STEVENS POINT, Wis. - Inside and out, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point was just too much for Lake Forest College Wednesday night in an 88-52 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament victory at Berg Gymnasium.

The Pointers used a damaging inside game behind national Player of the Year finalist Kari Groshek (Rosholt, Wis./Rosholt) and knocked down eight three-pointers in rolling past the Foresters for their first national tournament victory since the 1987 Division III championship game against Concordia-Moorhead.

UW-Stevens Point is now 25-3 overall and advances to face four-time defending Division III champion Washington University Saturday at 3 p.m. in St. Louis.

Groshek scored a game-high 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the Pointers shot 52.5 percent from the field, including eight-for-14 from three-point range.

"Size was a factor tonight," Pointers coach Shirley Egner said. "Our post players shot over theirs and when they doubled down low, our kids did a nice job of kicking it out and knocking down the shots."

Sophomore Cassandra Heuer (Two Rivers, Wis./Two Rivers) was four-for-five from behind the arc and capped a 19-6 first half run with a three-pointer with 1:19 left in the half for a 41-22 advantage. The Pointers led 43-25 at the half and Lake Forest's closest second half penetration was a 50-36 deficit. UW-Stevens Point led 62-43 with 12:48 left and blew the game open with a 20-3 run over the next 11 minutes.

"Good teams burn you on the inside and outside and they did that," said Lake Forest coach Jackie Slaats, whose team finished 19-7 and lost in the first round for the third straight year. "They played great today and their kids were on fire from three."
     
The Pointers were excited just to be in the tournament field after losing in the semifinals of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament to UW-Oshkosh last week.

"It was tough to sit with that loss for a while," said senior forward Amie Schultz (Appleton, Wis./Appleton East), who scored 11 points and hit a pair of three-pointers. "But all the emotion and excitement that was in this room Sunday night (when the pairings were announced) just had to be carried on the floor tonight."
     
Now, the Pointers focus on Washington, which boasts a 25-0 record this season and the nation's No. 1 ranking.
     
"There was no way we could look ahead," Groshek said. "When you get to this point of the season you've got to just go out and play your best against everyone."
     
"I said before the tournament that I don't care who we play or where we play, just give us a chance," Egner said. "If we want to be the best, we might as well play them."