March 10, 2001
GRAND FORKS, ND — North Dakota forward Theresa LeCuyer (Sr., Anoka, Minn.) scored a game-high 19 points and forward Becky Moen (So., Morris, Minn.) added 18 points off the bench to lead UND to a 76-63 win over St. Cloud State on Saturday in the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball North Central Region semifinals.
North Dakota (26-3), the region’s top seed, advanced to the NCAA’s North Central Region championship game, to be held at 6 p.m. Sunday in Grand Forks, N.D. St. Cloud State’s season ended with a 21-9 record.
It will be North Dakota’s sixth consecutive trip to the North Central Region finals. The Sioux lost in the 1996 region final, then won region titles and national championships in 1997, 1998 and 1999, and then lost in the 2000 region final.
In Sunday’s North Central Region championship game, UND will face No. 6 seed Minnesota-Duluth, which defeated No. 2 seed Nebraska-Kearney, 61-57, in the second game on Saturday.
UND held off a second-half rally by St. Cloud State, which lost for the third time in 22 days on the Sioux’s home floor.
North Dakota held a 39-31 halftime lead and increased the margin to 12 points (45-33) two minutes into the second half. St. Cloud State then outscored the Sioux 16-6 in the next six minutes to cut the UND lead to two points (51-49) with under 12 minutes to play.
Huskies’ center Christine Williamson (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.) scored seven points during the St. Cloud State rally. Williamson finished with a team-high 18 points for the Huskies.
Consecutive three-pointers by Moen and LeCuyer after the St. Cloud State run increased the UND lead back to eight points (57-49).
The Huskies kept it close, though, and still only trailed by four points (62-58) with less than six minutes left.
UND then went on a 10-0 run in a four-minute stretch to take a 14-point lead (72-58) with 1:30 remaining, ending St. Cloud State’s hopes of an upset.
LeCuyer’s 19 points gave her 1,001 career points in just two years at UND since transferring from the University of Minnesota after her sophomore year.
North Dakota senior Mandy Arndtson (Sr., Austin, Minn.) posted her sixth double-double of the year, scoring 16 points and grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds. UND center Jenny Boll (So., Crookston, Minn.) scored 12 points.
In addition to Williamson, two other St. Cloud State players scored in double figures. Tina Schreiner (Jr., Cold Spring, Minn.) scored 13 points and Nicole Persby (Jr., North St. Paul, Minn.) added 12 points.
UND outrebounded St. Cloud State, 48-35, and the Sioux also held the edge in field goal shooting percentage, making 41.4 percent (24-of-58) from the field to the Huskies’ 35.9 percent (23-of-64) success rate from the field.
Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS St. Cloud State Univ vs North Dakota 3/10/01 6 p.m. at Grand Forks, N.D. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: St. Cloud State Univ 21-9 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 11 Nicole Persby....... * 5-13 0-2 2-2 2 0 2 3 12 3 4 0 0 38 21 Andrea Shogren...... * 0-5 0-3 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 12 32 Jessica Abrahams.... * 3-10 1-4 1-3 2 1 3 2 8 4 3 0 2 37 42 Christine Williamson * 6-17 2-2 4-4 2 8 10 5 18 0 2 1 2 34 43 Tina Schreiner...... * 5-11 0-1 3-4 3 5 8 4 13 2 1 0 1 31 10 Emily Anderson...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 14 Celestine Frank..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 31 Sarah Thompson...... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 33 Tracy Melham........ 2-3 2-3 0-1 1 1 2 4 6 3 0 0 0 20 50 Jonelle Streed...... 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 3 0 1 0 0 3 52 Leah Thomsen........ 1-3 1-2 0-0 0 3 3 3 3 1 1 1 1 14 TEAM................ 1 4 5 Totals.............. 