PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Hope College was crowned the national champion following a 71-58 victory over Wisconsin-Whitewater in the 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament championship game.

The championship matchup had a back-and-forth start, including four lead changes in the first quarter alone.  Center Olivia Voskuil tied the game 3-3 with a gree throw at the 8:39 mark.  Whitewater scored a jumper, but Hope responded with five-straight points.  The Flying Dutch led for just over four minutes before Whitewater tied the game once again with 1:27 remaining (12-12).  The teams exchanged a bucket and the Flying Dutch trailed, 16-14, at the end of the first period.

Both Hope and Whitewater scored 11 points over the first 5:25 of the second quarter, before a layup by Ella McKinney tied the score 27-27 with four minutes remaining in the half.  A jumper by Muller gave the Flying Dutch a 29-27 lead 31 seconds later.  Whitewater responded with a triple and a free throw for another lead change (30-29).  Muller tied the contest 31-31 with a bucket at the 2:36 mark.  Claire Baguley drained a basket from long distance, but Whitewater responded with a triple for yet another tie at the half, 34-34.

A six-point spurt gave the Flying Dutch a 40-34 lead to start the second half.  Hope and Whitewater exchanged buckets over the next two minutes before the Flying Dutch pulled away for a nine-point lead (49-40) at the 4:42 mark.  Whitewater drained a triple with 3:55 remaining to try and close the gap, 49-43.  The Flying Dutch outscored Whitewater, 7-6, over the final 3:33 of the third quarter to lead 56-49 with one period remaining.

Whitewater tallied four points and cut the scoring deficit to three points to start the final stanza (56-53).  Hope gained tremendous momentum and held Whitewater to a 6:36 scoring drought while tallying 13-consecutive points for a 69-53 lead.  The Flying Dutch held onto their lead for the remainder of the contest, winning the championship game, 71-58.

McKinney led the Flying Dutch with a game-high 21 points.  Muller and Voskuil also contributed double digits with 18 points and 11 points, respectively.  Voskuil grabbed a team best of eight boards and Muller dished out a team-high five helpers.

Hope led Whitewater 43-32 in rebounds and 11-5 in steals.  The Flying Dutch concluded the game with a .460 shooting percentage.

Fun Facts (provided by Hope College)

• This is the fourth time in team history that Hope is playing in the NCAA Division III title game.
• The Flying Dutch are one of eight NCAA Division III teams with more than one national championship.
• Hope is one of two MIAA teams who have won national titles.  Alma College won in 1992.
• Junior guard Meg Morehouse, then five years old, joined her father and her younger sister, Emma, in cutting down the nets after the 2006 national championship.
• This is the fifth all-time meeting between Hope and Whitewater.
• This is Hope's 22nd NCAA Tournament appearance.
• Head coach Brian Morehouse's record in NCAA Tournament play is 42-17.

Quotes from the Flying Dutch

"We have tremendous depth and tremendous talent," commented head coach Brian Morehouse.  "It's a beautiful puzzle.  It's nice to see a group effort be validated instead of just an individual effort."

"Closure... It feels better than I thought it was going to feel," stated Morehouse.  "We've been pretty good the last three years and we haven't been able to validate them ... We had closure today and that's really all we wanted coming into the season.  We've talked about it since the beginning of the season; we just wanted a chance and we just wanted to close out a season for good or for bad."

"Just being able to celebrate with this team is something special, but then also to be able to celebrate with our parents and fans that have been with us all year," said Kenedy Schoonveld.  "They have stuck with us through thick and thin and traveled six and a half hours to be here and watch us play.  It has meant the world to us to be here and to have the opportunity to compete and to celebrate with our people.  It's just indescribable, honestly."

"I have watched multiple players go through my dad's program," commented Meg Morehouse.  "I've watched him win a national championship and go to a Final Four.  I guess you always dream about that and I don't know if we ever thought it would happen.  Obviously the last two years have been a little weird.  But to be able to do that with my dad and win a national championship... What more can you ask for as a daughter?  That's unreal."