Washington (Missouri) capped off its second straight undefeated season with a 79-33 victory over Southern Maine to win its third consecutive Division III Women's Basketball Championship March 18 at Western Connecticut State.

The Bears claimed several firsts with the title run, including being the first Division III women's basketball team to win three titles in the 19 years of the championship. Washington also owns the longest winning streak -- 68 games -- of any basketball team at any division, men's or women's.

Despite Washington all-Americans Alia Fisher and Tasha Rodgers being tagged with two fouls early in the championship game and forced to the bench just four minutes into the title game, the Bears still managed a 24-5 run and built a 38-17 lead at the half.

In the second half, Rodgers returned to score 10 points, finishing with 14 for the game. Fisher had 13, while senior Beth Ruether led all scorers with 16 points.

Southern Maine was outrebounded, 53-25, in the game and shot just 22 percent from the field against the stingy Washington defense. Jessica Hopkins led the Huskies with nine points.

Southern Maine advanced to the championship game with a victory over St. Thomas (Minnesota), 49-42, in the semifinals. Washington defeated Scranton, 64-30, to earn a trip to the finals. St. Thomas downed Scranton, 66-56, in the third-place game.

Fischer and Rodgers were both named to the all-tournament team for Washington, while Ripton was honored for Southern Maine. Jennifer Ulstad of St. Thomas and Kelly Halpin of Scranton also were named to the team.

CHAMPIONSHIP SUMMARY

Sectionals: Southern Me. 77, Clark 61; Rowan 70, Eastern Nazarene 44; Southern Me. 65, Rowan 62; St. Thomas (Minn.) 76, George Fox 64; Hardin-Simmons 62, McMurry 60; St. Thomas (Minn.) 68, Hardin-Simmons 56; Scranton 49, King's (Pa.) 45; St. Lawrence 67, St. John Fisher 62; Scranton 72, St. Lawrence 59; Baldwin-Wallace 76, Calvin 72, (2ot); Washington (Mo.) 81, Wis.-Eau Claire 63; Washington (Mo.) 86, Baldwin-Wallace 71.

SEMIFINALS

Southern Me. 49, St. Thomas (Minn.) 42.

St. Thomas (Minn.): Anne Newell 2-4, 1-2, 3, 5; Mary Thomes 1-9, 2-2, 4, 5; Molly Hayden 5-13, 0-0, 7, 10; Sarah Grudnowski 1-3, 0-0, 3, 2; Missy Pederson 3-14, 4-4, 5, 13; Jennifer Ulstad 0-3, 0-0, 1, 0; Katie Bernabei 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0; Molly O'Connell 2-4, 2-2, 3, 7; Kelly Halverson 0-3, 0-0, 1, 0; Alissa Case 0-3, 0-0, 2, 0; Brianna Skrypek 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 14-57, 9-10, 33, 42.

Southern Me.: Amanda Kimball 1-6, 2-2, 3, 4; Jessica Hopkins 0-0, 1-2, 3, 1; Jamie Zahm 2-5, 0-1, 15, 4; Ali Hathaway 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Julie Plant 4-16, 3-4, 7, 13; Niki Dominiczak 0-2, 2-2, 3, 2; Danielle DeGraw 0-0, 0-1, 1, 0; Trish Ripton 4-10, 14-17, 5, 25; Kara Crockett 0-0, 0-2, 1, 0. TOTALS: 11-39, 22-31, 41, 49.

Half time: Southern Me. 33, St. Thomas (Minn.) 21. Three-point field goals: St. Thomas (Minn.) 5-24 (Newell 0-1, Thomes 1-5, Hayden 0-1, Grudnowski 0-1, Pederson 3-12, Bernabei 0-1, O'Connell 1-2, Case 0-1); Southern Me. 5-14 (Kimball 0-1, Plant 2-5, Ripton 3-8). Disqualifications: None.

Washington (Mo.) 64, Scranton 30.

Washington (Mo.): Emily Harold 1-5, 0-0, 9, 2; Tasha Rodgers 8-13, 1-1, 6, 17; Alia Fischer 5-9, 1-1, 6, 11; Sue Tucker 3-5, 2-2, 4, 9; Beth Ruether 0-4, 0-0, 0, 0; Sara Ettner 3-5, 2-2, 1, 10; Lindsey Merrill 2-5, 0-2, 4, 4; Kjersten Kramer 0-3, 0-0, 2, 0; Lendy Stuber 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Robin Lahargoue 2-4, 1-2, 1, 5; Jennifer Rudis 0-0, 2-2, 2, 2; Abby Neiburger 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Meg Sullivan 1-2, 0-0, 0, 2; Rachael Krakoff 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Kirsten Klevan 0-0, 2-2, 1, 2. TOTALS: 25-56, 11-14, 40, 64.

