TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Looking closely at the uniforms of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point women's basketball team may reveal the outline of a bulletproof vest underneath.
     
The Pointers had to be wearing some kind of armor Saturday night and throughout the 2002 NCAA Division III tournament to fend off a furious second half assault from St. Lawrence University and capture the Division III national championship with a 67-65 victory at Hulbert Arena.
     
The victory capped an impressive tournament run for the Pointers, who finished 30-3 overall despite finishing second in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and falling in the semifinals of the league's conference tournament.
     
UW-Stevens Point, which also won the national title in 1987, becomes just the fourth school ever to win multiple championships, joining Washington (Mo.), Capital (Ohio) and Elizabethtown (Pa.). The Pointers are also the eighth Division III women's team ever to win 30 or more games in a season.
     
"I could think of no better way to end a career," said Pointers' senior Kari Groshek (Rosholt, Wis./Rosholt), who totaled 12 points and nine rebounds in the title game. "It's a dream come true. To win this is unbelievable."
     
The victory had added sweetness as the 200th career win for 13th year UW-Stevens Point coach Shirley Egner.
     
"It feels great," Egner said. "But, the most important thing is being national champions. I'm so proud of our team for just getting the job done and stepping up and doing whatever it takes."
     
The Pointers built a 12-point halftime lead at 37-25 by shooting 59 percent in the first half. However, St. Lawrence crawled back throughout the second half, cutting the lead to 49-47 with 10:32 left. After the Pointers built the lead back up to six points, the Saints rallied again and trimmed the lead to 58-57 with 5:37 left.
     
UW-Stevens Point pushed the lead back to 64-57 over the next minute on four free throws by Cassandra Heuer (Two Rivers, Wis./Two Rivers) and a layup by Kari Groshek (Rosholt, Wis./Rosholt). But, again the Saints rallied and pulled to within 64-63 on two free throws by Jessica Zuk with 1:26 left.
     
The Pointers ran the shot clock on their next possession and Heuer hit a short shot in the lane to push the lead back to 66-63. UW-Stevens Point stopped the Saints on their next two possessions and Andrea Kraemer (Waukesha,Wis./Waukesha North) hit one of two free throws with 10 seconds left for a 67-63 lead. St. Lawrence's Cara Barbierri then scored a rebound basket with one second left before the Pointers dodged their biggest bullet of the night.
     
With the Pointers inbounding under the St. Lawrence basket and one second on the clock, UW-Stevens Point's Amie Schultz (Appleton, Wis./Appleton East) attempted a long pass, but Barbierri intercepted the toss and her 30-foot shot bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded.
     
"The darn thing went like a duck and I thought, 'Oh my God,'" said Egner, whose team never relinquished the lead in the second half. "Somebody was looking out for us tonight. The play was diagrammed, but the pass just didn't get any air."
     
The win was similar to the Pointers' triumph over four-time defending national champion Washington (Mo.) on March 2 when UW-Stevens Point led by 11 points at halftime and fought off numerous Washington rallies, but never gave up the lead.
     
Heuer scored 14 of her game-high 17 points in the second half to lead the Pointers. Carry Boehning (Auburndale, Wis./Auburndale) sparked the first half by scoring 11 of her 15 points and keying a 15-4 run that took the Pointers from a 12-11 lead to a 27-15 advantage. Boehning was named the tournament Most Valuable Player for her performance.
     
Pointers' sophomore guard Tara Schmitt (Brookfield, Wis./Catholic Memorial) was also an all-tournament selection after holding national Player of the Year Meredith Eisenhut to just five points. Schmitt also handled a full-court press the entire game with just one turnover and tied a career high with eight assists.
     
"She's a good player and I just wanted to do my best," Schmitt said of Eisenhut. "I wanted to try my hardest and not think about the fact that she was the Player of the Year."
     
The Pointers are now 11-1 all-time in three NCAA tournament appearances, having won five straight games for the 1987 championship and six straight games this season.
     
The championship was the seventh national title in all sports in UW-Stevens Point history and gave the Pointers a 7-2 all-time record in title games. The Pointers have also won titles in 1998 in softball and 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1993 in men's hockey. The 1992 and 1998 men's hockey teams finished runner-up.