In the first half of the Division III Women's Basketball Championship game, Wisconsin-Stevens Point looked to be heading comfortably to its first NCAA championship since 1987. But the Pointers had to sweat out the waning moments against St. Lawrence before walking away with a 67-65 victory March 16 in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Wisconsin-Stevens Point owned a 37-25 halftime cushion after making 71 percent of its shots in the first half, but St. Lawrence employed a "hack-a-Pointer" strategy in the second half that allowed the Saints to chip away at the lead. The Pointers connected on only nine of 26 free-throw attempts in the second half as their lead dwindled.

A basket by St. Lawrence's Megan Dietrichsen and four free throws by Aliza Bogdanich and Jessica Zuk brought the Saints within one at 64-63 with 1:27 remaining. But Wisconsin-Stevens Point's Cassandra Heuer hit a jump shot in the lane, followed by a free throw by Andrea Kraemer to build the lead back to four points with under 10 seconds left. Cara Barbierri of St. Lawrence managed a rebound basket in the final seconds to cut the margin to two, but her three-point shot at the buzzer glanced off the backboard.

Heuer, a sophomore, came off of the bench to score a game-high 17 points. Teammates Carry Boehning and Kari Groshek scored 15 and 12, respectively, for the national champions. Boehning was named the most outstanding player of the tournament, and was joined by teammate Tara Schmitt on the all-tournament team. DePauw's Lindsey Rush and St. Lawrence's Barbierri and Dietrichsen also were honored.

Wisconsin-Stevens Point beat four-time defending national champion Washington (Missouri) in the second round and defeated Marymount (Virginia), 80-57, in the semifinals. St. Lawrence advanced to the championship game with a semifinal win over DePauw, 69-54.

DePauw won the third-place game over Marymount, 65-58.

SEMIFINALS

Wis.-Stevens Point 80, Marymount (Va.) 57

Wis.-Stevens Point: Carry Boehning 4-9, 1-2, 7, 9; Amie Schultz 2-9, 0-0, 5, 5; Kari Groshek 3-8, 2-6, 15, 8; Tara Schmitt 3-4, 2-2, 1, 9; Andrea Kraemer 3-9, 8-12, 4, 15; Amanda Nechuta 4-6, 4-5, 5, 13; Diane Hawkins 0-0, 1-4, 0, 1; Leah Cheyka 2-2, 0-0, 1, 4; Cassandra Heuer 4-7, 3-7, 3, 12; Jenny Kirchenwitz 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Jessica Granger 0-0, 2-2, 1, 2; Amanda Tosic 1-1, 0-0, 1, 2. TOTALS: 26-55, 23-40, 47 (4 team), 80.

Marymount (Va.): Katie Jarvis 4-7, 7-10, 3, 15; Ashlee Courter 3-9, 2-4, 8, 9; Kati Hessler 1-2, 0-0, 1, 3; Jodie Knotts 2-8, 2-3, 3, 6; Candice Brown 1-11, 0-0, 4, 2; Angie Ferri 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Chris Lingenfelder 2-5, 6-6, 4, 11; Gen Schmitt 2-5, 2-2, 0, 7; Annetta Benjamin 1-6, 2-3, 3, 4. TOTALS: 16-53, 21-28, 31 (5 team), 57.

Halftime: Wis.-Stevens Point 33, Marymount (Va.) 25. Three-point field goals: Wis.-Stevens Point 5-15 (Schultz 1-5, Schmitt 1-2, Kraemer 1-5, Nechuta 1-1, Heuer 1-2); Marymount (Va.) 4-19 (Courter 1-5, Hessler 1-2, Knotts 0-6, Lingenfelder 1-2, Schmitt 1-3, Benjamin 0-1). Disqualifications: Knotts, Brown. Officials: Gary Meyers, Steve Berwind, Mike Schmidt. Attendance: 1,500.

St. Lawrence 69, DePauw 54

St. Lawrence: Nicole Leary 6-9, 1-4, 8, 13; Megan Dietrichsen 1-3, 0-0, 3, 2; Meredith Eisenhut 4-11, 5-5, 4, 14; Katie Griffith 1-5, 6-6, 3, 8; Cara Barbierri 7-10, 1-1, 2, 17; Jessica Zuk 3-5, 0-1, 4, 8; Mary Hever 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Kristy Collado 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Meredith Pridgen 0-6, 0-0, 3, 0; Lauren Foran 1-6, 0-0, 1, 2; Aliza Bogdanich 2-7, 1-2, 7, 5. TOTALS: 25-63, 14-19, 44 (9 team), 69.

