Point guard Jaime Pudenz says UND may see more zone defenses from opponents this season, largely in part because of the strong Sioux inside game and their superior quickness.
But that's OK. The Sioux have enough outside shooters to bust that type of defense as well. UND certainly showed off its outside shooting against Jamestown College on Thursday night as the No. 4-ranked Sioux took a 93-58 women's basketball win at Hyslop Sports Center.
"Teams know we have a strong post game, and they'll probably challenge us to make (shots) from the outside," said Pudenz, who scored 18 points, making 4 of 7 3-pointers. "We know that's a challenge, but we always like a challenge."
The Sioux made 8 of 16 first-half 3-pointers against Jamestown's zone, and cruised to a 52-25 halftime lead. UND, facing a man-to-man defense in the second half, ended with an 11-for-27 showing from beyond the arc. Six players nailed one or more 3-pointers as they Sioux raised their record to 7-1.
UND, in its non-conference schedule, has seen a fair amount of zone defenses. Pudenz said that trend could continue once North Central Conference play begins next week. If it does, the Sioux should be ready.
"I don't know if we'll see (more zone defenses) or not," UND coach Gene Roebuck said. "But we have been working hard in the last week or so on our outside shooting. And it's starting to come around. If teams play a zone against us, it'll throw a little fuel on the fire."
Jaime Pudenz and Tiffany Pudenz, the Sioux off-guard, are expected to knock down the outside shots. They did against Jamestown, but their supporting cast also shot well from the perimeter, and that's what pleased Roebuck.
"Everyone shot well for us," Roebuck said. "Katie Richards (3 of 6), Elisha Kabanuk (3 of 3) knocked down the outside shots. Everyone expects Tiff and Jaime to get it going for us (from the outside), but the big thing for us is to have other people hit the outside shot."
UND's inside shots against Jamestown also were on the mark. Jenny Crouse, UND's 6-3 junior center, led the Sioux scoring with 19 points. Jaime Pudenz (18) and Tiffany Pudenz (13) were the only other double-figure scorers for the Sioux, but all 11 players scored as no UND player saw more than 24 minutes of playing time.
If Jaime Pudenz does see more zone defenses, will she first look for the shot or look to run the team? "I think my role is to lead the team," Jaime Pudenz said. "I'll try and find the open person, but if I have an open shot, I'll take it."
Jamestown, 4-2, was led by Megan Fiechtner's 14 points.
| Jamestown (58) | |||
| Name | FG | FT | Points |
| Kenner | 0-2 | 1-4 | 1 |
| Triplett | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2 |
| Calavera | 3-6 | 3-4 | 9 |
| Flechtner | 5-13 | 0-1 | 14 |
| Anderson | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Treleaven | 2-8 | 2-2 | 6 |
| Grindberg | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Bakker | 4-8 | 1-2 | 10 |
| Rohwedder | 2-4 | 2-5 | 6 |
| Lipp | 3-8 | 4-6 | 10 |
| Totals | 20-55 | 13-24 | 58 |
| UND (93) | |||
| J. Pudenz | 7-12 | 0-1 | 18 |
| Jones | 0-3 | 1-2 | 1 |
| T. Pudenz | 5-12 | 1-1 | 13 |
| Hoffner | 1-5 | 2-2 | 5 |
| Winger | 3-7 | 0-0 | 6 |
| Super | 3-7 | 0-0 | 8 |
| Kabanuk | 3-3 | 0-0 | 7 |
| Carroll | 3-5 | 1-1 | 7 |
| Richards | 3-6 | 0-0 | 7 |
| Arndtson | 0-6 | 2-4 | 2 |
| Crouse | 7-14 | 5-6 | 19 |
| Totals | 35-80 | 12-17 | 93 |