23-64 7-19 10-14 11 24 35 23 63 14 13 2 6 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-31 35.5% 2nd Half: 12-33 36.4% Game: 35.9% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-10 40.0% 2nd Half: 3-9 33.3% Game: 36.8% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 5-7 71.4% 2nd Half: 5-7 71.4% Game: 71.4% 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: North Dakota 26-3 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 03 Theresa LeCuyer..... * 5-15 2-6 7-10 3 6 9 2 19 3 1 1 0 37 10 Tonia Jones......... * 1-4 0-0 0-2 2 3 5 3 2 4 0 0 1 23 24 Jenny Hoffner....... * 1-8 1-6 1-2 1 3 4 1 4 2 2 0 0 28 43 Mandy Arndtson...... * 7-10 2-3 0-1 4 7 11 4 16 4 2 0 1 31 44 Jenny Boll.......... * 3-4 0-0 6-6 1 6 7 3 12 0 3 0 1 38 21 Marisa Leighton..... 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 4 22 Becky Moen.......... 5-13 2-6 6-6 1 6 7 2 18 0 4 0 3 29 55 Janel Palbicki...... 2-4 0-0 0-0 2 1 3 2 4 0 0 0 0 10 TEAM................ 2 2 Totals.............. 24-58 7-21 21-29 14 34 48 18 76 13 12 1 6 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-34 41.2% 2nd Half: 10-24 41.7% Game: 41.4% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-11 27.3% 2nd Half: 4-10 40.0% Game: 33.3% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 8-11 72.7% 2nd Half: 13-18 72.2% Game: 72.4% 4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Vicki Barron, Ben Franson, Brian Dunbar Technical fouls: St. Cloud State Univ-None. North Dakota-None. Attendance: 2045 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total St. Cloud State Univ.......... 31 32 - 63 North Dakota.................. 39 37 - 76 NCAA North Central Region semifinal game
Minnesota-Duluth guard Susan Anderson (Sr., Kenosha, Wis.) made a steal with six seconds remaining that prevented Nebraska-Kearney from putting up a potential game-tying or game-winning shot, and Minnesota-Duluth hung on to defeat the Antelopes, 61-57, on Saturday in a NCAA Women’s Basketball North Central Region semifinal game.
Minnesota-Duluth (21-10), the region’s No. 6 seed, will face No. 1 seed North Dakota at 6 p.m. on Sunday in the North Central Region championship game. Nebraska-Kearney, the No. 2 seed in the North Central Region, ended its season with a 27-3 record.
UMD forward Kate Madrinich (Jr., Hibbing, Minn.) led the Bulldogs with a game-high 18 points, and teammate Kim Toewe (So., Cohasset, Minn.) added 13 points.
Nebraska-Kearney was led by guard Allison Kruger (So., Paullina, Iowa), who had 17 points. Beth Swift (Jr., LeMars, Iowa) added 13 points for the Antelopes.
Minnesota-Duluth led the entire second half, and owned its biggest lead of the game (59-50) with 2:54 to play. The Antelopes, battled back, however, cutting the Bulldogs’ lead to 59-57 with 46 seconds left on a basket by Kruger and five points by Swift.
After a missed shot by Minnesota-Duluth with 15 seconds left, Nebraska-Kearney called timeout with 14.6 seconds to play to set up a shot that potentially could have either won or tied the game. The Antelopes got the ball past halfcourt and into the hands of Swift, who led the nation in three-point shooting percentage coming into this weekend’s play.
Before Swift could get a shot off, Anderson came from behind to steal the ball with six seconds left. Anderson then passed to teammate Laura Hanson (Sr., Hermantown, Minn.), who was fouled and converted two free throws with 2.6 seconds left to seal the win.
Statistically, the game was as close as the final score. Swift had a game-high eight rebounds, leading Nebraska-Kearney to a 32-27 rebounding edge.
Nebraska-Kearney shot 45.3 percent from the field (24-of-53), while Minnesota-Duluth shot 44.9 percent from the field (22-of-49).
It was also a relatively mistake-free game, with Nebraska-Kearney called for just 11 fouls and Minnesota-Duluth whistled for only eight fouls. Nebraska-Kearney turned the ball over 13 times, and Minnesota-Duluth committed just 10 turnovers.