounds each.  Unruh and Alex Hoover handed out five assists apiece. 

In the consolation game, the College of New Jersey knocked off the Amherst College Lord Jeffs 82-74, with national Player of the Year Hillary Klimowicz of TCNJ also making the All-Tournament team.

This is the second NCAA national team championship for George Fox in 10 years of membership in the organization.  The Bruin baseball team won the 2004 D-III World Series.

“I was really scared back in October,” admitted Bruin coach Scott Rueck in the post-game press conference.  “I knew we had some talent, but with no starters back and only one senior, I thought our lack of experience would get us.   I was just hoping for a winning season, but as we got into conference play and won at the 'Whits' (Whitworth and Whitman), the two teams picked to win our conference, I realized this group was coming along faster than expected.  But to win a championship?  I thought, 'No way'.  But these kids have made believers out of me, and now everyone else.  I could not be prouder of what they have accomplished.”