The highest scoring Division II women’s basketball championship ended with Minnesota State Mankato outscoring Franklin Pierce, 103-94, in San Antonio Saturday night. The Mavericks, 32-2, made the most of their first appearance in the Elite Eight by bringing home the program’s first national title.

Heather Johnson led Minnesota State Mankato’s high-octane attack with 29 points. Johnson, named the tournament’s most outstanding player, was joined in double figures by Alex Andrews (25), Tiffany Moe (18) and Joanne Noreen (18).

The fact that the Mavericks were making their first journey this far into the Division II women’s tournament became crystal clear to them before any games were played in San Antonio.

“During the banquet, we heard how every other team had been here before,” Andrews told the assembled media. “We wanted to prove we had a lot to show.”

Andrews, who was 11-for-13 from the field, added 11 rebounds and five steals in the final.

Franklin Pierce, 29-6, made 63.9 percent (23-for-36) of its field goal attempts in the first 20 minutes, but trailed by two at intermission.

The Ravens rallied in the second half to take an 82-74 lead with 10:57 left in the game.

“I thought we turned the corner when we extended the lead to eight points,” said Franklin Pierce coach Mark Swasey. “But we burned our fuel and didn’t have much left in the tank.”

Minnesota State Mankato responded with a 12-2 run of its own. Johnson made one of her five three-pointers during this stretch.

The Mavericks put the game away by outscoring the Ravens, 15-6, over the last 5:25 of the game.

“We couldn’t figure out how to stop Franklin Pierce,” said Minnesota State Mankato coach Pam Gohl. “Thank goodness we scored more points than them.”

Sisters Jennifer and Johannah Leedham led the Ravens with 31 and 26 points, respectively.

Quarterfinals

Delta St. 55, West Texas A&M 47; Franklin Pierce 88, California (Pa.) 73; Alas. Anchorage 60, Clayton St. 59; Minn. St. Mankato 61, Michigan Tech 53.

Semifinals

Franklin Pierce 58, Delta St. 39

Franklin Pierce: Johannah Leedham11-22, 3-4, 4, 28; Marielle Giroud 1-2, 1-2, 4, 3; Jennifer Leedham 4-11, 1-2, 3, 9; Tori Ahrens 3-7, 0-0, 7, 6; Toby Martin 1-3, 1-2, 3, 4; Cynthia Gaudet 0-4, 0-0, 2, 0; Vanessa Power 2-5, 0-0, 3, 6; Alexis Auffray 0-1, 0-0, 1, 0; Ashley Robinson 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Rachel Kimball 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Melissa Kapela 0-0, 0-1, Jewel White 0-0, 0-2, 1, 0; Kirsten Doldoorian 1-1, 0-0, 0, 2; Anna Mapes 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0. Totals: 23-57, 6-12, 38, 58.

Delta St.: LaMaesha McAdory 1-9, 0-0, 6, 2; Courtney Wilson 0-3, 0-0, 4, 0; Veronica Walker 6-10, 1-2, 5, 13; Bug Cooper 6-15, 0-0, 5, 12; Moe Bell 1-6, 0-0, 1, 3; Shameka Russell 0-1, 0-0, 2, 0; Tamara Reed 0-2, 0-0, 1, 0; Dominique Sutton 2-4, 0-1, 1, 4; Kirsten McBride 0-4, 2-2, 5, 2; Denesha Henderson 1-2, 0-0, 4, 2; Renita Jones 0-0, 1-3, 2, 1. Totals: 17-56, 4-8, 38, 39.

Halftime: Franklin Pierce 29, Delta St. 22. Three-point field goals: Franklin Pierce 6-23 (Jo. Leedham 3-9, Power 2-5, Martin 1-2, Gaudet 0-1, Kapela 0-1, Je. Leedham 0-5); Delta St. 1-11 (Bell 1-6, Russell 0-1, Reed 0-1, McAdory 0-3). Officials: Skelly Wingard, Karen Lasvik, Kim Thebo. Attendance: 927.

Minn. St. Mankato 83, Alas. Anchorage 60

Minn. St. Mankato: Alex Andrews 5-13, 3-6, 3, 15; Heather Johnson 8-10, 4-6, 2, 25; Tiffany Moe 4-8, 0-0, 7, 8; Joanne Noreen 6-10, 2-2, 5, 16; Andrea Walsh 3-5, 0-0, 1, 7; Mara Korton 1-4, 0-0, 1, 2; Jennie Noreen 0-1, 0-0, 0, 0; Lauren Barber 2-2, 0-0, 2, 6; Teresa Parker 0-2, 0-0, 5, 0; Felicia Foster 1-3, 2-2, 1, 4. Totals: 30-58, 11-16, 28, 83.

Alas. Anchorage: Ruby Williams 3-4, 1-2, 2, 7; Nikki Aden 0-2, 4-4, 2, 4; Rebecca Kielpinski 7-15, 0-2, 8, 14; Kiki Taylor 1-5, 0-0, 2, 2; Tamar Gruwell 2-5, 0-0, 1, 6; Elisha Harris 0-3, 0-0, 0, 0; Jackie Thiel 2-4, 0-0, 2, 5; Dasha Basova 3-5, 0-0, 2, 7; Tristan Burnett 0-0, 0-0, 0, 0; Danielle Dekel 1-2, 0-0, 1, 3; Hanna Johansson 4-9, 4-4, 7, 12. Totals: 23-54, 9-12, 32, 60.

Halftime: Minn. St. Mankato 38, Alas. Anchorage 27. Three-point field goals: Minn. St. Mankato 12-19 (Johnson 5-7, Jo. Noreen 2-2, Barber 2-2, Andrews 2-3, Walsh 1-3, Je. Noreen 0-1, Foster 0-1); Alas. Anchorage 5-11 (Gruwell 2-4, Dekel 1-1, Thiel 1-3, Basova 1-3). Officials: Tom Hallead, Kelly Hill, Kevin Pethel. Attendance: 745.

Championship

Minn. St. Mankato 103, Franklin Pierce 94

Minn. St. Mankato: Alex Andrews 11-13, 3-3, 11, 25; Heather Johnson 11-17, 2-2, 0, 29; Tiffany Moe 7-11, 3-5, 8, 18; Joanne Noreen 7-17, 3-3, 6, 18; Andrea Walsh 1-4, 0-0, 3, 3; Mari Korton 3-5, 0-1, 2, 6; Lauren Barber 1-2, 0-0, 1, 3; Felecia Foster 0-5, 1-2, 1, 1. Totals: 41-74, 12-16, 35, 103.

Franklin Pierce: Johannah Leedham 11-21, 4-4, 10, 26; Marielle Giroud 3-4, 3-4, 3, 9; Toby Martin 2-6, 2-2, 2, 7; Cynthia Gaudet 4-6, 0-1, 1, 8; Jennifer Leedham 12-20, 2-3, 3, 31; Vanessa Power 1-3, 0-0, 0, 3; Ashley Robinson 0-0, 0-0, 1, 0; Melissa Kapela 0-0, 0-1, 1, 0; Tori Ahrens 4-5, 2-2, 4, 10. Totals: 37-65, 13-17, 28, 94.

Halftime: Minn. St. Mankato 58, Franklin Pierce 56. Three-point field goals: 9-18 (Johnson 5-9, Walsh 1-1, Barber 1-2, Moe 1-3, Jo. Noreen 1-3); Franklin Pierce 7-16 (Je. Leedham 5-7, Martin 1-1, Power 1-1, Gaudet 0-2, Jo. Leedham 0-5). Officials: Karen Lasvik, Tom Hallead, Skelly Wingard. Attendance: 900.