Washington U. Falls to George Fox in National Title Game

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Holland, Mich., March 21, 2009 – Senior Jaimie McFarlin led the No. 5 Washington University in St. Louis women’s basketball team on a frenzied second-half comeback attempt that fell just short as the Bears lost, 60-53, to No. 3 George Fox University in the 2009 NCAA Division III National Championship game on Saturday, March 21, at the DeVos Fieldhouse in Holland, Mich.

Washington U. (26-5)trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half before using a 15-2 run to cut its deficit to just one point. However, the Red and Green could never tie or take the lead in the waning moments of the game as George Fox (32-0) held on to win the first women’s basketball national championship in school history.

McFarlin and junior forward Janice Evans were named to the 2009 NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team. McFarlin scored 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting with six rebounds on Saturday, and Evans tied junior Zoë Unruh for the team lead in scoring, with 11 points, six rebounds and two assists.

It is the second time in her career that McFarlin has been named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament team, also earning the honor following Washington University’s runner-up finish in the 2007 NCAA Championship Game. With her six rebounds in the game, McFarlin passed Rebecca Parker (2003-07) into third in school history in rebounding with 748 career boards.

The Bears, who were making their NCAA-record 20th-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and NCAA-record eighth trip to the Final Four, fall to 49-18 all-time in postseason play. Washington U., whose four national championship wins stand as the most in Division III history are now 4-3 in the national championship game.

"I’m really proud of the kids for coming back, and congratulations to George Fox. I am real proud of our team," head coach Nancy Fahey said. "We knew were the gaps were (in the zone), but the timing of when to make our cuts and attack was tough. But once we figured it out, we made some shots."

It was McFarlin that led the late charge for Washington University down the stretch, as the Bears steadily chipped away at a 14-point George Fox lead. The Bruins drew their largest lead of the game following a three-point basket from Keisha Gordon. But George Fox would hit just one field goal over the ensuing eight minutes of action and WU made its move.

Over the next four minutes the Bears cut their lead in half, as sophomore Kelsey Robb sank a jumper, McFarlin scored, and Unruh drained her third three-pointer of game. B.B. Gardner put George Fox back in front by nine, but McFarlin proceeded to take over the game from that point forward, pulling her team within one point.

McFarlin made three buckets over the next two and a half minutes, with the last coming at the 2:19 mark as Washington U. trailed just 51-50. Two straight field goals from NCAA Championship Most Valuable Player Kristen Shielee put George Fox back up by five, and ended the Bruins’ second prolonged field goal drought of the half in the process.

WU turned the ball over on its next possession but Elise Kuenzi missed the front end of a one-and-one and the Red and Green remained down by just five points. Senior Jill Brandt was fouled as she attempted a three-point shot with 25 second to play, and the Bear with the second-best free-throw percentage in school history came through, making all three shots.

Following Brandt’s free-throws, Kuenzi turned the ball over on the inbounds pass and the ball rolled out to WU senior Halsey Ward who quickly gathered the ball and stroked a long two pointer that would have tied the game, but her shot popped out after going halfway down the cylinder and Kuenzi came away with the board and George Fox escaped with the win.

Before Shielee’s pair of late field goals, Washington University held George Fox to 5-of-19 shooting in the second half. The Bruins ended the game shooting 41.3 percent from the field, holding the Bears to 35.0 percent shooting. Shielee led all scorers with 17 points, and she was 7-of-8 from the line. Free throw shooting played a large role in the outcome of the game as George Fox got to the line 22 times, compared to just nine for the Bears.

Washington U. trailed 18-12 in the first half before sophomore Alex Hoover hit back-to-back shots and Evans scored with 10 minutes to play in the period to draw even with George Fox. A 14-5 Bruin run following the tie, capped off by a three from Sage Indendi, resulted in a 32-23 George Fox lead with just under five minutes to play in the first.

A lay-up from Ward cut the WU deficit to six with a little over a minute to play, but Lindsay Keener made a three as time expired in the first to send her team to the half with a nine-point advantage.