The women’s basketball team clinched its NCAA Division III-record ninth trip to the Final Four and avenged its 2009 national championship loss to George Fox University in the process, upending the Bruins, 59-52 March 13 at the Washington University Field House.
The team now travels to Bloomington, Ill., on Friday, March 19, to take on top-ranked Amherst College at 5 p.m. at the Shirk Center. The game is a rematch from the 2009 Final Four when WUSTL defeated Amherst College, 65-49, in the national semifinal in Holland, Mich.
Friday’s other national semifinal will feature No. 4 Hope College against the University of Rochester, with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m. The NCAA third-place matchup will take place on Saturday, March 20, at 11 a.m., with the 2010 NCAA Division III national championship game to follow at 2 p.m.
In the game that got the Bears to the Final Four, sophomore Claire Schaeperkoetter came off the bench to lead the team with a career-high 16 points and a career-best four 3-point field goals. Senior Janice Evans reached double figures for the fourth-straight NCAA tournament game with 13 points, and senior Zoe Unruh was 3-of-5 from 3-point range, tallying 13 points, six assists and five rebounds.
During the tournament run, Unruh is averaging a team-high 18 points per game, with 3.8 3-pointers per game while shooting 50 percent from 3-point range. Evans is averaging 13.8 points per game and shooting 55 percent from the field.
Senior Janice Evans is just one of the reasons the Bears are playing in their record ninth NCAA Division III Final Four. Evans has scored in double figures in four straight tournament games.
WUSTL is making its NCAA Division III-record 21st-consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament and has tied the University of Scranton for the most wins in Division III postseason history with a 53-18 all-time tournament record. The Bears will be appearing in the Final Four for the third time over the past four years. WUSTL now is 9-1 all-time in NCAA sectional final games.
“Hats off to George Fox — it was a great game. It took us a little while to get used to what they were doing, but our kids came up with some huge, huge shots. Holding them to 52 points, I was very proud of their performance on both ends,” coach Nancy Fahey said.
The Bears now are 21-5 all time in NCAA tournament home contests, and have won nine straight games as NCAA hosts, although it was just the second time in school history hosting the NCAA sectional round. With the win, WUSTL improved to 16-0 at home this season, and the Bears have won 28 straight games at home dating back to last season.
Washington University has been allotted a block of 250 all-session tickets for the 2010 Final Four this weekend. The all-session ticket pack will cost $20 for adults and $15 for students and senior citizens.
The package will include a ticket to both semifinal matchups on Friday and a voucher for the championship day games. The voucher will be redeemed on Saturday at the Shirk Center for a ticket in the Washington University assigned seating section.
Contact Department of Athletics marketing coordinator Erin Blecha at (314) 935-9233 or eblecha@wustl.edu to purchase one of the limited number of all-session passes. All tickets must be purchased with cash or check payable to Washington University by 5 p.m. (CDT) Wednesday, March 17.
For the latest information on the Final Four and the women’s basketball team, visit bearsports.wustl.edu/womensbball/womensbball.html.