Herald Staff Writer
PINE BLUFF, Ark. -- Throughout the season, UND coach Gene Roebuck said his team had a bulls-eye on its back. The pressure created by winning last year's national Division II title increased game-by-game.
The pressure peaked in the North Central Region tournament. The Sioux won the regional, but did not play its best basketball of the season in doing so.
That pressure continued here at the Elite Eight in UND wins over Bentley (Mass.) College and Northern Michigan. However, it was a more relaxed group of Sioux players who took the court against Emporia (Kan.) State in Saturday's Division II national title game.
"We approached the game differently," said senior Tiffany Pudenz, who closed out her Sioux career with two national championships, the second coming in UND's 92-76 win over Emporia." We needed to enjoy this last game. We weren't having too much fun (in the postseason).
"We were supposed to get second because we were ranked second in the nation all year. That's how we approached the game."
Her comment drew a few laughs at the post-game press conference. Yes, the pressure was off the Sioux as there was an ongoing debate here about which team would be favored in the title game, the defending national champs or the undefeated Hornets.
Throughout the season, UND coach Gene Roebuck said the Sioux play best when relaxed. They were relaxed and saved their best for the title game.
Crouse heads all-tourney team
There really wasn't much doubt as to who would be named the MVP of the Elite Eight. UND's Jenny Crouse dominated, scoring 50 points, grabbing 43 rebounds and blocking 22 shots.
Joining Crouse on the all-tournament team from UND were Jaime Pudenz and Mandy Arndtson. Twins Jurgita and Aneta Kausaite of Emporia also were named to the team, as was Francis Marion's Jennifer Brabson.
Jurgita Kausaite scored 138 points in the Elite Eight, a national tournament record.
The Sioux ended with five players averaging 10 or more points in the Elite Eight. Crouse and Jaime Pudenz both averaged 16.7 points. The other Sioux players in double figures were Arndtson (15.0), Tiffany Pudenz (13.3) and Katie Richards (12.7).
Arndtson's style impresses Emporia
Mandy Arndtson's 23 points and 10 rebounds in the title game did not come as a shock to Emporia coach Cindy Stein. The UND freshman has had big games before, and Stein knew Arndtson could score.
"Arndtson is a very physical player," Stein said." I don't think we thought she'd be as physical as she was. Their depth was better than ours. That was the key."
Spotlight casts shadow on Emporia
The title game was televised nationally by ESPN2. With television coverage comes TV timeouts. The length of the timeouts, however, were a little too long for Stein tastes.
"Our conditioning is a factor,"said Stein, referring to the Hornets' ability to wear out Emporia's previous 33 opponents."I don't think the timeouts were to our advantage. Those two-minute timeouts made us too complacent."
There were four scheduled TV timeouts per half.
However, UND showed that it's a well-conditioned team, too. The TV timeouts didn't matter that much as UND's quickness was the key in a 14-2 second-half Sioux run that decided the game.
Kausaite almost became a Bison
Friday, the day before the national title game, members of the North Dakota media were describing their state to Aneta Kausaite, a native of Lithuania.
Kausaite never visited the state, but she was scheduled to make a trip to Fargo as North Dakota State was interested in the 6-foot forward, who was completing her two years at Kansas City (Kan.) Community College.
However, the night before Kausaite was scheduled to fly to Fargo, she said, she received a call from a Bison coach saying her trip was off. She was told the Bison had received a commitment from another player, and her services in Fargo were no longer needed.
"I was (mad)," she said.
Her twin sister, Jurgita, also was scheduled for a visit to NDSU, but a blizzard canceled her scheduled flight to Fargo. She later decided to follow her sister to Emporia.
A well-deserved trip off for Sioux
UND is not scheduled to return to Grand Forks until Monday.
The team won't be in Pine Bluff, today, however. The Sioux are scheduled to travel to Memphis, a three-hour drive from here, to tour Graceland and other attractions.
And the band played
The estimated 250 fans from UND attending the tournament managed to put together a band to play the school song and other assorted tunes.
The boosters went to a local band museum to borrow instruments for the impromptu band. Members of the group were Duane Arness on the tuba, Brent Jiran on the trombone, Daniel Dutot on the trumpet, Sarah Helleckson and Wally Selmanson on the alto saxophone, Dyno Selmanson on the clarinet, Johnnie Martin, the sales manager of the Holiday Inn connected to the Convention Center, on the snare drums and the Herald's own Marilyn Hagerty on the bass drum.
Hagerty, asked about her musical experience, said:" I've never done this in my life."
Getting on TV
Sioux fans here wanted to get shown on television. They figured the best way would be to work the initials of ESPN2, the network doing the game nationally, into their signs. So here were their top entries:
Every Sioux Player Needs 2 (rings).
Elvis Supports Players North Dakota, 2
Emporia State fans also gave it their best shot:
Emporia State Positively No. 1; and
Emporia State Perfect Number How many fingers to raise?
The most confusion after the game was among the Sioux players, wondering how many fingers they should raise for the cameras.
Was it one, as in "We're No. 1." Or was it two, as in two national titles. Most photographs will show some flashing both counts.
The Sioux were unified during the net-cutting, however. As each player cut a snip of the net, the other 10 locked arms and swayed to the song,"We are the Champions."
Roebuck cut the last snip, then found his players on their hands and knees, bowing to their leader as he exited the ladder.
Then the Pudenz sisters stood back to back as they held a sign that proclaimed,"Back to Back National Championships."
Final notes
UND's two seniors, Tiffany Pudenz and Elisha Kabanuk, were 108-16 in their Sioux careers. . . . UND's 28-game win streak is the longest in school history. . . . As a team, UND made a school-record 260 3-point field goals on a record 711 attempts. The Sioux also set a record for most free throws made (577) and attempted (841) in a season. . . . Tiffany Pudenz finished her career with 1,622 points, ranking her second all-time. Crouse now has 1,684 points after three seasons. Sheri Kleinsasser holds the UND scoring record at 1,941 points. . . . UND rules over 280 other Division II women's basketball teams . . . The Sioux have won 36 of their last 37 games