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Game story

Schedule and Results

By Mark Simon, D3hoops.com

TERRE HAUTE — Living up to their definition of team, the Trinity Tigers won their first-ever national championship, defeating Eastern Connecticut State 60-58 in an emotionally draining game at Hulbert Arena.

Tournament MVP Allison Wooley scored the winning basket for the last of her 18 points with just under 10 seconds remaining. Wooley then played tight defense on ECSU's final possession, forcing Allison Coleman to bobble the ball momentarily as she came around a screen. Coleman's desperation 12-foot shot to tie at the buzzer came up just short and to the left of the rim, setting off a wild Tigers celebration.

Appropriately for a Final Four with this much excitement, the two teams in the championship game both ended their seasons with a 28-5 record. Trinity, which beat No. 4 Hardin Simmons and No. 3 Washington U. just to get to the Final Four, earned the designation of best team in the country.

"If any team deserved a championship, it was this one,'' said 11th-year Trinity coach Becky Geyer. "They worked hard from the beginning of the season. They are a fantastic group of young people. I look forward to them for years to come.''

The same could be said for Eastern Connecticut State. The two teams differed in many ways, but both coaches were extremely proud of their squads.

"Down by (double-digits), you would think we were pretty much done,'' said Eastern coach Denise Bierly. "But our kids kept coming back. They showed a lot of heart and determination. We always feel we have a chance to win. That's what I love about this team."

The Warriors rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit to tie the game with 37.8 seconds remaining on a Morgan Perry basket. Wooley then scored on a driving layup on the next possession with 9.8 seconds remaining after an offensive rebound kept the ball in Trinity's hands.

Forward Deanne Prior, who almost singlehandedly kept Eastern in the game early, led all scorers with 22 points. Megan Selmon (12 points) and Jenna Smith (10 points) were the other Tigers players in double figures.

The Warriors got off to a quick start, scoring seven of the game's first nine points. Trinity had significant height advantages and began to utilize them almost immediately thereafter. An 18-6 run included baskets from five different Trinity players The Tigers shot 56 percent in the first half and took a 33-21 lead into the locker room on Jenna Smith's 3-pointer from the corner at the buzzer.

Trinity pushed the lead to 42-25 with 15 minutes remaining and appeared to have control of the game, still up by 10 when Coleman (14 points) picked up her fourth foul with 10:18 to play. Just like the night before, when Eastern rallied from double-digits down against top-ranked UW-Eau Claire, the Warriors mounted a couple of surges. They tied things up for the first time since it was 9-9 on Perry's basket. Perry (10 points) also played much of the second half one foul from being removed from the game.

After Wooley's layup, Bierly elected to call timeout with 6.3 seconds remaining, though Coleman hit a 30-foot shot after the whistle blew, and put her hands on her hips and laughed. She would get a second opportunity a few moments later, but could not convert it.

"I live for the big shots,'' said Coleman, who was named an All-American for the third straight season. "Some go in and some don't. This one didn't. I was thinking that I knew I was going to hit the shot, but it turned out differently."

All Tournament team
Kelly Wescott (Rochester)
Kristi Channing (UW-Eau Claire)
Allison Coleman (Eastern Connecticut)
Megan Selmon (Trinity)
Allison Wooley (Trinity) -- MVP