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| Photo: Cody Schmelter |
Penn State made their intentions known early. Bitsy Cairns got the match's first try when she dotting down from a driving maul. Central Washington had some possession after that but when they threw a bad pass Cairns was there to scoop up the ball and find the supporting Katie Mueller for the second try and a 12-0 lead with just 11 minutes gone.
The defending champions nearly had a third just a few minutes later but they weren't able to hold on to the ball inches short of the try line. Still, that third try was just a few minutes away as Lauren Barber finished off an excellent team try.
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The Nittany Lions dominated the possession for the next several minutes and using their forwards put themselves in strong positions time and time again. World Cup veteran Meya Bizer would be the next to score for Penn State and fellow Eagle Hope Rogers would finish off the half with a try of her own. At halftime Penn State were well on their way with a 27-0 lead.
It was all perfect for Penn State on the day. Three or four times they had opportunities to score clear tries but lost their concentration at the final moment, including what would have been an opening score in the second half. That said, it wouldn't be long before Penn State got their first try of the half and once again it came from a prop as Catherine Benson scored. The tries kept coming for the Nittany Lions after that with Rogers and Barber getting their second tries. The Nittany Lions added three more tries in the half.
Central Washington nearly had a try of their own after some sustained pressure late in the second half but they knocked on the ball on at the line. However, the were able to steal the scrum and number eight Jennifer Johnson powered over for the try.
Penn State are simply the best women's side in the country. They have the experience and it showed today. Credit to Central Washington for making it to the final in the first year of their program. They have a very young team and with more years under their belt they could challenge Penn State down the road.
DII Championship: Notre Dame College Over UC-Riverside
In the DII title match Notre Dame College had little difficulty defeating UC-Riverside 69-10. Center Hannah Gauthreaux, who made her name playing for the Old Blue women in the summer, was all over the place for the Falcons making seven conversions and scoring two tries. The Falcons went up 43-0 before UC-Riverside scored through Michelle Hong. They would get another try via Dominique Stewart-Thomas.