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KEARNEY, Neb. -- Florida Gulf Coast University did not score the big wooden Division II NCAA Tournament championship plaque, but no doubt this was a banner year for the Eagles.

Hang on, and let's try and grasp this.

In only its fifth year of existence and third of NCAA Division II eligibility, FGCU faced seventh-ranked Southern Connecticut State in Saturday night's title game. The Eagles came up short, 61-45, at the University of Nebraska-Kearney but this will be a season long remembered.

FGCU (34-1) entered this tournament undefeated and top-ranked. The Eagles came within a game of becoming the first team to finish perfectly since North Dakota State won all 32 of its games in 1995.

The timing was perfect. FGCU's programs make the leap from D-II independent to Division I's Atlantic Sun Conference next year. The Eagles will not be eligible for the NCAA Tournament until 2011.

The Eagles used their ferocious man-to-man defense coupled with springy traps, quickness, ball-handling skills, deft shooting, precise screens and cuts and d-e-e-p bench to maul almost every foe they faced.

"Oh, I'm trying to not to confuse the disappointment today with our feelings for this team," said FGCU coach Karl Smesko after the title game loss. "Love this team. Great group of girls to work with. Great team attitude. I think they got a lot of people excited about 'em back home. We appreciate all the fan support we received back in Fort Myers and Southwest Florida in general."

Smesko, only 36, almost netted his second national title Saturday night. In 1998, he led Walsh University -- the last squad invited into the 32-team tourney field -- to a stunning NAIA Division II national championship. It was his first season of head coaching.

"Coach has done a great job all year of coaching us, especially me because I'm new and I'm a freshman and he taught us so many new things and so many great new concepts," said guard Steffi Sorensen. "Hat's off to him for what a great year he had."

En route, to the Final Four, FGCU shot down perennial powerhouse North Dakota, 83-64, while shooting a preposterous 56.4 percent, much of it from long-range (the Eagles canned 8 of 19 3-point attempts). So stunning was the rout of the 1997, 1998 and 1999 national champion Fighting Sioux that wide-eyed North Dakota players gasped and hung their heads in the first half and Fighting Sioux fans marveled over the Eagles afterward while swilling beer in the Kearney Ramada Inn.

FGCU then jumped to a 22-2 lead against No. 16 Clayton State, an athletic and pressing bunch from Georgia. The Eagles were way out of their element against a pressing team and had just one hour to try and assimilate it on the floor of the Health and Sports Center. The Lakers made a run, actually claiming two late-second half leads, but FGCU used poise and smarts to regain the lead and pull off the 61-57 win.

Prior to that, FGCU hosted its first-ever NCAA regional in Alico Arena. The crowd topped 4,000 for the South Region final against traditional power Delta State, a fifth-ranked tough unit from Mississippi that easily dispatched of the Eagles in last year's South Region semifinals. On March 12, FGCU outscored Delta State by 10 in the second half and shot 42.6 percent from the field (7 of 17 trey attempts) while holding its foe to a meager 31.7 percent.

In the two previous regional games, FGCU knocked off rugged and pesky Valdosta State, 50-41, and plowed through Benedict College, 78-49.

The Eagles were so dominant this season that only four victims finished within single digits: Valdosta State twice (three and nine points), Barry University (eight points) and Clayton State (four points). Their margin of victory was almost 40 points in the regular season and they were among the nation's leaders in field goal defense and forced turnovers.

Fans caught on. FGCU averaged 1,043 for its 23 home games. In comparison, only 178 fans watched FGCU road games.

Pollsters did, too. FGCU made history midseason by being ranked No. 1 for the first time ever in the USA Today/ESPN/Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll. The Eagles remained there through the final poll, released on Feb. 20.

Senior forward Kate Schrader, who led the Eagles in scoring and rebounding these past two seasons, became FGCU's first first-team All-American after averaging 17.5 points and 5.6 rebounds. The 5-11 product of Fort Collins, Colo., and transfer from Yavapai College as a junior, also was named the South Region Player of the Year and, after the regional title, the South Region MVP.

"It was a good year," Schrader said Saturday night. "It's hard to think about it right now, but I had a great year."

On the podium in the interview room of the Health and Sports Center, Sorensen looked to her left, where Schrader and senior guard Alex Nelson sat quietly, their eyes beet-red. Seeing them -- and senior sub Jen Conely -- go down that way was the hardest part, she said.

"I think as far as going undefeated the whole season and playing as hard as we played to win every single game and to come out here ... sure, (the loss) leaves a bitter taste in everyone's mouth," Sorensen said. "But we have to look back and think of what a great year we have had."

For Smesko, who looked devastated but kept his chin up, reality was sinking in. He had told his players in the locker room how proud he was of them. That they needed to keep their heads up. That is had been an incredible run. And he told them something else.

"I told 'em I'm just sorry we won't be practicing on Monday," Smesko said. "They've been such a fun group to work with. It's been a great year. There's 290 or so other teams who would've liked to have the opportunity we had (Saturday). We've got to appreciate all the great times and all the successes we had. It's just hard to do right now."