Bria Ebels grew up in Holland, Michigan, where she first learned to play basketball in her driveway and imagined glorious moments.

Ebels’ practice and imagination paid dividends March 18 when she helped lead her hometown institution, Hope, to a 69-56 victory over Southern Maine in the title game of the Division III Women’s Basketball Championship in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Ebels scored a team-high 18 points, grabbed six rebounds, handed out four assists and made four steals to lead the Flying Dutch to their first national title in the sport since 1990. She also was named the tournament’s most outstanding player.

Ebels helped break open a close game by making a three-pointer to give her team a 58-50 cushion with almost three minutes to play. Junior guard Julie Henderson stole the ball on the next possession and raced in for a breakaway lay-up to give the Flying Dutch a 10-point lead.

Southern Maine, which saw its 24-game win streak snapped, could not recover.

“I don’t know where that burst came from,” Henderson said to the Springfield Union News and Republican. “I was kind of tired, but I think it was just adrenaline building up. Our coaches talk about it all the time, just denying the swing. I saw it coming and I just went.”

Southern Maine coach Gary Fifield thought his team gave a good effort but ran out of time to counter.

“I just talked to our team and told them that one game doesn’t make a season,” said Fifield, whose team was 32-2. “We’ve got some very disappointed kids, but we had a great year. We just got beat by a very good team, probably as good as I’ve seen in Division III. They’re athletic, they’ve got great size and they’ve got great depth.”

Henderson and Sarah Jurik joined Ebels in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

The Flying Dutch, 33-1, set a school record for victories in a season and also ended the year on a 30-game win streak.

Hope’s physical style also played a role in the outcome.

“There was no end to them,” said Southern Maine post player Ashley Marble. “And it seemed like they got bigger every time they came in the game with a new player. I didn’t think they could get any bigger, but I guess they can.”

Hope outrebounded Southern Maine, 52-38, in a game that featured 41 fouls.

“I wouldn’t say it was the most physical game of the year in that some teams we play are very physical,” Ebels said. “But this definitely was a physical game, because we were playing for a national championship. Everyone’s going to go out and give it their hardest.”

 Ebels, Henderson and Southern Maine’s Marble were joined on the all-tournament team by Southern Maine senior Megan Myles and Scranton junior guard Taryn Mellody.

Sectionals

At Southern Me. — Bowdoin 62, Mary Washington 54; Southern Me. 68, Bridgewater (Va.) 55; Southern Me. 56, Bowdoin 53.

At Pacific Lutheran — Randolph-Macon 80, Wis.-Stout 71; Hardin-Simmons 76, Pacific Lutheran 72; Hardin-Simmons 72, Randolph-Macon 56.

At Scranton — Baldwin-Wallace 71, Williams 65; Scranton 66, Rochester 58; Scranton 50, Baldwin-Wallace 41.

At DePauw — DePauw 69, Wheaton (Ill.) 60; Hope 92, Wash.-St. Louis 89; Hope 76, DePauw 60.

Semifinals

Southern Maine 74, Hardin-Simmons 65

Hardin-Simmons: Shelby Hodges 2-5, 2-2, 1, 6; Sonya West 4-13, 5-6, 11, 13; Melissa Henley 5-12, 1-2, 5, 11; Rachel Cisneroz 3-8, 1-2, 0, 10; Lyssa Dennard 3-13, 2-2, 9, 8; Lindsay Thompson 4-6, 0-0, 0, 10; Laci Walker 1-2, 1-3, 0, 3; Rachael Singletary 1-2, 0-0, 2, 3; Jamie Jones 0-3, 1-2, 1, 1. Totals: 23-64, 13-19, 33 (4 team), 65.

Southern Me.: Ashley Marble 8-14, 5-6, 17, 22; Megan Myles 8-15, 5-6, 10, 23; Donna Cowing 2-6, 0-0, 2, 5; Katie Sibley 4-11, 5-5, 4, 13; Katie Frost 1-5, 0-2, 2, 2; Lindsey Welch 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0; Trish Sylvain 0-2, 0-0, 2, 0; Shannon Kynoch 4-5, 0-0, 6, 9; Angela Santa Fe 0-3, 0-0, 1, 0. Totals: 27-62, 5-21, 48 (3 team), 74.

Halftime: Southern Me. 32, Hardin-Simmons 23. Three-point field goals: Hardin-Simmons 6-17 (Cisneroz 3-6, Thompson 2-2, Singletary 1-2, Henley 0-1, Walker 0-1, Jones 0-1); Southern Me. 5-21 (Myles 2-4, Kynoch 1-2, Marble 1-3, Cowing 1-4, Sylvain 0-1, Santa Fe 0-2, Frost 0-3). Officials: Debbie Archambault, Peter Capone, Richard Wright.

Hope 59, Scranton 56

Hope: Stacy Warsen 3-5, 2-3, 4, 8; Linda Ebels 1-7, 0-2, 5, 2; Bria Ebels 6-10, 0-1, 2, 15; Julie Henderson 3-7, 0-0, 1, 7; Jordyn Boles 1-7, 0-0, 0, 3; Megan Noll 2-5, 1-2, 4, 5; Kaitlyn Kopke 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Sarah Jurik 2-3, 1-2, 0, 7; Ellen Wood 2-7, 2-2, 6, 6; Lindsay Lange 2-3, 2-2, 7, 6. Totals: 22-54, 8-14, 35 (6 team), 59.