DePauw: Jill Schneider 0-4, 0-0, 4, 0; Amy Argetsinger 3-6, 4-7, 10, 10; Katie Imborek 1-10, 1-2, 1, 3; Sarah MacKay 0-8, 4-4, 5, 4; Kim Weigle 1-2, 0-0, 1, 2; Tria Yoder 0-2, 0-0, 1, 0; Lindsey Rush 7-12, 0-0, 0, 16; Dana Ferguson 5-6, 6-8, 4, 16; Colleen Powers 1-5, 1-2, 7, 3. TOTALS: 18-55, 16-23, 37 (4 team), 54.

Halftime: St. Lawrence 30, DePauw 20. Three-point field goals: St. Lawrence 5-11 (Eisenhut 1-3, Barbierri 2-4, Zuk 2-3, Foran 0-1); DePauw 2-6 (MacKay 0-1, Weigle 0-1, Yoder 0-1, Rush 2-3). Disqualifications: Dietrichsen. Officials: Kevin Slorey, D.J. Millay, Penny Davis. Attendance: 1,500.

THIRD-PLACE GAME

DePauw 65, Marymount (Va.) 58

Marymount (Va.): Katie Jarvis 6-10, 0-0, 7, 12; Ashlee Courter 2-11, 0-0, 2, 6; Kati Hessler 0-0, 0-0, 2, 0; Jodie Knotts 4-13, 1-2, 2, 11; Candice Brown 6-17, 0-1, 10, 12; Chris Lingenfelder 0-3, 0-0, 1, 0; Gen Schmitt 4-8, 0-0, 3, 6; Annetta Benjamin 3-7, 0-0, 3, 6. TOTALS: 25-69, 1-3, 35 (5 team), 58.

DePauw: Jill Schneider 0-1, 0-0, 2, 0; Amy Argetsinger 2-4, 4-6, 3, 8; Katie Imborek 4-8, 2-2, 7, 10; Sarah MacKay 3-6, 4-4, 2, 10; Kim Weigle 2-5, 0-0, 2, 4; Kapica Davis 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Tria Yoder 2-4, 0-0, 1, 5; Heather Wiles 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Lindsey Rush 4-10, 2-2, 6, 12; Lindsey Blackman 0-0, 0-0, 2, 0; Dana Ferguson 3-5, 2-2, 5, 8; Colleen Powers 1-4, 6-10, 6, 8. TOTALS: 21-47, 20-26, 38, 65.

Halftime: DePauw 39, Marymount (Va.) 31. Three-point field goals: Marymount (Va.) 7-24 (Courter 2-8, Knotts 2-6, Brown 0-1, Lingenfelder 0-2, Schmitt 3-7); DePauw 3-9 (Argetsinger 0-1, Weigle 0-2, Yoder 1-2, Rush 2-4). Disqualifications: Brown. Officials: Dave Murachver, Karen Roberson-Preato, Cliff Carney. Attendance: 1,065.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Wis.-Stevens Point 67, St. Lawrence 65

Wis.-Stevens Point: Carry Boehning 6-8, 3-4, 6, 15; Amie Schultz 1-1, 0-0, 2, 2; Kari Groshek 4-10, 4-6, 9, 12; Tara Schmitt 2-7, 1-1, 1, 5; Andrea Kraemer 2-8, 3-7, 5, 8; Amanda Nechuta 2-4, 2-5, 1, 6; Leah Cheyka 0-0, 2-2, 0, 2; Cassandra Heuer 5-10, 5-6, 4, 17; Jessica Granger 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. TOTALS: 22-48, 20-31, 30 (2 team), 67.

St. Lawrence: Nicole Leary 1-6, 0-0, 1, 2; Megan Dietrichsen 5-17, 6-6, 9, 16; Meredith Eisenhut 1-4, 2-4, 4, 5; Katie Griffith 3-3, 2-2, 2, 9; Cara Barbierri 6-10, 3-4, 4, 16; Jessica Zuk 1-4, 3-3, 5, 5; Meredith Pridgen 1-3, 0-0, 1, 2; Lauren Foran 0-2, 0-0, 0, 0; Aliza Bogdanich 1-3, 8-8, 5, 10; TOTALS: 19-52, 24-27, 35 (4 team), 65.

Halftime: Wis.-Stevens Point 37, St. Lawrence 25. Three-point field goals: Wis.-Stevens Point 3-8 (Kraemer 1-4, Heuer 2-4); St. Lawrence 3-8 (Dietrichsen 0-1, Eisenhut 1-2, Griffith 1-1, Barbierri 1-3, Zuk 0-1). Disqualifications: Leary. Officials: Jon Stigliano, Todd Springer, Darci Doll. Attendance: 1,065