Tournament Central  |  Hope-Saint Mary's Box Score

Hope 18, Saint Mary's 13

For the first time in program history, Hope College won the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Women's Lacrosse Tournament championship.  The top-seeded Flying Dutch notched an 18-13 victory over third-seeded Saint Mary's on Saturday, May 6, to clinch the tournament title.

Hope opened the competition with four-straight goals, including two by Kerrigan Brown.  Erin Dotson put the Belles on the scoreboard with 11:25 remaining in the first quarter, followed by another Saint Mary's goal from Valentina Rubio.  Hope's Sydney LaPrairie scored at the 4:35 mark for a 5-2 lead, however, Belle Molly Mullett responded with a free position shot.  Both teams scored aother two goals in the remaining 1:38 of the stanza for a 7-5 Hope lead at the end of the first period.  Mullett brought Saint Mary's scoring deficit to just one point with a goal to start the second quarter.  The teams exchanged a goal before Hope went on a four-point scoring spurt to wrap up the first half with a 12-7 lead, including back-to-back goals by Julia Brown.

Rubio scored a goal to end the Belles' scoring drought at the start of the first half (12-8), however, Hope went on another scoring run with three-straight goals (15-8).  Mullet and Alyssa Grant each scored for the Belles to keep the point differential at 15-10 before the final period.  Both teams scored three goals each in the remaining quarter for an 18-13 Flying Dutch victory.

Julia Brown led Hope with a game-best total of six goals, while Elena Salazar scored three goals.  Four players had two assists including Salazar, Kerrigan Brown, Molly Frederickson, and Caleigh Randall.  Julia Brown also led the Flying Dutch with four caused turnovers and five ground balls, while Randall tallied a game-high 10 draw controls.

On the Belles side, Dotson led the squad with four goals and eight draw controls.  Mullett and Rubio each contributed three goals, while Mullet led Saint Mary's with five caused turnovers and five ground balls.  

The Flying Dutch will find out their opening round opponent in the 2023 Division III NCAA Tournament during the selection show on Monday, May 8, at 10:30 a.m.