NORFOLK, Va. – Tara Rausch scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds Saturday as Wilmington (Ohio) College used a second-half rally to defeat Bowdoin 59-53 in the women’s NCAA Division III basketball championship game.

The Lady Quakers (27-6) captured their first national championship while also handing the top-ranked Polar Bears of Brunswick (30-1) their first loss of the year.

Bowdoin led 28-23 at the break and led by as many as nine with 9:29 remaining.

The Bears had a six-point lead with 4:30 left when Wilmington’s Emily Cummins hit a 3-pointer from the right wing while being fouled by Bowdoin’s Lora Trenkle. Cummings made the free throw to make it a two-point game.

Rausch scored 10 points in a 14-5 run, including a conventional 3-point play after an offensive rebound to tie the game at 51 with 2:28 left. Samantha Hood then hit a 3-pointer to put Wilmington up three with just under two minutes remaining and the Polar Bears could not pull any closer.

“Wilmington just beat us,” Bowdoin coach Stefanie Pemper told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “It was a little bit of luck, but mostly hard work, talent and good coaching.”

Bowdoin went scoreless for four minutes until freshman Eileen Flaherty hit a jumper with 24 seconds remaining to make it 58-53.

Wilmington outrebounded the Bears 51-38. Rausch and Siobhan Zerilla each had a team-best 11, while Justine Pouravelis grabbed 12 to lead the Polar Bears.

Flaherty scored a team-high 14 points. Trenkle, a Surry native, added 12 points and eight assists.

Wilmington went 15-for-23 from the free-throw line, while Bowdoin made four of its six free-throw attempts.

Rausch was named the tourney MVP, while Trenkle was named to the all-tournament team.

Rochester beat Wisconsin-Stevens Point 64-63 in the third- place game earlier Saturday.

LADY QUAKERS 59, POLAR BEARS 52

Wilmington (27-6) Bowdoin (30-1)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Zerilla 2 5 0 1 4 Flaherty 7 14 0 0 14

Kincer 3 16 4 6 10 Smith 2 8 5

Rausch 5 17 9 12 19 Pouravelis 2 4

Hood 2 9 1 3 7 Russell 3 10 0 8

Cummins 3 8 1 1 9 Trenkle 4 10 12

Thomas 1 2 0 0 2 Withey 0 0 0

Peters 2 5 0 0 4 Bramwell 1 2

Smith 2 5 0 0 4 Fugate 2 3 6

Eichner 0 1 0 0 0 Nickerson 1 2

Robinson 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 20 68 15 23 59 Totals 22 58 53

Wilmington 23 59

Bowdoin 28 53

3-pt. goals ? Wilmington (4-14): Hood 2-4, Cummins 2-5, Thomas 0-1, Smith 0-1, Eichner 0-1, Kincer 0-2; Bowdoin (5-12): Fugate 2-3, Russell 2-7, Trenkle 1-2