The best women’s basketball season in Missouri S&T history ended in the championship game of the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional as Northern Kentucky handed the Lady Miners a 60-52 defeat in Springfield, Mo. The loss, which came after victories over Michigan Tech (75-66) and Quincy (79-73) in the first two rounds, brought the 2007-08 season to a close with a final record of 24-7. The 24 wins is a new team record.

Katie Bunge, one of five seniors on the S&T roster, had a double-double in her final collegiate game with 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Lady Miners. Bunge and forward Katie McElrath were named to the all-tournament team after being named to the All-GLVC third team earlier. McElrath had 21 points in the win over Michigan Tech and had a double-double of her own in the semifinals with 13 points and 12 boards.

Tamara McCaskill finished the season as the Lady Miners’ top scorer with an average of 14.8 points per game. McCaskill also had the fifth-highest single season point total (458 points) in school history. She was a second-team all-region pick and a first-team All-Great Lakes Valley Conference selection.

McElrath finished the year with an average of 11.8 points per game and shot 53.8 percent from the field to put her among the GLVC leaders, while Bunge averaged 11.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per contest and was the league’s third-leading rebounder.

The Lady Miners also got big contributions from Chism McEntire, who connected 64 times from three-point range – the third-highest single-season total in S&T history ­– and point guard Jaime Forsberg, who set the school’s all-time assist record with 405.