Proud yet disappointed, the Hope College women’s basketball team concluded a restorative season Friday in the third round of the NCAA Division III Championships.

The Flying Dutch built an early double-digit lead but could not hold on, falling 55-52 to the University of Chicago in a matchup of nationally-ranked teams.

Hope — unranked in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association preseason poll and No. 23 in the D3hoops.com rankings — finished with a 26-4 record. The Flying Dutch claimed an MIAA Tournament title and returned to the postseason after missing the NCAA tournament during the 2024-25 season.

“Amazing season. I had so much fun; a great group of women. I thought they represented Hope so well,” head coach Brian Morehouse said. “It was a great season for us as coaches. I hope it was a great season for our players. I hope it was a great season for our fans.

“The women we had in that locker room—we cried because it should hurt when it means something. When you have great teams and great groups of people, those locker rooms are the hardest. A big part of it being tough was the three seniors we’re going to lose. They all meant different things to our program. They were all huge parts of what we did this year: molding our culture, molding our work ethic.”

Hope appeared on the verge of punching a ticket to the Elite Eight after sophomore forward Maddie Petroelje (Hudsonville, Michigan) buried a 3-pointer with 4 1/2 minutes remaining in the third quarter for a 39-24 lead.

Petroelje led the Flying Dutch with 16 points, one of three Hope players to reach double figures. Sophomore guard Anna Richards (DeWitt, Michigan) chipped in 12 points, and sophomore forward Leah Richards (DeWitt, Michigan) added 10.

Chicago (20-7) switched to a full-court press and chipped away at the deficit.

The Flying Dutch struggled to score as Chicago put together a 23-6 run, capped by a go-ahead 3-pointer from Kate Gross with 2:04 remaining. Hope, which averaged 96.5 points during its first two tournament rounds, shot just 25% from the field in the second half (6-of-24).

Gross led all scorers with 17 points and three 3-pointers. Kasi Samuda chipped in 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, while AnnaBelle Spotts added 11 points.

An Anna Richards 3-pointer tied the score at 49-49 with 53 seconds remaining, but Spotts responded with a jumper with 37 seconds left and a steal 22 seconds later.

Chicago sank two free throws around a Petroelje 3-pointer, leaving the Flying Dutch with a chance to tie with two seconds remaining. A Hope timeout moved the ball to midcourt, but a desperation 3-pointer was off-target. Chicago advances to the sectional final against host University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Saturday, March 14.

The tough finish left Hope wondering what might have been, but still proud of what was accomplished, said senior forward and co-captain Lauren Leach (Angola, Indiana).

“Since we didn’t get in last year, we needed a common goal, and we needed to be on the same page,” Leach said. “That was the biggest difference this year. We said we were going to have fun this year and compete every single day. That was my favorite part this year. We restored something. We’re a really good team, and we’re having fun doing it.”

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