PINE BLUFF, Ark. - Katie Richards and Jenny Hoffner put the three in three-peat for the University of North Dakota Saturday afternoon.
The two Sioux forwards hit a pair of back-to-back 3s midway through the second half to help elevate North Dakota to its third consecutive Division II women's national championship at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.
UND's 3s helped the Sioux break away from Arkansas Tech and gave North Dakota some breathing room in its 80-63 win over the Golden Suns.
"The two 3-pointers gave us a big lift," Richards said. "It allowed us to take a big breath of relief and relax a little bit."
From the beginning, Arkansas Tech made it difficult for UND to relax. The Golden Suns exploded out of the gates for a six-point lead they maintained most of the first half. However, the Sioux made a run with about six minutes remaining and built up a 41-37 halftime lead.
"The four-point lead at halftime was big for us," UND head coach Gene Roebuck said. "We followed in the second half by playing the greatest defense I think our team can play. Our players stepped up to the challenge and defense won this game."
UND's defense clamped down in the second half and the Sioux began to extend their lead. But it wasn't until Hoffner hit her 3-pointer with 6:54 remaining that UND took control of the game.
"Give Hoffner some credit," Roebuck said. "She hit some big 3s for us when we really needed them."
In addition to Hoffner and Richards, UND got big performances from senior Jenny Crouse, junior Jamie Pudenz and sophomore Tonia Jones.
Crouse ended her career at UND with a game-high 24 points and 12 rebounds. She was voted the tournament's most outstanding player for the second year in a row.
Jones picked up 12 points and a career-high eight assists and Pudenz, despite nursing a sore ankle from Wednesday's game, netted 14 points.
"This one was a little more special than last year's because it's my last year," Crouse said. "This was a good way for me to end my career."
UND's two other seniors are Casey Carrol and Kami Winger. Winger had only five points, but she pulled down a game-high 17 rebounds. Carroll's four points came in the second half.
The three seniors leave UND with three championship rings and an overall record of 116-12.
UND may be losing Crouse, Winger and Carroll, but that hasn't stopped the Sioux from dreaming of yet another title next year.
"Our seniors have had just a fantastic run," Roebuck said. "They've only lost 12 games in their career. But we've got to look forward and get ready to defend our title. The pressure is on us and we like it that way."
UND will be going for its fourth consecutive title next year, which would tie North Dakota State as the only other school to achieve that feat. The Sioux are already tied with the Bison for being the only two Division II women's teams to ever win three consecutive national championships.
Elite Eight All-Tournament Team
Most Outstanding Player: Jenny Crouse, UND.
All-Tournament Team Members: Jurgita Kausaite, Emporia State. Khelli Mullen, Arkansas Tech University. Jamie Pudenz, UND. Katie Richards, UND.
UND
41 39 - 80
Arkansas Tech 37 26
- 63
| UND | FG | FT | Reb | ||||
| Min | M-A | M-A | O-T | PF | A | Pts | |
| Pudenz | 39 | 4-9 | 6-6 | 1-4 | 0 | 3 | 14 |
| Jones | 37 | 5-9 | 2-6 | 1-3 | 0 | 8 | 12 |
| Hoffner | 13 | 3-5 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
| Richards | 33 | 4-8 | 2-2 | 3-6 | 2 | 5 | 13 |
| Crouse | 33 | 11-18 | 2-5 | 5-12 | 3 | 1 | 24 |
| Winger | 27 | 1-4 | 3-4 | 4-17 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Carroll | 15 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Leno | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Super | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hoffman | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Reb. | 0-4 | ||||||
| Totals | 200 | 30-58 | 11-15 | 15-49 | 11 | 19 | 80 |
Percentages: FG .517, FT .652
3-Point FG: 5-11 .455 (Richards 3-4, Hoffner 2-4, Pudenz 0-3)
Turnovers: 17 (Richards 5, Winger 5, Jones 3)
Blocks: 4 (Crouse 4)
Steals: 4 (Pudenz, Richards, Crouse, Winger)
| Arkansas Tech | FG | FT | Reb | ||||
| Min | M-A | M-A | O-T | PF | A | Pts | |
| Lasater | 39 | 4-11 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| Huskey | 39 | 2-9 | 1-2 | 1-5 | 3 | 7 | 5 |
| Harris | 20 | 5-9 | 1-1 | 1-3 | 4 | 2 | 11 |
| Thomas | 29 | 7-10 | 2-2 | 0-3 | 4 | 1 | 16 |
| Mullen | 39 | 6-18 | 1-1 | 3-5 | 1 | 4 | 12 |
| Buss | 30 | 4-11 | 0-2 | 3-7 | 2 | 2 | 8 |
| Hodges | 2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| K. Compton | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C. Compton | 1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Reb. | 2-2 | ||||||
| Totals | 200 | 28-70 | 5-8 | 10-27 | 18 | 20 | 63 |
Percentages: FG .400, FT .625
3-Point FG: 2-11 .182 (Lasater 2-5, Huskey 0-3, Mullen 0-2, Buss 0-1)
Turnovers: 10 (Thomas 4, Mullen 2, Huskey 2)
Blocks: 0
Steals: 5 (Huskey, Harris, Thomas, Mullen, Buss)
Attendance - 3, 135