Scranton: Gillian McGovern 0-10, 0-0, 4, 0; AnneMarie Russo 2-4, 0-0, 4, 4; Shannon Milder 0-7; 0-0, 3, 0; Kelly Halpin 6-18, 2-2, 5, 15; Heather Mohrman 2-7, 1-2, 5, 6; Deirdre Walsh 0-2, 1-2, 2, 1; Sarah Rooney 1-4; 1-2, 3, 4; Jaime Eilbacher 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Amy O'Rourke 0-1, 0-0, 2, 0; Lisa Crawford 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 11-53, 5-8, 35, 30.

Half time: Washington (Mo.) 33, Scranton 19. Three point field goals: Washington (Mo.) 3-13 (Tucker 1-2, Ruether 0-4, Ettner 2-3, Merrill 0-1, Kramer 0-2, Neiburger 0-1); Scranton 3-13 (McGovern 0-2, Milder 0-1, Halpin 1-4, Mohrman 1-4, Rooney 1-2). Disqualifications: None.

THIRD PLACE

St. Thomas (Minn.) 66, Scranton 56.

Scranton: Gillian McGovern 4-12, 3-7, 7, 14; AnneMarie Russo 0-3, 0-0, 3, 0; Shannon Milder 2-9, 0-0, 6, 4; Kelly Halpin 7-14, 5-6, 2, 20; Heather Mohrman 3-4, 0-0, 1, 7; Jaime Eilbacher 1-7, 3-4, 2, 5; Sarah Rooney 0-4, 2-2, 2, 2; Deirdre Walsh 2-2, 0-0, 0, 4; Amy O'Rourke 0-0, 0-0, 2, 0; Colleen Fullerton 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Michelle Murphy 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Sue Firestone 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Lisa Crawford 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Jessica Agnello 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 19-55, 13-19, 29, 56.

St. Thomas (Minn.): Anne Newell 0-2, 1-3, 4, 1; Mary Thomes 3-12, 3-3, 4, 11; Molly Hayden 4-9, 3-4, 7, 11; Sarah Grudnowski 1-2, 0-0, 2, 2; Missy Pederson 4-7, 1-2, 6, 11; Molly O'Connell 2-2, 0-0, 5, 5; Jennifer Ulstad 4-7, 4-6, 5, 12; Kelly Halverson 2-6, 0-0, 1, 4; Katie Bernabei 1-3, 1-2, 4, 3; Alissa Case 0-1, 4-4, 1, 4; Brianna Skrypek 0-1, 0-0, 2, 0; Amy Ginsburg 0-0, 2-2, 0, 2; Corrie Doyle 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Jenny Gonsoir 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Sarah Osberg 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 21-52, 17-26, 46, 66.

Half time: St. Thomas (Minn.) 34, Scranton 22. Three-point field goals: Scranton 5-18 (McGovern 3-5, Halpin 1-5, Mohrman 1-1, Eilbacher 0-6, Rooney 0-1); St. Thomas (Minn.) 5-11 (Thomes 2-5, Pederson 2-4, O'Connell 1-1, Halverson 0-1). Disqualifications: None.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Washington (Mo.) 79, Southern Me. 33.

Washington (Mo.): Emily Harold 1-7, 2-2, 8, 4; Tasha Rodgers 6-10, 2-2, 3, 14; Alia Fischer 4-8, 5-7, 11, 13; Sue Tucker 1-6, 2-4, 6, 5; Beth Ruether 4-8, 4-4, 2, 16; Lendy Stuber 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Sara Ettner 2-4, 0-0, 1, 6; Rachael Krakoff 1-1, 0-0, 1, 2; Abby Neiburger 0-0; 0-0, 0, 0; Kjersten Kramer 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Lindsey Merrill 2-3, 1-2, 9, 6; Jennifer Rudis 0-2, 4-4, 2, 4; Robin Lahargoue 3-4, 1-2, 3, 7; Meg Sullivan 1-1, 0-0, 0, 2; Kirsten Klevan 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 25-56, 21-27, 53, 79.

Southern Me.: Jessica Hopkins 4-9, 0-0, 5, 9; Amanda Kimball 2-9, 2-3, 1, 6; Jaime Zahm 3-3, 0-0, 4, 6; Julie Plant 2-15, 0-0, 0, 5; Ali Hathaway 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Niki Dominiczak 0-1, 0-0, 3, 0; Erin Shaw 0-1, 0-0, 0,0; Danielle DeGraw 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Amanda Bourgoin 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0; Amy McLaughlin 0-0, 1-2, 0, 1; Jessica Libby 0-4, 0-0, 2, 0; Trish Ripton 1-7, 3-5, 2, 6; Kara Crockett 0-1, 0-0, 2, 0; Amy Lemieux 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Becky Watkins 0-2, 0-0, 1, 0. TOTALS: 12-54. 6-10, 25, 33.

Half time: Washington (Mo.) 38, Southern Me. 17. Three-point field goals: Washington (Mo.) 8-15 (Tucker 1-4, Ruether 4-6, Ettner 2-3, Kramer 0-1, Merrill 1-1); Southern Me. 3-15 (Hopkins 1-2; Plant 1-7; Shaw 0-1, Ripton 1-5). Disqualifications: None.