Two years ago, head coach Brian Morehouse sat in the H-Club Room at Hope College for a frank conversation with his women's basketball team after a humbling second-round loss to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

On Saturday in the same room, he reflected on that defining moment that propelled the Flying Dutch to a school-record 45-game winning streak and back-to-back undefeated seasons. 

No. 1 Hope clinched another perfect finish with a 64-54 victory against No. 3 Trine University in the championship game of the MIAA Tournament.

"To understand where the legacy is today, you have to rewind to the Wartburg game in Iowa, when we took the worst beating I've ever taken in a game," Morehouse said during a post-game Zoom with local media, referring to a 79-49 loss to Wartburg College (Iowa). "We hit the reboot on our culture to be quite honest with you. I don't think our culture was terrible, but I think it had a long way to go to be great. We really put a lot of time into relationships and why we play, how we work, and who we work for, which is our teammates.

"That jump-started our legacy. That meeting happened in the H Club Room where I'm sitting right now. It was the most important meeting as far as culture and resetting our program in my 25 years."

Hope's 16th win of the season and 16th MIAA Tournament title all-time capped an impressive run for a senior class of nine student-athletes: Courteney Barnes, Mallory Gerber, Natalee Kott, Jess Moorman, Sydney Muller, Lauren Newman, Kenedy Schoonveld, Ashleigh Thomas, and Olivia Voskuil. 

As a group, the nine seniors helped the Flying Dutch accomplish so much:

• 98-7 overall record

• The eighth-longest winning streak in Division III history, surpassing Hope's 2005-2007 run of 44 games.

• 2 unbeaten seasons (29-0 and 16-0)

• 4 NCAA Tournament appearances

• 3 MIAA Tournament titles

• 2 MIAA regular-season championships. Note: there was no regular-season title this season, even though the Flying Dutch won all seven possible league games because the entire league did not complete a full schedule

"I think all together we've left a pretty big legacy on the court just with the wins and how hard we've played," Schoonveld said. "I think it also extends off the court big-time. Across the board, our leadership has gotten so much better as a group of nine. We've grown really close together. After our sophomore year, we had a hard year, we came together and turned the culture around which translated onto the court as well."

Schoonveld (Zeeland, Michigan/Holland Christian HS) and her teammates remained a cohesive group despite a late rumble from the Thunder.

Trine, whose only three losses in 17 games this season are to Hope, cut a 13-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter down to five points four minutes into the fourth quarter.

The Flying Dutch remained in command by holding Trine to only three made free throws over the next five minutes.

The swarming defense — which forced 28 turnovers — allowed the opportunity over the final minute for each senior a chance to play and walk off the court to a standing ovation and a big hug from Brian Morehouse.

Schoonveld and Muller (Grand Rapids, Michigan/Grand Rapids Christian) led a balanced offensive attack with 11 points apiece. 

Schoonveld moved into 10th place all-time on Hope's scoring list with 1,112 points in 105 games.

Voskuil (Holland, Michigan/Holland Christian) chipped in nine points, six rebounds, five steals, and three blocked shots. 

Junior guard Kasey DeSmit (Hudsonville, Michigan/Hudsonville) also scored nine points — all on 3-pointers.

Saturday was a crowning achievement for a team that was denied the chance to play for a national title in back-to-back seasons because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"They may not have had a chance to play for a national championship, but that doesn't mean I don't consider them champions," Morehouse said. "National champions? I can't make that statement. But I do consider them champions."