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The NCAA News -- March 29, 1999

Washington (Missouri) caps perfect season with 74-65 championship win

Defending champion Washington (Missouri) was not ready to relinquish its hold on the Division III Women's Basketball Championship as the Bears claimed a second consecutive title by defeating St. Benedict, 74-65, March 20 at Western Connecticut State.

The Bears were perfect for the season, posting a 30-0 record and becoming the third team in Division III women's basketball history to finish unbeaten.

Washington was led by sophomore Tasha Rodgers, who scored 23 points and posted nine rebounds, and Alia Fischer, who scored 19 points and pulled down 14 boards.

Although the Bears led at the half, 34-30, the Blazers took the lead, 48-44, with just over 10 minutes left in the game. The Bears responded with a 10-1 run, but St. Benedict closed the gap to two at 60-58. Then Fischer scored five straight points to extend the lead and help the Bears to the win.

"Wow, it's hard to describe the feeling," Bears head coach Nancy Fahey said of the victory. "When you win the first one, it's an unbelievable feeling, but to win this one the way we did, going undefeated, it's just amazing."

Washington made its way to the final game by defeating Scranton, 74-65, in the semifinals. St. Benedict advanced by beating Salem State, 74-54. Salem State earned third-place honors by defeating Scranton, 75-65.

Rodgers and Fischer were named to the all-tournament team along with Molly Mark and Robyn Ruschmeier of St. Benedict and Dee Jackson of Salem State.

CHAMPIONSHIP SUMMARY

Sectionals: Northeast -- Salem St. 75, Gallaudet 65; Williams 62, Rowan 56; Salem St. 76, Williams 60.

West -- St. Benedict 78, DePauw 67; Pacific Lutheran 54, Hardin-Simmons 34; St. Benedict 61, Pacific Lutheran 55.

Mid-Atlantic -- New York U. 87, Elizabethtown 70; Scranton 64, William Smith 47; Scranton 81, New York U. 60.

Great Lakes -- Washington (Mo.) 77, Capital 70 (ot); Wis.-Oshkosh 61, Calvin 59; Washington (Mo.) 56, Wis.-Oshkosh 55.

SEMIFINALS

St. Benedict 74, Salem St. 54

St. Benedict: Julie Korf 1-3, 0-0, 1, 2; Robyn Ruschmeier 3-7, 7-9, 8, 13; Laura Wendorff 5-11, 2-2, 7, 12; Molly Mark 5-17, 2-2, 6, 14; Jenny Blaser 3-11, 2-5, 6, 9; Heidi Schwichtenberg 4-8, 2-2, 6, 13; Beth Holbrook 1-5, 1-2, 2, 3; Mia Peterson 2-2, 1-1, 0, 5; Hayley Vipond 0-1, 1-1, 0, 1; Kristal Heikes 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Maira Boettger 1-2, 0-0, 0, 2; Kelley Schmidt 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Michelle Lohn 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Bridget Corrigan 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Kim Lendway 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0. TOTALS: 25-67, 18-24, 43, 74.

Salem St.: Adrienne Johnson 4-11, 2-4, 5, 10; Terri Niles 3-6, 0-0, 4, 6; Kara Lunden 1-2, 0-0, 10, 2; Dee Jackson 5-10, 1-2, 8, 11; Katie Duffey 1-8, 0-1, 4, 3; Melissa Smock 3-9, 1-2, 3, 9; Maggie O'Brien 1-2, 2-2, 5, 4; Tracy McKeen 1-4, 1-2, 1, 3; Val McCarter 3-3, 0-0, 1, 6; Kylie Allen 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Karen Masiello 0-2, 0-2, 0, 0; Kate Lessner 0-0, 0-0, 2, 0. TOTALS: 22-58, 7-15, 49, 54.

Half time: St. Benedict 37, Salem St. 31. Three-point field goals: St. Benedict 6-22 (Ruschmeier 0-3, Mark 2-10, Blaser 1-2, Schwichtenberg 3-6, Boettger 0-1); Salem St. 3-6 (Niles 0-1, Duffey 1-1, Smock 2-3, McKeen 0-1). Disqualifications: None. Officials: Lisa Ulmer, Connie Perkins. Attendance: 1,000.

Washington (Mo.) 74, Scranton 65

Washington (Mo.): Emily Nolan 2-3, 0-0, 1, 4; Tasha Rodgers 8-13, 5-5, 6, 21; Alia Fischer 13-19, 5-6, 7, 31; Sue Tucker 3-8, 1-2, 7, 7; Emily Harold 1-5, 0-1, 6, 2; Lindsey Merrill 3-5, 0-1, 2, 7; Sara Ettner 1-3, 0-0, 3, 2; Kjersten Kramer 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Beth Ruether 0-1, 0-0, 2, 0; Jana Herrmann 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0. TOTALS: 31-58, 11-15, 42, 74.

