Herald Staff Writer
UND was on cruise control early before running into a speed bump. Before long, UND found itself bogged down in some heavy road construction.
The Sioux, however, still had enough maneuverability to take care of Augustana College 78-69 on Saturday night before 3,216 fans at the Hyslop Sports Center.
More importantly, the Sioux safely arrived at their weekend destination -- a sweep of their two North Central Conference women's basketball games. The win improved UND to 7-2 in the league and 16-3 overall.
The Sioux needed the win to stay one game behind league-leading North Dakota State. But UND needed to keep an eye on its rear-view mirror because the Vikings wouldn't go away.
"We knew they were a good team,"said Sioux guard Jaime Pudenz, who played 40 minutes."They ran the shot clock down just about every time so we knew we had to play good defense."
UND's transition game broke the speed limit a few times early and that helped the Sioux grab a 32-18 lead with 8:14 left in the first half. Theresa LeCuyer, who led the Sioux with 27 points, scored the final five points in a 15-5 run that helped UND establish control.
The Vikings stayed in contention with their patient half-court game, which featured strong shooting from Brittani Janssen (28 points). Augustana cut UND's lead to six points late in the first half. In the second half, the Sioux were bogged down largely in a basket-for-basket game.
"We just couldn't put them away,"LeCuyer said.
The Sioux led from six to 10 points most of the second half until a Mandy Arndston offensive rebound and basket left UND with a 71-59 lead with 3:35 left. The Sioux then displayed poise down the stretch, something they've lacked in their two NCC losses.
"We kept our composure,"UND coach Gene Roebuck said."We played good defense. They hit some tough shots. Janssen hit some unbelievable shots. She hit some turn-around shots that were really hard to make."
Four UND players were in double figures, led by LeCuyer. Katie Richards added 14 while Arndtson and Jenny Hoffner followed with 13 and 10, respectively.
UND also received a strong contribution from senior Lynda Hass, who started in place of freshman Jenny Boll. Boll, who played, is bothered by a broken little finger.
Hass scored eight points and hit two timely three-pointers. "I have the utmost respect for Lynda," Roebuck said of his senior transfer from Minnesota."She hung around for the love of the game. She didn't see the floor last year (due to knee surgery) and she basically didn't see the floor until our first game this year.
"She's starting to make a contribution."
Augustana dropped to 5-4 and 15-5 overall after its back-to-back road losses to the Sioux and NDSU on Friday night. But Augie coach Dave Krauth did find some consolation.
"Both nights, we rebounded well,"Krauth said."And that's something we haven't always done on this trip.
"We had opportunities to make a serious run but we didn't get the shots down."
UND 78, Augustana 69
Key play: Five straight points by Theresa LeCuyer for 32-18 UND lead.
Key player: Theresa LeCuyer, 27 points, 11 rebounds.
Key stat: UND makes 19 of 22 free throws.
| UND (78) | |||
| Name | FG | FT | Points |
| Pudenz | 1-5 | 2-2 | 4 |
| Haas | 3-7 | 0-0 | 8 |
| Hoffner | 4-4 | 0-0 | 10 |
| Moen | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Richards | 4-12 | 5-6 | 14 |
| Arndtson | 4-4 | 4-4 | 13 |
| LeCuyer | 9-15 | 8-10 | 27 |
| Boll | 0-4 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Palbicki | 1-3 | 0-0 | 2 |
| Totals | 26-55 | 19-22 | 78 |
| Augustana (69) | |||
| Stratton | 4-12 | 5-6 | 14 |
| Meyer | 5-14 | 0-0 | 13 |
| Janssen | 11-16 | 6-6 | 28 |
| Oltmanns | 3-11 | 0-2 | 6 |
| Tendler | 1-6 | 1-2 | 3 |
| Klumper | 0-1 | 1-2 | 1 |
| Reidburn | 0-4 | 2-2 | 2 |
| Sheppard | 1-3 | 0-0 | 2 |
| Totals | 25-67 | 15-20 | 69 |
Halftime: UND 41, A 35.
3-point goals: A 4-14 (Stratton 1-4, Meyer 3-7, Oltmanns 0-1, Tendler 0-1, Reidburn 0-1), UND 7-15 (Hass 2-5, Richards 1-3, LeCuyer 1-2, Pudenz 0-2, Arndtson 1-1, Hoffner 2-2).
Rebounds: A 32 (Janssen 8), UND 44 (LeCuyer 11).
Assists: A 16 (Oltmanns 6), UND 19 (Pudenz 6).
Total fouls: A 17, UND 19.
Turnovers: A 13, UND 21.