SIOUX WIN THIRD-STRAIGHT NATIONAL TITLE
The University of North Dakota women’s basketball team won its
third-straight NCAA Division II national title with an 80-63 victory
over Arkansas Tech March 20 at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.

Championship Game: Jenny Crouse led the way for the Fighting Sioux with
24 points. Crouse, who was named the tournament’s most outstanding
player for the second-straight year, became the first player in the
program’s history to score 600 points in a season. She also had 12
rebounds and four blocked shots in the contest. Jaime Pudenz added 14
points and also was named to the all-tournament team as was Katie
Richards who added 13 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Kami Winger added 17 rebounds in the contest, which tied her career-high
set in the 1999 regional championship game. Winger set a NCAA Division
II postseason record with 74 rebounds in UND’s five playoff contests.
Tonia Jones tied her career-high with eight assists in the game.

UND, which led 41-37 at halftime, limited Arkansas Tech to 26
second-half points on 12-of-36 field goal shooting. The Fighting Sioux
closed the season with a 31-1 record for the second-consecutive year.
UND has now won 15 straight NCAA postseason contests.

Title Game Notes: UND became the second school to win at least three
consecutive national titles. Three other schools, Cal Poly Pomona in
1985 & 1986; Delta State in 1989 & 1990, North Dakota State in 1993,
1994, 1995 & 1996, have won at least back-to-back championships.

Semifinals: UND closed the game with a 16-10 run to down Emporia State
87-81. Richards gave the Fighting Sioux a 73-71 lead which North Dakota
never relinquished. Richards scored 10 straight points in a span of 1:35
to power the Fighting Sioux in the second half. Richards had a game-high
26 points. Also reaching double figures were: Crouse (22 points, 14
rebounds), Pudenz (16 points) and Winger (10 points and 14 rebounds).

Elite Eight: North Dakota had five players reach double figures in
scoring to lift the Fighting Sioux to an 96-69 win over Kennesaw State
in the first round of the 1999 NCAA Division II Elite Eight. The 96
points were the most UND has scored in NCAA postseason play. Pudenz led
the way with 22 points while Richards netted 16. Also reaching double
figures were: Winger (14 points and 10 rebounds), Crouse (13 points and
11 rebounds) and Krissi Super (10 points).

Records Falling: Pudenz set the single-season assist record with 205 ...
Crouse topped her own rebound record with 324 this season while Winger
snared 310 rebounds, which also betters the previous mark ... Crouse
blocked 152 shots, topping her mark of 145 last season ... The 152
blocked shots were the most this season in NCAA Division II and the
third-best season in NCAA history ... Her 494 career blocked shots are
the second-most in NCAA play while her 2,284 points are the 10th-most in
NCAA Division II ... As a team, UND’s 31 wins tie a school record ...
Other records were: field goals made (1,039), field goals attempted
(2,189) and rebounds (1,566) ... The 15-for-15 free throw showing
against South Dakota on Feb. 6 also set a school mark.

Regional Recap: UND downed Augustana 84-62 and North Dakota State 83-60
to win the North Central Regional. Richards, the tournament’s most
valuable player, scored 47 points in the two games. Winger, also named
to the all-tournament team, snared 33 rebounds in the two games,
including a career-high 17 rebounds in the final.

All-Tournament Team
•Katie Richards, North Dakota, MVP
•Kami Winger, North Dakota
•Jaime Pudenz, North Dakota
•Tonia Jones, North Dakota
•Jayne Even, North Dakota State
•Stacy Nelson, Minnesota-Duluth

Player of Week: North Dakota had a player named North Central Conference
Player of the Week six times this season. Richards was named Dec. 14 and
Feb. 8. Crouse was chosen Jan. 4, 18 & 25, while Pudenz was selected
Dec. 21.

Crouse & NCC: In the NCC career charts, Crouse finished:
•1st, Blocked shots, 285
•1st, FG percentage, 64%
•1st, Field goals made, 538
•1st, Rebounds, 663
•1st, Scoring, 1,342

NCC Notes: Crouse finished as the NCC leader in scoring (20.7 ppg),
rebounds (10.4 rpg) and blocked shots (4.94 bpg) ... Pudenz topped the
league in assists (6.56 apg) ... Richards led in three-point field goal
percentage (47.2 percent) ... The Fighting Sioux also led in eight team
categories ...

Hanging A Hundred: The 124 points scored in the win over Morningside
were the second-highest total in school history. UND’s 109-point output
against Minnesota-Morris this season was the fifth-highest all-time. The
Fighting Sioux reached the mark seven times this season, second only to
last season’s record eight appearances. UND has reached the 100-point
mark 39 times in school history, including at least once the past eight
seasons. Here are the top five all-time scores:
•UND 131, Mayville State 41, 11-25-97
•UND 124, Morningside 86, 2-5-99
•UND 110, Wayne State (NE) 36, 12-29-89
•UND 110, St. Cloud State 55, 1-2-94
•UND 109, Minn.-Morris 54, 12-12-98
•UND 109, South Dakota 49, 1-31-98

Notes: Richards’ 77 three-point field goals are the second-most in a
season ... Her 559 points rank fourth-best ... Crouse is the only player
at UND to score 500-or-more points in four seasons ... Crouse had 47
games scoring 20-or-more points with two performances of 30+ ... She
recorded 52 double-doubles (10+ games in scoring and rebounds),
including 16 this season, and one triple-double ... UND had four players
(Crouse, Winger, Pudenz and Richards) top the 1,000-point mark in their
careers, the latter three this year.... UND’s senior class has won 116
of its 128 games, 93 of its last 100 and 49 of the last 50 ... UND’s
senior class has won 100-or-more games the past three seasons ... North
Dakota has won 35 straight home games ...

Crouse finished first at UND in the following categories:
•field goals made, 924
•field goals attempted, 1,474
•field goal percentage, 62.7%
•free throws made, 435
•free throws attempted, 588
•points, 2,284
•rebounds, 1,145
•blocked shots, 494

Polls: The Fighting Sioux were ranked first in this season’s 11th
WBCA/USA Today poll.

UND Head Coach Gene Roebuck: One of the most successful coaches in
basketball with a record of 308-52 (.856), he ranks third among active
NCAA Division II coaches in winning percentage. Roebuck, who completed
his 12th season, is assisted by Darcy Deutsch, Sheri Kleinsasser and
Tiffany Pudenz. UND has won six conference titles and five regional
championships during his reign.

200 and Counting: The Fighting Sioux have made a three-point field goal
in 247 consecutive contests. The last time UND did not make a
three-point field goal was in a 61-59 win at North Dakota State on Feb.
23, 1991.

Records: Crouse’s 26 rebounds against Augustana on Jan. 23 set school
and conference records and are the most this season in the NCAA ...
UND’s 68-point, second-half outburst against Minnesota-Morris on Dec. 12
set a school record for points in a half ... The 46-game winning streak
set earlier this season is also a school record as well as the
second-longest such streak in NCAA Division II ...