At one point this season, the Hope College women's basketball team found itself in third place in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association standings, two games out of first place. 

But the Flying Dutch kept grinding, kept working hard in practice, and got better game by game. They trusted the process. They were a perfect 8-0 in conference play in the second half of the season to win a share of the MIAA title and gain home court advantage for the conference tournament. 

On Saturday night, the Flying Dutch nailed down their fourth straight MIAA tournament championship with a 76-65 victory over Trine University at DeVos Fieldhouse. Hope, now 25-2, clinched the MIAA's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament, which the Flying Dutch won last March. 

"I'm just excited for our senior class – four in a row. What a great run for them," head coach Brian Morehouse said. "I thought that we had great followership this year. I think the leadership from our seniors, we expected, but you've gotta get people on board. It doesn't matter if you're leading and nobody's following along with you … The work ethic in our practices went up every single week. The communication, the culture of our team improved as the season went along and we got to know each other. 

The tournament championship was the 18th in school history. The Flying Dutch will learn their bracket for the NCAA Division III Tournament on Monday, Feb. 27, at 2:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.

The win also improved the record of Hope's senior class to 102-3. 

"In our shootaround today, we circled up, and I said, 'I can't think of any other people I'd rather be around in this circle with – where you guys have come, from October to now, is special.'" Brian Morehouse said. "I said, 'I'm just proud of the work you guys put in on the court, but also the work you put into relationships.'  

"We've had a lot of hard stuff this year – we've had four deaths in our program directly with our families. We've had some other stuff go on. It has been one of the hardest years of my coaching career. But I've been able to get through it because of the kids on the team and our coaching staff." 

The first half was a closely fought affair, featuring nine lead changes and seven ties. Neither team led by more than four points in the first 20 minutes. A 3-point basket by MIAA Most Valuable Player Sidney Wagner in the final minute of the half gave the Thunder a 34-31 halftime lead. 

Hope seized control of the game with two third-quarter runs. A banked-in 3-point basket by senior forward Kate Majerus of Sycamore, Illinois (Sycamore) ignited a 14-1 run over the first four minutes of the quarter, giving the Flying Dutch a 45-35 lead. 

Trine responded with six straight points to cut the lead to four. Then the Flying Dutch showed why they have been the top 3-point shooting team in all of Division III. In a span of 65 seconds, senior guard Meg Morehouse of Zeeland, Michigan (Zeeland East) hit back-to-back 3-pointers, and freshman Karsen Karlblom of Crystal Lake, Illinois (Prairie Ridge) hit another, starting a run of 11 unanswered points that boosted the Hope lead to 56-41. 

Hope shot 59 percent from the field in the quarter, including six 3-pointers, to lead 58-45 heading into the final 10 minutes. 

Trine mounted one last comeback try. The Thunder pulled to within six at 66-60 on two Makayla Ardis free throws with 2:15 remaining. Hope salted the game away at the free throw line, scoring its last 14 points from the line. 
The Flying Dutch made 25 of 32 from the stripe (78 percent) for the game, compared to 14 of 19 for Trine. 

Senior center Savannah Feenstra, a first-team All-MIAA selection, led four Hope players in double figures with a dominating performance inside, scoring 23 points and pulling down a career-high 15 rebounds. Feenstra made 12 of Hope's free throws as she consistently drew fouls inside on the Thunder. 

"She was just relentless," Brian Morehouse said. "She was relentless on the offensive attacks, I thought she was relentless on the rebounding. We gotta rebound better as a team, but Sav put us on her back." 

Senior guard Ella McKinney of Haslett, Michigan (Haslett) contributed 15 points for the Flying Dutch. Senior forward Claire Baguley of Ada, Michigan (Forest Hills Central) chipped in 12 points, including a perfect 8-of-8 from the line, and added six rebounds and four assists. 

Meg Morehouse hit three 3-point baskets as she finished with 11 points and did not commit a turnover in nearly 30 minutes at the point guard position. 

The Flying Dutch shot 43 percent from the field for the game (21 of 49) and hit nine 3-point baskets. Hope also outrebounded the Thunder 42-28. The Flying Dutch limited Trine to 38.6 percent shooting for the game (22 of 57).