Washington University of St. Louis is back in familiar territory - playing in the championship game of the NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament.

 Washington University of St. Louis is back in familiar territory - playing in the championship game of the NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament.

Using a swarming defense, relentless rebounding and balanced scoring attack, the Bears defeated Amherst (Mass.), 65-49, Friday in a national semifinal contest at DeVos Fieldhouse. Wash U. will face the winner of the second semifinal between George Fox (Ore.) and the College of New Jersey for the national championship at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Wash U. (26-4), which won four consecutive national championships from 1998-2001, advanced to the championship game for the seventh time, the most of any Division III school. Wash U. last reached the title game in 2007, losing to DePauw (Ind.)

"I'm just really proud of our kids, that we were able to withstand their first (run), and settle into our style of play," Wash U. coach Nancy Fahey said.
Leading 27-22 at halftime, the Bears opened the second half with a 12-3 spurt, capped off by a three-point play by Kathryn Berger, to build a 39-25 lead with 16:15 remaining.

Amherst (29-3), which is playing in its first Final Four, stormed back with a 10-2 run, sparked by six points by Amanda Otieno, to slice the Wash U. lead to 41-35 with 12:22 remaining.

But then the Bears, who won the University Athletic Association championship, pulled away. Wash U. limited the Lord Jeffs to one field goal over the next eight minutes, outscoring Amherst 16-2 to open up a 57-37 lead with five minutes to play.

"They really took us out of our game. We didn't play like we have been playing or are capable of," Amherst coach GP Gromacki said. "But give credit to Wash U. They had a great game plan, and we just couldn't get it going."

The Bears shot 40 percent (21 of 52) from the field, while limiting Amherst a season-low 28 percent (17 of 61). They also sank 22 of 26 from the free-throw line, compared to 9-of-11 for the Lord Jeffs, and controlled the boards by a 45-34 margin.

"It was a women's game. You had to attack inside, you had to be able to be strong," Fahey said.

Amherst jumped out to a 14-7 lead eight minutes into the contest on the strength of four 3-point baskets, including back-to-back triples by Courtney Long. But sparked by reserve forward Kelsey Robb, the Bears came back with runs of 12-1 and 8-2 to take a five-point lead at the half.  Robb finished with 12 points in 18 minutes of play, the only player in the game to score in double figures.

"She's our most improved kid from last year," Fahey said of Robb. "Her ability to bury kids inside, to go with the right (or) left hook, was a big difference."

Senior forward Jaimie McFarlin grabbed 15 rebounds for the Bears, while Zoe Unruh scored nine points and Alex Hoover eight.

Long and Lem Atanga McCormick led the Lord Jeffs with eight points apiece. First-team All-American Jaci Daigneault strugged with foul trouble all game long and was limited to four points, to go along with nine rebounds.

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     George Fox (Ore.) University built a 14-point lead, then survived a furious second-half rally by Washington University of St. Louis Saturday, to win the NCAA Division III women's basketball national championship, 60-53, in the title game at Hope College's DeVos Fieldhouse. Picked to finish fifth in the Northwest Conference in a preseason poll, the Bruins (32-0) became the sixth team in Division III women's history to go through a season undefeated, and became the first West Coast team to win the NCAA tournament since it began in 1982."I was really proud of our team for coming out and playing with the poise that they have all year," George Fox coach Scott Rueck said. "The lights, obviously were a little brighter today, and you couldn't tell, the way we played most of the game."                Playing with a roster that included 10 freshmen, George Fox wasn't intimidated at all by the big game setting. After the teams exchanged leads 10 times in the first 12 minutes, the Bruins reeled off 10 unanswered points, highlighted by a 3-point basket and two free throws by freshman Sage Indendi, to built a 32-23 lead. Wash U. cut the lead to six, but a 3-point basket at the buzzer by Lindsay Keener, just her second triple of the season, sent George Fox to the locker room with a 38-29 halftime lead.                The Bruins extended their lead to 49-35 on a 3-point basket by freshman Keisha Gordon with 10 minutes remaining, but the Bears, playing in their eighth national championship game and second in three years, had one final run left.                Senior forward Jaimie McFarlin scored eight of her 10 points during a 15-2 Wash U. burst that cut the George Fox lead to 51-50 with 2:19 to play.                But George Fox went back inside to Kristen Shielee, the tournament's most outstanding player, who scored back-to-back baskets to boost the lead to 55-50 with 1:05 remaining.                "I got good position, and they were perfect passes, and I just went right up with it," said Shielee, who led George Fox with 17 points and seven rebounds.                Wash U's Jill Brandt sank three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt to cut the lead to 55-53 with 25 seconds remaining. The Bears stole the ensuing inbound pass and had an opportunity to take the lead, but Halsey Ward's 3-point try rattled in-and-out of the basket.                The Bruins then sank five free throws, including two each by Indendi and Shielee, in the final 17 seconds to ice the win.                "The grit and determination they played with is what has carried us for 32 games now," Rueck said. "I thought today's game epitomized our season. I thought it was an outstanding performance by our kids, and I couldn't be prouder."                George Fox shot 41 percent (19 of 46) from the field, while limiting Wash U. to 35 percent (21 of 60). The Bruins dominated at the free-throw line, hitting 18 of 22 (82 percent) to the Bears' 7 of 9 (78 percent).                "I'm real proud of the kids coming back. Congratulations to George Fox," Wash U. coach Nancy Fahey said. "We got close, so it hurts a little more, but I'm real proud of our team."                Elise Kuenzi, who scored nine straight points during one first-half run, added 14 points for George Fox, and Indendi added 13. Janice Evans and Zoe Unruh led Wash U. with 11 points apiece.                With their four 3-pointers Saturday, the Bruins set an NCAA record for most triples for a tournament with 42, breaking the previous record of 39, set by New York University in 1997.                Named to the All-Tournament team were Shielee, Indendi, McFarlin, Evans and The College of New Jersey's Hillary Klimowicz.                Other Division III teams who won national championships with an unbeaten record were Capital (Ohio) in 1995, Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 1996, Washington University in 1999 and 2000, and Howard Payne (Texas) last year.