Box Score
Recap from Herald's Web Page
Runners have been more exhausted after marathons. The intense pace the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux maintained Saturday afternoon earned them the ultimate reward in NCAA Division II women's basketball: the national championship.
Southern Indiana had the lightning speed. The Sioux had the thunderstorm with its 4,524 fans at Hyslop Sports Center. It all translated into a 94-78 victory in a dandy title game that was closer than the score indicated.
"It's a championship game and it's going to be intense," said Sioux guard Jamie Pudenz, the tournament's most valuable player. "The was a lot of transition. Go to rest on free throws I guess."
Pudenz has a few months to rest. Her older sister Tracey Pudenz won a high school state championship in Minnesota. "We were sitting around I told her, you can have the state championship, Tiffany and I will have the national championship."
The cozy confines of Hyslop turned electric. Suspended lights, the same as those reserved for a boxing venue, were added to brighten the place for ESPN2 cameras. The fans came to celebrate UND's first Division II championship in any sport. The Sioux hockey team has six Division I titles to their credit.
The Sioux kept the trophy in the state; North Dakota State won the previous four titles. UND did it despite 27 points by the Screaming Eagles' all-time leading scorer, senior forward LeAnn Freeland.
She came in with 2,242 points. Moreover, she's the school's all-time leader in rebounding and steals. Her accuracy was part of the Screaming Eagles' 49 percent shooting for the season, best in Division II.
But the Screaming Eagles' got here with depth; they constantly shuffled 11 players in and out. The Sioux also got help from their reserves - Kami Winger had 15 points and Katie Richards scored 10 off the bench.
"I can go right down the line," said Sioux couch Gene Roebuck.
USI had trouble stopping Winger and Richards inside in the first half and Jenny Crouse in the final five minutes. With three Sioux starters struggling offensively, Richards had eight first-half points, which ended with the Sioux leading 44-40.
The Eagles tied it early in the second half at 44 before the Sioux began to pull away. Nine straight gave them and 11 point an 11-point advantage at 58-47 with 14:51 left.
But like they did in the previous two tourney games, the Screaming Eagles' mounted a comeback. With the aid of keeping players fresh by frequent substitution, they got to within 74-72 with 6:20 remaining on a bucket by Eileen Weber.
Then Crouse went to work. The 6-foot-3 sophomore, who was saddled with foul trouble all game and for the most part ineffective, regained her effective form. She had four inside hoops over the next 2:35 and Sioux grabbed an 87-75 advantage.
"We went to a zone and it kind of caught them off guard," said Jaime Pudenz.
The Screaming Eagles' had a scoring drought for four minutes. Meanwhile, Jaime Pudenz nailed five free throws and the party started.
It's a party UND's Elisha Kabanuk experienced when she was a junior at Fargo South; the Bruins won the North Dakota Class A title. At UND, she has elevated her game - to the point of being a key member of Saturday's pinnacle game.
Kabanuk did not score, but her 10 rebounds, quickness and poise were key elements. She played more minutes against USI than she did in most games all season.
"This is so much a higher level," Kabanuk said. "Here, it's more like the whole community is ready to help you."
Named to the all tournament team were UND's Kelli Britz and Cal-Davis' Jennifer Cross, along with Crouse, Freeland, and Weber.
"How about two out of three?" said ISU coach Chancellor Dugan. Then she lobbied for a different tournament format.
"I think the NCAA championship needs to search," Dugan said. "It's just not fair. Eight teams get to this point. Eight come together at one site. That's why the men's Elite Eight is so great. A neutral site."
Tiffany Pudenz, shaking off a slump, led the Sioux with 23 points. Crouse finished with 20 points.
"I was a little frustrated and you shouldn't let foul trouble grow on you," Crouse said. "I just got the ball."
And the Sioux got the title.
| SOUTHERN INDIANA (78) | |||
| Name | FG | FT | Points |
| Nance | 1-5 | 0-0 | 2 |
| Seitz | 0-4 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Donner | 1-6 | 0-0 | 3 |
| Gatling | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Miller | 1-5 | 0-0 | 3 |
| Gingerich | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Freeland | 9-16 | 9-16 | 27 |
| Cacello | 2-3 | 0-0 | 5 |
| Lintker | 1-5 | 1-1 | 3 |
| Redenbaugh | 3-7 | 0-0 | 7 |
| Weber | 10-15 | 2-2 | 24 |
| Tepoll | 2-3 | 0-0 | 4 |
| Totals | 30-73 | 12-19 | 78 |
| UND (94) | |||
| J. Pudenz | 3-12 | 5-7 | 12 |
| T. Pudenz | 9-19 | 4-8 | 23 |
| Winger | 6-9 | 3-4 | 15 |
| Derck | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 |
| Britz | 5-14 | 0-0 | 14 |
| Kabanuk | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 |
| Richards | 4-5 | 2-2 | 10 |
| Crouse | 8-10 | 4-5 | 20 |
| Carroll | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Totals | 35-70 | 18-24 | 94 |