GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — They've been trying to prove it for three years.
The Hope women's basketball program has felt that it was the best in the country for the past few seasons. This year, they finally earned the opportunity to show the rest of the nation what they could do.
They did so it dominant fashion. The Flying Dutch beat Wisconsin-Whitewater 71-58 in the NCAA Div. III National Championship. The win ends a three-year stretch that saw the Flying Dutch post a record of 76 and 1.
It's the third national title for the program, and the second for head coach Brian Morehouse.
"We've been pretty good for the last three years," Morehouse said. "But we haven't been able to validate them [due to COVID-19 canceling the last two national tournaments.] Maybe we would've won three in a row. We controlled what we could control today, which was this one. We've had closure today and that's really all we wanted coming into this season."
Ella McKinney had a game-high 21 points. Grand Rapids native Sydney Muller of Grand Rapids Christian finished with 18. Holland native Olivia Voskuil almost pulled down a double-double with 11 points and eight rebounds.
"I think the most special thing for me is, yes, winning, but doing it with this group of girls," added Voskuil. "I'm never going to forget this. These are going to be my best friends for the rest of my life. I love them."
The game was tied 34-34 at halftime, but the second half belonged to the Flying Dutch. Hope finished the game on a 15 to 3 run, using their depth and defense to wear down the Warhawks – which is exactly the way coach Morehouse likes his teams to finish games.
"We got locked in. They got us on some stuff in the first half, shot some free throws in the first half, and then it was like a Boa Constrictor. We started squeezing them and just kept squeezing them and then it was over," he said.
Hope finishes the year with a record of 31-1, a MIAA regular season and tournament championship, and a national championship.
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