MANKATO, Minn. -- In the North Central Conference women's basketball statistics, UND dominates virtually all team statistics except one -- free-throw shooting.
But the Sioux showed they can win games at the line, too.
UND's free-throw shooting, which hadn't been a big factor this season because of its devastating transition game and 3-point accuracy, carried the Sioux to a 78-64 win over Minnesota State-Mankato on Friday night at Otto Arena.
The Sioux struggled with their field-goal shooting in the first half (35 percent), but they made 16 of 18 free throws to forge a safe 11-point halftime lead. UND's transition game and shooting improved in the second half as the Sioux pulled away from the Mavericks.
"Our (first-half) free throws kept us in the game,"UND's Katie Richards said."We got the calls and that kept us motivated to keep driving to the basket. In the second half, we got our transition game going and everything fell into place."
The Sioux rank sixth in NCC free-throw shooting, but this was the first time this season where UND needed to convert at the line to compensate for its field-goal shooting. For the game, UND made 20 of 27 (74 percent).
"We've been shooting free throws well lately,"said UND's Kami Winger, who scored 16 points off the bench."Both Jenny (Crouse) and myself have to work on our free throws because we know we'll go to the line."
Winger and Crouse, who scored a game-high 21 points, did draw their share of fouls in one of UND's most physical games of the season. Crouse was 5 of 6 from the line while Winger was 4 of 6."They were pretty rough inside,"Winger said.
A fast-break basket by Richards, an inside basket by Crouse and a 3-pointer by Richards, who scored 17 points, accounted for a 7-0 UND run early in the second half that gave the Sioux a 58-43 lead.
Only the play of Mankato's Brenda Stachowski kept the game from turning into a rout. Her inside play resulted in 29 points. No other Mankato player scored more than eight.
Outside of UND's poor first-half field-goal shooting, there wasn't much that bothered Sioux coach Gene Roebuck. The Sioux defense was solid throughout and its floor game, especially in the second half, stood out.
Otto Arena has not been one of UND's favorite places to play. UND's seniors -- Crouse, Winger and Casey Carroll -- lost here three years ago before winning the next three.
"The four times I've played here haven't been that easy,"Winger said."It's a relief to win because this is a tough play to play."
Roebuck, however, said the days of easy road wins in the NCC are becoming fewer.
"People have to realize there is no longer an easy game in the league,"Roebuck said."But I was pleased with the way we attacked for 40 minutes. Our players did a great job of keeping their composure for 40 minutes.
"Mankato came out and played hard for 40 minutes, too. That was good for us because it made us play hard for 40 minutes, too."
The 40-minute effort paid off as the Sioux received help in their drive for a second straight NCC title. Both North Dakota State and Northern Colorado, who entered the weekend two games behind UND, lost Friday night.
UND now has a three-game lead with five to play.
| UND (78) | |||
| Name | FG | FT | Points |
| Pudenz | 3-9 | 2-4 | 9 |
| Jones | 2-5 | 4-4 | 8 |
| Hoffner | 0-4 | 2-2 | 2 |
| Leno | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Winger | 6-12 | 4-6 | 16 |
| Super | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2 |
| Carroll | 1-3 | 1-3 | 3 |
| Richards | 7-16 | 2-2 | 17 |
| Crouse | 8-14 | 5-6 | 21 |
| Totals | 28-65 | 20-27 | 78 |
| MSU-Mankato (64) | |||
| Hintgen | 4-10 | 0-0 | 8 |
| Setter | 2-3 | 0-0 | 4 |
| E. Anderson | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Swanson | 1-5 | 3-4 | 5 |
| Sloane | 1-5 | 0-0 | 3 |
| Bartlett | 0-4 | 4-4 | 4 |
| Stachowski | 12-25 | 2-3 | 29 |
| R. Anderson | 3-6 | 2-2 | 8 |
| Groom | 1-6 | 1-2 | 3 |
| Peterson | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Totals | 24-66 | 12-15 | 64 |