Robb, McFarlin, Lead Washington U. to National Title Game

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Holland, Mich., March 20, 2009 – The No. 5 Washington University women’s basketball team defeated No. 11 Amherst College, 65-49, on Friday, March 20, at the DeVos Fieldhouse in Holland, Mich., to earn a berth into the 2009 NCAA Division III National Championship Game. The Bears will face No. 3 George Fox University in the national championship game on Saturday, March 21, in Holland, Mich., at 1 p.m. (ET). The game will be televised live on the CBS College Sports Network.

Washington U., which is making its NCAA-record 20th-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament and eighth trip to the Final Four, will play in the national championship game for the seventh time in school history and improved to 49-17 all-time in NCAA action. The Bears have won an NCAA-record four national championships (1998-01) and last played in the national title game in 2007, when they fell to DePauw University, 55-52, in Springfield, Mass.

Sophomore Kelsey Robb led all scorers with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting and senior Jaimie McFarlin tied her season high with 15 rebounds in the win, also chipping in six points, two steals and an assist. The Bears managed to break open a close game by shooting 52.2 percent from the floor in the second half, while holding Amherst to just four field goals through the first 15 minutes of action in the second period.

Washington U. survived a poor shooting and an effective Amherst long-range game to take a 27-22 lead into the half. The Bears missed 11 of their first 13 shots as Amherst steadily built a 14-7 lead. It was a three-pointer from Courtney Long that put the Lord Jeffs ahead 11-7, and a second triple from Long just 40 seconds later that gave her team a seven-point advantage with 12 minutes to play in the half.

Robb hit two free-throws to end a nearly 5:30 scoreless drought for the Red and Green and begin what turned into a 8-0 scoring run that turned the momentum toward Washington University’s favor. It was Robb once again, banking in a lay-up just a minute later to end a six and a half minute WU field goal drought and senior Jill Brandt scored her second basket of the game to conclude the run and put the Bears up by one point, 15-14.

"I’m just really proud of our kids, that we were able to withstand that first run, and kind of settle into our style of play," Washington University head coach Nancy Fahey said.

Washington U. had a strong finish to the first half to take a five-point lead into the break. The score was tied, 20-20, with four minutes to play and the Bears scored seven of the half’s final nine points, forcing three Amherst turnovers in the process. Junior Zoë Unruh hit two of the Bears’ three field goals over that stretch, giving her team a 25-20 lead with just 50 seconds to play.

Following an eight-foot jumper from Lem Atanga McCormick, the Bears came down the court with a chance to play for the last shot. Senior Shanna-Lei Dacanay’s first attempt to put her team back up by five was swatted away by McCormick, but Dacanay came away with the rebound and banked in a lay-up as time expired, her first bucket of the game.

The first half of action was a defensive struggle, with Washington U. shooting 31.0 percent from the floor and Amherst making 27.6 percent of its shots. The Lord Jeffs stayed in the game by shooting 5-of-11 from three in the first half, while the Bears failed to make a three-pointer in the first half and hit just one long-range shot in the game.
Keeping Amherst off the boards was crucial to the Bears’ success in the win, as Washington U. out-rebounded Amherst 26-18 in the first half, and held a 45-34 edge in rebounding for the game.

The Red and Green stormed out of the gate in the second period, taking a 12-point lead on an Unruh three, and extending their advantage to 14 points on a three-point play by Kathryn Berger. Facing its largest deficit of the game, 39-25, Amherst responded with a 10-2 scoring run over the next five minutes of action to pull within six points.

A baseline jumper from McCormick allowed the Lord Jeffs to cut the WU lead to 10 points, 39-29, with 14:15 to play, and a pair of Amanda Otieno free-throws two minutes later resulted in a six-point Bear lead. Sophomore Alex Hoover responded by driving to the basket and drawing a foul on the next possession, sinking both free-throws and putting her team back up by 10 with a lay-up less than a minute later. Washington U. did not trail by fewer than 10 points for the remainder of the game.

Robb helped put the game out of reach with a jumper at the seven-minute mark and an offensive rebound off a Halsey Ward missed shot that she put back up and in to extend Washington University’s largest lead of the game to 18 points. Brandt buried two free throws with just over five minutes to play to give her team its first 20-point lead.

"Her (Robb) ability to bury kids inside, to go with the right or left hook, was a big difference," Fahey said. "It was a women’s game today. You had to attack inside, you had to be able to be strong. Am I surprised she did it today? No. Am I happy she did? Yes."

Washington U., which won its 15th-straight game, held Amherst to just 27.9 percent (17-of-61) from the field, and the Lord Jeffs were just 1-of-8 from three in the second half. The Bears shot 22-of-26 (84.6 percent) from the line for the game, improving to 93-of-113 (82.3 percent) during their postseason run. Washington U. is shooting a school-record 75.6 percent from the line this season.