The FDU-Florham Devils are headed to the NCAA Division III national championship game, after grinding out a 42-39 victory over Tufts University in the national semifinals on Friday night at the Quandt Fieldhouse.

The Devils (32-0) advance to take on Whitman College. The championship game will tip off at 8 p.m. (EST) tomorrow, March 22nd. Tomorrow's contest will be televised on ESPN2.

In tonight's victory, Shalette Brown (Somerset, N.J.Franklin) hauled in a career-high 18 rebounds and the Devils needed every last one of them to prevail. All-Region Player of the Year Kyra Dayon (Trenton, N.J./Trenton Central) led all scorers with 17 points, which included multiple drought-ending baskets for FDU-Florham.

After an 18-hour bus trip from Madison, N.J., the FDU-Florham faithful were on their feet for the duration of the contest, and cheered their team to victory with chants that included "Jersey Strong."

Over the first 10 minutes of action, the Devils struggled mightily to put the ball in the basket. FDU-Florham opened the game an icy 1-for-16 from the floor, but their defense kept the contest close. Despite their cold-shooting the Devils only trailed 11-6 midway through the first stanza. Dayon was the lone exception, as the junior guard carried the Devils offensively and was responsible for four of the team's first five made baskets on the evening.

With 2:38 to play in the first half, Tufts freshman forward Michela North converted a layup, which gave the Jumbos a 20-14 advantage. At that point, the Devils had only knocked down five of their 27 shots equating to 18.5 percent overall. The key for FDU-Florham was Brown's ability to keep the Jumbos front-court players off of the glass. FDU-Florham limited Tufts to nine fewer shot attempts in the opening half and although the pace of the game favored the Jumbos, the game was knotted at 22-22 at intermission.

Dayon led all scorers at the break with 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting and Brown pulled down nine of her game-high 18 rebounds in the opening stanza. Tufts junior guard Kelsey Morehead paced the Jumbos with seven points on 3-for-4 from the field, which included one three-pointer.

Junior forward Hayley Kanner opened the second half with a lay-in, which was her only basket in the contest. The Devils neutralized Kanner and limited the junior to 1-for-7 shooting in the game. One minute into the half, FDU-Florham claimed their first lead of the game on a three-pointer by Dayon. After a turnover by Kanner, Dayon knocked down a pull-up jumper which gave the Devils a 27-24 lead. FDU-Florham tallied 11 of the first 15 points of the half to stake a 33-26 advantage with 14:53 to play.

FDU-Florham senior point guard Jalessa Lewis (Irvington, N.J./Mount St. Dominic) connected with Brown on a gorgeous entry pass -- which Brown promptly laid in the basket -- to give the Devils their largest lead of the game at 40-32. Lewis finished with seven points, three steals and two assists in the win.

Over the next four minutes, the Devils went 0-for-3 from the field and turned the ball over three times, while the Jumbos scored six points to climb within two at 40-38. With 3:30 to go in regulation, Brown ended the Devils futility with a layup to provide FDU-Florham with a two-possession lead. The two teams traded defensive stands over the next two minutes, which set the stage for an exciting final sixty seconds.
 
With 30 seconds to play and Tufts in possession of the ball, Morehead missed a layup but North grabbed the offensive rebounds and drew a foul. North proceeded to split the two free throws, which resulted in a three-point FDU-Florham lead.

The Jumbos were forced to foul Dayon on the following inbound, which sent FDU-Florham's leading-scorer to the free throw line with a chance to put the Devils ahead by two baskets. Dayon missed the front end of the one-and-one but Brown's relentless effort on the offensive glass came through again, as she snagged the rebound and was promptly fouled with 19.1 to go. Brown's free throw attempt rimmed out, fortunately, Dayon was in position to return the favor and hauled in the Devils 19^th offensive rebound of the game.

However, after an FDU-Florham timeout, Tufts sophomore guard Emma Roberson intercepted the inbound pass, which gave the Jumbos possession with 14.8 seconds remaining. One stop was standing between the Devils and their first-ever National Championship game and the team succeeded. With Brown draped all over her, Tufts junior guardHannah Foley was forced to attempt an off-balance three-point attempt, which sailed wide as time expired.

The loss concludes an outstanding run for the Jumbos who finish the 2013-14 season with a 30-2 record overall. Foley led the Jumbos with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting in defeat. As a team, Tufts shot 16-of-46 (34.8%) from the floor, which included 2-for-14 from long range.

The Devils prevailed despite only scoring only two points over the game's final 8:30 of play. In addition to her 18 rebounds, Brown totaled eight points in the victory. The Devils turned 19 Tufts' turnovers into 18 points and out-rebounded the Jumbos 40-33 in the contest, which proved to be the difference. The 42 points for the Devils is their lowest offensive-output of the season.