The Women’s Division III national final is set, as Colorado School of Mines and Endicott won their semifinals Saturday at SaberCats Stadium in Houston, TX. The Orediggers advanced to their first NCR national final with a 32-10 defeat of Wisconsin - Platteville, and 2022 champion Endicott booked its ticket to another final with a 91-24 defeat of East Stroudsburg.

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Undefeated and top-seeded Endicott wasted no time in securing the win, taking a 55-0 lead in the first half hour before allowing East Stroudsburg on the board. The Gulls ran in four more tries to go up 77-7 before conceding another Warrior score. 

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91 points is Endicott’s second-largest offensive output this season, and the largest in the DIII playoffs since the Gulls scored 99 in the opening round last fall. Tess Merrill was her usually unstoppable self, leading with three tries. Laila Baer, Ashley McElhinney, Sarah Aylwin and Colleen Mitchell all added two each.

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Platteville proved a tougher test for Mines in the other semifinal, as the Pioneers led at the intermission, but a second-half offensive explosion put the Orediggers over the top. 

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The Pioneers picked up a yellow card in the first 10 minutes, and the Colorado School of Mines cashed in on the player advantage, with center Piper Lee scoring off a pick-and-go from a charged down kick deep in the Pioneer end. Lee slotted the conversion, giving Mines a 7-0 lead. 

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Platteville responded immediately, scoring off a series of pick-and-goes inside the attacking 22. The Orediggers knocked on in their own end, giving the Pioneers a short field. 

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The conversion was missed, but the Pioneers wouldn’t trail for too long. Platteville quick-tapped a penalty deep in the Mines end, and prop Emma Callaghan bounced an Oredigger and dove over three more in the corner to put the Pioneers up 10-7 at the half. 

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Mines scored from a pick-and-go by scrumhalf Giovanna Arelio early in the second stanza after a penalty deep in the Pioneer end, taking a 12-10 lead. Lee added to it after sustained pressure following the Orediggers being held up in the try zone – 17-10.  

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Flanker Mackenzie Williams scored the next one, evading several would-be tacklers on a counter attack from a goal line drop-out to give the Orediggers a 22-10 lead with 20 minutes to play. She struck again, ripping an interception out of thin air, offloading, and then bowling through the line on a crash ball. The Orediggers slammed over one more at the death to flatter the final score. 

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Endicott and the Colorado School of Mines contest the final at 12 p.m. CST Sunday.

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Tune into the DIII Championship match on The Rugby Network+.