Merg scored 30 points to surpass Jody Landish (1991-95) and become the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,378 points. She did the majority of the work from the free throw line Saturday making 12-16, including the point to break the record, from the charity stripe. 

The third place trophy did not come easy; UW-W missed their first eight shots from the field in the game and with 14:16 on the clock the scoreboard showed Tufts 11 and Whitewater 2. Two minutes later, the gap widened to ten points, 14-4 with 12:33 remaining. From that point, the Warhawks started their upward climb with a 13-4 run to pull within one, 18-17 with 6:24 left. Kaitlyn Thill (Belgium/Ozaukee) gave Whitewater their first lead of the game with a jumper at the 3:55 mark, 21-20. Amy Mandrell (Forsyth, IL/Maroa-Forsyth) and Kristen Ruchti(Brodhead/Brodhead) made it back-to-back-to-back buckets for UW-W with Ruchti adding a free throw to put the Warhawks up six, 26-20 with 2:15 left in the first half. Tufts dropped in a layup with 41 seconds to make the score 26-22 heading into intermission.

Whitewater shot just 26.9% (7-26) from the floor in the first half compared to Tufts' 38.5% (10-26). The Warhawks made up for the gap in shooting at the free throw line making 11-14 in the first half to the Jumbos' 1-5. 

A Kelsey Morehead three pointer opened the second half to cut the lead to 26-25 for Whitewater. The Warhawks responded with a 7-0 run to push the lead to 33-25. UW-W would extend the margin into double figures by the 14:34 mark, 27-27 off a Merg jumper. The teams traded small runs and with the score 53-44 in favor of UW-W at the 7:58 mark, the Warhawks rattled off the next nine points capped by another Merg jumper to push the lead to 18, 62-44 with 5:17 remaining. Merg scored the final 10 points for Whitewater, five from the charity stripe. With 36 seconds left in the game, Merg was fouled and faced with the opportunity to break the record. She dropped in the first, then after a deep breath heaved the second, it hit the front of the rim, jumped over the top and down through the hoop for point number 1,378, the most by a Warhawk in program history. 

The Warhawks improved their shooting efficiency to 51.7% in the second half and the defense held the Jumbos to 37%. A common theme throughout the season, Whitewater had a hefty advantage from the free throw line making 24-31 to Tufts' 12-25.

Merg finished with 30 to lead all scorers. Ruchti added a double-double with 15 points and 13 boards. 

The journey to the NCAA Division III Tournament included a perfect 16-0 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference run for the program's second straight league title. After falling in the conference tournament, the Warhawks received an at-large bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament, their seventh consecutive at-large selection. Whitewater went on the road to defeat Concordia-Moorhead in the first round game giving Head Coach Keri Carollo her 230th career win to become the program's all-time winningest coach. UW-W defeated host St. Thomas in the second round and then traveled to Greencastle, Ind. for sectional play. A win over conference foe UW-Oshkosh set up a rematch of the national championship game from last season. A win upset the Tigers on their home court and brought UW-W back to the Final Four for the second consecutive season. Throughout their journey, five Warhawks were named to the All-WIAC teams (Thill, Merg, Amy Mandrell (Forsyth, IL/Maroa-Forsyth), Katie Burton (Crystal Lake, IL/Crystal Lake Sourth) and Chelsea Gieseke (Roselle, IL/Lake Park)), Thill was named d3hoops.com First Team All-Region and then added First Team All-America honors from the WBCA and Coach Carollo was named WIAC Coach of the Year.