ST. PAUL, Minn.  With many of the statistics in its favor, the two most important ones led to the end of its season for Whitman as the 16th-ranked Blues were downed by undefeated host and second-ranked University of St. Thomas, 65-48, in the sectional final of the NCAA 2017 Division III Women's Basketball Championship hosted by the Tommies in Schoenecker Arena.

Whitman (26-5) limited St. Thomas (31-0) to just 49 shots from the field. Six times during the season the Blues had held teams to that few, or fewer, shots and Whitman's average margin of victory in those tilts was 21 points.

Five different players collected at least four rebounds for Whitman -- St. Thomas had two players -- which finished the game with a 41-39 edge on the glass over the Tommies.

The Blues forced 21 turnovers, had a plus-2 edge in steals, owned a 19-16 edge in points off turnovers, and scored 10 more points than St. Thomas did in the paint.

Whitman also dropped in 82 percent of its free throws, 14-for-17, compared to St. Thomas' 77 percent from the line.

The rock just wouldn't find the bottom of the bucket when away from the charity stripe.

While St. Thomas was building a 17-10 first quarter lead behind 8 of 17 shooting (47 percent), Whitman was suffering through a 4 of 15 (27 percent) quarter.

The Tommies only added three to that lead during the second 10-minute segment -- and it was on a last second 3-pointer from Minneapolis by Lucia Renikoff -- as the Blues warmed up to a 5-for-14 (36 percent) quarter.

The Final Four was most definitely still in reach, if during the second half the Blues could shake the chills of the 15-degree weather outside the arena.

That never happened, though.

Opportunity after opportunity was there -- Whitman had 17 field goal attempts to just nine for St. Thomas -- in the third quarter, but only three times would the shots fall for the Blues.

The Tommies were pressuring on defense, sure. But Whitman was working its game, finding passing lanes and finding open looks.

The. Rock. Just. Wouldn't. Fall.

In that third frame, St. Thomas could only add two more points to its cushion as the Blues' defense was hardly ever off their marks.

In the end the Tommies dropped in just two more baskets than Whitman, but the difference was that seven of their 19 buckets were 3s, against an 0-for-15 long-range night from Whitman.

And while the Blues had a good night from the stripe, St. Thomas visited that same place nine more times than did Whitman, and added six more points to its advantage while there.

The best Whitman season since its visit to the national championship game in 2014 ended more quietly than a team averaging 73 points per game would have liked.

The efforts of the seniors helped keep the game at a point where at any time Whitman might have bounced back.

Along with her 10 points Alysse Ketner added six rebounds, two blocks and a steal. Chelsi Brewer chimed in with four rebounds and also had a pair of blocks to go with her 10 points, which shared team-high honors with Ketner.

Casey Poe splashed across the stat columns again, scoring six points and coming away with four rebounds, doling out a game-high four assists and thieving her way to a game-best four steals, while adding in a block for good measure.

Makana Stone finishes her tremendous first-year in the program with a six-point, five-rebound night, and Maegen Martin was at times the go-to player Saturday, finishing with six points and two rebounds.

St. Thomas now heads to Grand Rapids, Michigan, for the Final Four, and will face off with Tufts University which defeated Washington (Mo.) University in another sectional final. Amherst and Christopher Newport (Va.) University meet in the other half of the bracket.