Scranton: Michelle Fabio 0-2, 0-0, 4, 0; Tiffaney Williams 2-3, 0-2, 13, 4; Taryn Mellody 6-12, 2-2, 3, 18; Erin Healy 1-2, 0-0, 1, 2; Allison Matt 4-16, 2-5, 3, 12; Kelly Lewandowski 0-1, 0-0, 4, 0; Stephanie Remington 1-1, 0-0, 0, 2; Casey Thran 2-5, 1-2, 1, 5; Kathleen Daly 2-4, 0-1, 1, 4; Julie Brophy 3-4, 1-2, 4, 9. Totals: 21-50, 6-14, 35 (1 team), 56.

Halftime: Hope 27, Scranton 26. Three-point field goals: Hope 7-19 (Bria Ebels 3-5, Jurik 2-2, Henderson 1-3, Boles 1-7, Noll 0-2); Scranton 8-18 (Mellody 4-9, Brophy 2-3, Matt 2-6). Officials: Corey Gile, Dave Gustafson, Mary Parker.

Third-place game

Scranton 57, Hardin-Simmons 47

Hardin-Simmons: Shelby Hodges 1-4, 3-5, 6, 5; Sonya West 3-7, 3-6, 11, 9; Melissa Henley 4-8, 3-4, 5, 11; Rachel Cisneroz 0-5, 0-0, 5, 0; Lyssa Dennard 6-19, 1-2, 10, 14; Lindsay Thompson 0-2, 0-0, 1, 0; Laci Walker 2-5, 0-0, 2, 4; Molly Brawner 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Shanika Conaway 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Rachael Singletary 2-5, 0-0, 2, 4; Jamie Jones 0-2, 0-0, 2, 0. Totals: 18-58, 10-17, 47 (3 team), 47.

Scranton: Michelle Fabio 0-4, 0-0, 5, 0; Tiffaney Williams 2-6, 0-0, 11, 4; Taryn Mellody 8-19, 4-4, 4, 21; Erin Healy 2-2, 0-0, 4, 4; Allison Matt 4-17, 2-3, 3, 12; Kelly Lewandowski 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Casey Thran 0-3, 0-0, 2, 0; Kathleen Daly 4-5, 0-0, 2, 8; Julie Brophy 2-7, 0-0, 1, 5; Molly Klusek 0-0, 0-0, 1,0; Tammy Waters 0-1, 0-0, 4, 0. Totals: 23-67, 6-7, 42 (2 team) 57.

Halftime: Scranton 33, Hardin-Simmons 17. Three-point field goals: Hardin-Simmons 1-14 (Dennard 1-5, Hodges 0-1, Thompson 0-1, Walker 0-1, Brawner 0-1, Singletary 0-1, Cisneroz 0-4); Scranton 5-21 (Matt 2-7, Remington 1-1, Brophy 1-4, Mellody 1-9). Officials: Jan Herke, Ben Franson, D.J. Millay.

Championship game

Hope 69, Southern Maine 56

Southern Me.: Ashley Marble 4-10, 0-3, 15, 8; Megan Myles 8-24, 6-10, 9, 23; Donna Cowing 0-1, 1-2, 4, 1; Katie Sibley 4-10, 1-1, 0, 9; Katie Frost 4-12, 3-5, 1, 13; Lindsey Welch 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Dianna Thibaudeau 0-0, 2-2, 0, 2; Dawn Ross 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Trish Sylvain 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Shannon Kynoch 0-3, 0-0, 4, 0; Angela Santa Fe 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Lisa Welch 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Lauren Samuelson 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Totals: 20-60, 13-23, 38 (5 team), 56.

Hope: Stacy Warsen 1-2, 0-0, 4, 2; Linda Ebels 3-8, 2-6, 7, 8; Bria Ebels 5-12, 6-6, 6, 18; Julie Henderson 6-13, 0-0, 7, 12; Jordyn Boles 0-5, 3-4, 7, 3; Megan Noll 0-4, 0-0, 0, 0; Katilyn Kopke 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Sarah Jurik 3-8, 4-4, 5, 11; Joanne Stewart 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Courtney Knox 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Jennie IntVeld 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Ellen Wood 3-9, 0-4, 9, 6; Lindsay Lange 4-5, 1-1, 5, 9; Brieann Bryant 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Kate Reincke 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0. Totals: 25-66, 16-25, 52 (2 team), 69.

Halftime: Hope 33, Southern Me. 30. Three-point field goals: Southern Me. 3-16 (Frost 2-8, Myles 1-5, Marble 0-1, Cowing 0-1, Sibley 0-1); Hope 3-20 (Bria Ebels 2-6, Jurik 1-5, Noll 0-2, Boles 0-3, Henderson 0-4). Officials: Scott Casino, Karen Preato, Ellen Jessup.