Capital in 1995. UW-Oshkosh in 1996. Howard Payne last year. Washington U. twice in 1999 and 2000. And now you can add George Fox in 2009 to the list of undefeated women’s Division III basketball national champions.

The Bruins built a 14 point second half lead and held off a furious Washington U. rally to complete an undefeated season, 60-53. George Fox looked like it would cruise to the title after Keisha Gordon hit a three to give the Bruins a 49-35 lead with 10:11 to play. But the Bears scored 15 of the next 17 points to close within one. Kristen Shielee answered with a basket and then another in the final two minutes to put the game away. It was a magical run for a team that graduated seven seniors last spring and had no returning starters.

The Bruins will have plenty of hardware to bring back to Oregon. Shielee was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player joined by teammate Sage Indendi, Janice Evans and Jaimie McFarlin of Washington U. and Hillary Klimowicz of The College of New Jersey on the All-Tournament team. Scott Rueck was named the D3hoops.com Coach of the Year and Sage Indendi the Rookie of the Year. Klimowicz was named the Player of the Year.

Before the title game we named the D3hoops.com All-Americans, with Klimowicz joining Keli Ward of York (Pa.), Leigh Ann Burke of DeSales, Jessica McEntee of NYU and Megan Scheele of Edgewood on the first team. After the game Sage Indendi joined us to discuss the Bruins' remarkable season and her own journey to George Fox. You can also check out the Daily Dose for more coverage of the championship game, including links to several items from the Holland (Mich.) Sentinel and other outlets.

Tourney toolbar: D3hoops.com All-Region team | Video and audio coverage | Women's bracket | Pick 'em login

The College of New Jersey finished an impressive postseason by defeating No. 11 Amherst 82-74 in the third place game. Klimowicz finished with 25 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and three blocks, all game highs. Shannon Finucane scored 16 for the Lord Jeffs.

In Friday's semifinal, George Fox hit 14 three pointers against The College of New Jersey to tie the NCAA tournament's single game record. The Bruins need two more to set the record for threes during an entire tournament. Meanwhile it was Kelsey Robb's turn to lead the balanced Washington U. attack in the Bears' win over Amherst.