PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – A tenacious defense finishing with 11 steals, plus 11 in rebounding and an offensive explosion in the third quarter led Hope College to the school’s third women’s basketball national championship, final 71-58 over Wisconsin-Whitewater.
It was a back-and-forth first half which ended 34-34. However an inspired start to the third quarter by the Flying Dutch, imposing their will making six of its first eight shots to build a nine-point lead. The Warhawks would cut it to three, but the next 11 points scored by Hope to put it away.
“I thought we contested every shot,” said Hope Head Coach Brian Morehouse. “I thought we locked in on their ball-handlers and started to finish plays better. This is the best defensive team I’ve ever coached and that’s saying something.”
“We got a lot of kids that can defend the perimeter and the college game is so perimeter oriented. I think we got locked in and then it was like a boa constrictor we just started squeezing them and then we kept squeezing them. And then it was over.”
Senior Sydney Mueller named the Most Valuable Player of the Final Four with 18 points and five assists in the championship game. Mueller is two-years removed from a torn ACL and one of three, fifth year seniors in the starting lineup including Olivia Voskuil (11 points, 8 rebounds) and Kenedy Schoonveld (5 points, 5 rebounds).
“The most special thing for me, yes winning, but doing it with this group of girls,” Voskuil said. “I am never going to forget this. They will be my best friends for the rest of my life. It’s really cool. I love them.”
Bench Busters
Ella McKinney led an incredible scoring separation of bench points in the game.
Hope College 29 points
Wisconsin-Whitewater 2 points
McKinney finished with a game-high 21 points along with playing game-changing defense.
“Ella was fantastic,” Morehouse said, noting they have tremendous depth and talent. “She didn’t get a sniff of playing time as a freshman. COVID happened and Ella disappeared and went home to Lansing. When Ella came back, I don’t know what they did in Lansing, it’s like a new player.”
“It all fits together like a beautiful puzzle. It’s nice to see a group effort be validated and not just an individual effort.”
Father-daughter
It was a family Final Four with Wisconsin-Whitewater Keri Carollo coaching her daughter Kacie and Morehouse coaching his daughter Meg, who played over 12 minutes in the championship game.
“I go to work every day and I get to see my kid,” Brian Morehouse said. “I have to yell at her a lot, but I get to see her every single day. It’s a blessing. It’s special. I thought it would be hard, but it’s been anything but. She is an incredibly hard worker and incredible teammate. That makes it easy for her to be embraced by her team and it makes it easy for me to coach her.”
“To be able to do that with my dad and win a national championship, what more could you ask for as a daughter,” Meg Morehouse said. “That’s unreal, an amazing experience.”
Starting and ending 1
Pressure and expectations on Hope all year as the Division III preseason number one team. At one point riding a multi-season 61-game winning streak, a loss to conference rival Trine University in January and some questioned the validity of their accomplishments.
“We had closure today,” Morehouse said. “That’s all we wanted coming into this season, we wanted a chance. We just wanted closure.”
“I don’t know if I have adequate words for that,” said senior Kenedy Schoonveld. “Being able to celebrate with this team is something special, but to be able to celebrate with our parents and fans that have been with us all year. They traveled six and a half hours to watch us play. It meant the world to us to celebrate with our people.”
Great season
Wisconsin-Whitewater (28-5) made its 20th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, fourth time in the Final Four and second in the national championship game
“I told them how proud I am in them,” said Warhawks Head coach Keri Carollo. “All of the things they accomplished and overcome in the last two years with COVID and everything. Every year it’s hard to end your season, but when you have such a special group. I enter the gym happy every day.”
“I’m so proud of all the hard work they put in and how unselfish they are and everything they give to me and my family. I told them I want them to celebrate, they have a lot to celebrate. They have some things to be very proud of.”
“Putting on a jersey like this that says Whitewater is an honor,” said senior Johanna Taylor. “Whitewater is the place to be. You grow as a player and as a person. I’m going to talk about it until I’m 80.”
Both teams praised the work the host Presidents’ Athletic Conference & Sports Pittsburgh, Duquesne University and the City of Pittsburgh did as a host. Carollo, a former NCAA chairwoman, said it was the best Final Four ever in terms of the experience for all.