Scranton: Gillian McGovern 5-17, 4-6, 2, 14; Kate Dougherty 4-14, 0-1, 5, 10; Shannon Milder 7-11, 4-4, 11, 18; Kelly Halpin 4-9, 1-1, 4, 10; Lisa Harris 3-7, 4-4, 3, 10; Jaime Eibacher 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Deirdre Walsh 0-1, 0-0, 2, 0; Heather Mohrman 1-3, 0-0, 3, 3; Erin Hurleman 0-3, 0-0, 2, 0; Samantha Crotty 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Lisa Crawford 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 24-65, 13-16, 33, 65.

Half time: Washington (Mo.) 39, Scranton 29. Three-point field goals: Washington (Mo.) 1-5 (Tucker 0-2, Merrill 1-2, Herrmann 0-1); Scranton 4-15 (McGovern 0-4, Dougherty 2-6, Halpin 1-2, Mohrman 1-1, Hurleman 0-2). Disqualifications: McGovern. Officials: Bob Simmons, Chip Schneider. Attendance: 1,500.

THIRD PLACE

Salem St. 75, Scranton 65

Salem St.: Dee Jackson 6-11, 5-7, 12, 17; Adrienne Johnson 3-4, 7-10, 4, 13; Kara Lunden 3-5, 0-0, 9, 6; Terri Niles 9-13, 0-0, 2, 24; Katie Duffey 0-3, 2-2, 2, 2; Maggie O'Brien 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Melissa Smock 5-14, 1-2, 5, 13; Tracy McKeen 0-2, 0-0, 3, 0; Val McCarter 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Kylie Allen 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Karen Masiello 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Kate Lessner 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 26-52, 15-21, 42, 75.

Scranton: Lisa Harris 2-5, 1-2, 4, 5; Shannon Milder 3-5, 3-4, 7, 9; Kate Dougherty 5-12, 0-0, 3, 11; Gillian McGovern 4-16, 0-1, 8, 9; Kelly Halpin 7-17, 2-2, 6, 17; Jaime Eibacher 2-12, 0-0, 1, 6; Heather Mohrman 1-5, 2-2, 2, 4; Deirdre Walsh 1-2, 1-1, 1, 3; Erin Hurleman 0-2, 0-0, 0, 0; Stephanie Kuntz 0-0, 1-2, 1, 1; Kelly Tracy 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Lisa Crawford 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 25-76, 10-14, 36, 65.

Half time: Salem St. 40, Scranton 27. Three-point field goals: Salem St. 8-18 (Niles 6-9, Smock 2-9); Scranton 5-32 (Harris 0-2, Dougherty 1-2, McGovern 1-5, Halpin 1-8; Eibacher 2-11, Mohrman 0-3, Hurleman 0-1). Disqualifications: None. Officials: Connie Perkins, Chip Schneider. Attendance: 2,000.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Washington (Mo.) 74, St. Benedict 65

St. Benedict: Julie Korf 2-3, 0-1, 3, 5; Robyn Ruschmeier 4-7, 6-8, 5, 14; Laura Wendorff 2-7, 2-2, 6, 6; Molly Mark 4-11, 4-5, 4, 14; Jenny Blaser 2-7, 0-0, 4, 4; Beth Holbrook 3-3, 2-2, 2, 8; Heidi Schwichtenberg 1-5, 4-4, 3, 7; Mia Peterson 3-6, 0-0, 1, 7; Bridget Corrigan 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 21-49, 18-22, 30, 65.

Washington (Mo.): Emily Nolan 1-3, 0-0, 5, 2; Tasha Rodgers 9-16, 5-6, 9, 23; Alia Fischer 9-21, 1-3, 14, 19; Sue Tucker 1-7, 5-6, 4, 8; Emily Harold 2-5, 1-2, 3, 6; Lindsey Merrill 2-2, 0-0, 1, 4; Sara Ettner 0-2, 4-4, 0, 4; Beth Ruether 1-3, 0-0, 0, 3; Jana Herrmann 1-2, 0-0, 0, 2; Kjersten Kramer 1-3, 0-0, 0, 3; Robin Lahargoue 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 27-64, 16-21, 41, 74.

Half time: Washington (Mo.) 34, St. Benedict 30. Three-point field goals: St. Benedict 5-12 (Korf 1-1, Mark 2-3, Schwichtenberg 1-5, Peterson 1-3); Washington (Mo.) 4-12 (Tucker 1-4, Harold 1-2, Ettner 0-2, Ruether 1-3, Kramer 1-1). Disqualifications: None. Officials: Bob Simmons, Lisa Ulmer. Attendance: 1,990.