PINE BLUFF, Arkansas -- Northern Kentucky captured its first Division II Women's Basketball Championship March 25 by defeating North Dakota State, 71-62, in the first overtime game in tournament history .

Besides making the Norse the first team outside of the state of North Dakota to win the title since 1992, the victory also extended Northern Kentucky's winning streak to 24 games.

"This is one of the few times I have ever been speechless," said Nancy Winstel, Northern Kentucky's head coach. "It's a dream come true for me and for every player and every coach. I told them before the game that they can play not to lose or they can play to win. We've been playing to win all year long."

Michelle Cottrell scored six of her game-high 23 points in the overtime period to seal the win and capture most-outstanding-player honors. She also had 19 rebounds. Teammate Michele Tuchfarber, who joined Cottrell on the all-tournament team, finished with nine points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Jamie Berry, who had only one point in the tournament going into the championship game, came off the bench to lead North Dakota State with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Jayne Even added a double-double of her own with 14 points and 10 rebounds to close out her collegiate career.

Trailing much of the second half, Northern Kentucky went on a 12-3 run to take a 46-44 lead with 8:46 remaining. Amy Mobley had five straight points in the run. However, both teams were cold from the field for the final 6:27 until Jaye Admundson hit a layup with 38.4 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. The Norse then hit five of six, including two from Cottrell, in the overtime period while holding the Bison without a basket on 11 attempts to pull away.

Northern Kentucky advanced to the title game with an 80-74 win over Western Washington in the semifinals, while North Dakota State beat Columbus State, 72-56.

Besides Northern Kentucky's Cottrell and Tuchfarber, the all-tournament team included North Dakota State's Jayne Boeddeker and Jayne Even. Delta State's Caroline Boclair and Western Washington's Celeste Hill also were honored.

SEMIFINALS

North Dakota St. 72, Columbus St. 56

North Dakota St.: Kiauna Burns 2-7, 7-7, 1, 11; Jaye Amundson 3-8, 2-3, 3, 9; Amanda Gehrke 3-11, 2-2, 3, 9; Jayne Boeddeker 7-8, 1-1, 8, 15; Jayne Even 9-19, 0-0, 13, 21; Jamie Berry 0-4, 1-2, 6, 1; Mary Perrizo 0-2, 0-0, 0, 0; Angela Mayo 2-3, 0-0, 0, 4; Erin Ditty 0-2, 0-2, 4, 0; Molly Reif 0-2, 2-2, 5, 2. TOTALS: 26-66, 15-19, 48, 72.

Columbus St.: Taneshia Moore 3-9, 1-2, 9, 7; LaShawn Mincey 0-6, 0-0, 1, 0; Kinesha Harden 4-15, 0-0, 5, 8; Sylvia Allen 3-9, 3-4, 5, 9; Candace Turner 2-7, 4-4, 5, 8; Sharon Taylor 4-10, 5-6, 8, 13; Keisha Taylor 0-5, 0-0, 3, 0; Isha Hicks 1-5, 0-0, 4, 2; Haley Cook 4-10, 0-0, 1, 8; Courtney Favors 0-6, 1-2, 3, 1; Shanna Jones 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Courtney Hughes 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Amy Barnes 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 21-83, 14-18, 52, 56.

Half time: North Dakota St. 27, Columbus St. 21. Three-point field goals: North Dakota St. 5-28 (Burns 0-1, Amundson 1-6, Gehrke 1-9, Even 3-9, Berry 0-1, Reif 0-2); Columbus St. 0-11 (Mincey 0-4, Turner 0-1, K. Taylor 0-2, Cook 0-4). Disqualification: none. Officials: Angie Enlund, Macala Fox, Pam Miller. Attendance: 450.

Northern Ky. 80, Western Wash 74

Northern Ky.: Heather Livingstone 1-5, 5-7, 4, 7; Michele Tuchfarber 4-9, 5-6, 5, 15; Michelle Cottrell 4-8, 6-7, 6, 14; Julie Cowens 8-10, 3-3, 4, 19; Jessica Jenson 1-2, 0-0, 1, 3; Amy Mobley 2-6, 4-7, 4, 8; Bridget Flanagan 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0; Kristin Polosky 4-6, 1-2, 2, 10; Suzie Smith 1-3, 2-2, 0, 4. TOTALS: 25-50, 26-34, 32, 80.

Western Wash.: Amanda Olsen 4-10, 3-4, 2, 11; Jodie Kaczor 2-6, 0-0, 0, 6; Sara Nichols 3-7, 4-5, 6, 10; Celeste Hill 10-19, 8-8, 8, 28; Lisa Berendsen 1-3, 1-2, 3, 3; Pamela Lovely 1-2, 0-0, 0, 3; Ruth Taylor 1-6, 3-4, 4, 6; Briana Abrahamsen 2-4, 0-0, 1, 5; Julie Walker 0-1, 2-2, 7, 2; Kim Bergsma 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0.TOTALS: 24-58, 21-25, 31, 74.

Half time: Northern Ky. 42, Western Wash. 39. Three-point field goals: Northern Ky. 4-12 (Livingstone 0-1, Tuchfarber 2-4, Jenson 1-2, Mobley 0-2, Flanagan 0-1, Polosky 1-1, Smith 0-1); Western Wash. 5-15 (Olsen 0-1, Kaczor 2-4, Nichols 0-1, Hill 0-1, Lovely 1-2, Taylor 1-4, Abrahamsen 1-2). Disqualification: Berendsen. Officials: Mark Bless, Amy Bonner, Susan Hunter. Attendance: 392.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Northern Ky. 71, North Dakota St. 62 (ot)

Northern Ky.: Heather Livingstone 1-5, 2-2, 3, 5; Michele Tuchfarber 3-9, 2-3, 6, 9; Michelle Cottrell 7-14, 9-12, 19, 23; Julie Cowens 5-9, 2-2, 4, 12; Jessica Jenson 2-6, 2-2, 4, 7; Suzie Smith 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0; Amy Mobley 4-7, 4-10, 3, 13; Kristin Polosky 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Bridget Flanagan 1-1, 0-0, 1, 2. TOTALS: 23-53, 21-31, 44, 71.

North Dakota St.: Kiauna Burns 2-4, 0-1, 2, 4; Jaye Amundson 5-9, 1-2, 6, 11; Amanda Gehrke 2-14, 3-4, 3, 8; Jayne Boeddeker 1-3, 0-0, 2, 2; Jayne Even 5-18, 4-8, 10, 14; Jamie Berry 4-12, 6-6, 10, 16; Erin Ditty 1-1, 2-2, 2, 4; Molly Reif 0-0, 0-1, 0, 0; Mary Perrizo 1-1, 0-2, 0, 3; Angela Mayo 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 21-62, 16-26, 41, 62.

Half time: North Dakota St. 33, Northern Ky. 29. End of regulation: Northern Ky. 57, North Dakota St. 57. Three-point field goals: Northern Ky. 4-11 (Livingstone 1-3, Tuchfarber 1-1, Cowens 0-1, Jenson 1-3, Mobley 1-3); North Dakota St. 4-19 (Amundson 0-1, Gehrke 1-8, Even 0-4, Berry 2-5, Perrizo 1-1). Disqualifications: Tuchfarber, Boeddeker. Officials: Susan Hunter, Mark Bless, Amy Bonner. Attendance 476.