GRAND FORKS, N.D. - North Dakota State was walking north against an Alberta clipper on Sunday afternoon. Inside the Hyslop Sports Center.
The University of North Dakota blew through its own building with supreme North Central Conference women's basketball force. The Sioux looked every bit of their No. 1 NCAA Division II ranking with a 95-83 victory over the No. 3-ranked Bison.
It was the most points by the winning team in this series since UND won 96-75 in 1990. Not often does this game get into a scoring war, but the bullets kept coming on Sunday.
The Sioux had a four-pronged attack led by Jenny Crouse with 24 points. Katie Richards followed with 19, Jaime Pudenz 18 and Jenny Hoffner 14.
"We weren't stopping them either," said UND coach Gene Roebuck. "It was probably a great game to watch. It's pretty uncommon for this game to be offensive."
Both teams shot 51 percent in the first half, which was played at break-neck speed. The Bison finished with five players in double figures led by Jayne Even with 18 points.
"We did a lot of good things," said Bison guard Jaye Amundson. "Now we have to see what we need to work on. We're only going up from here."
Amundson went up, up and away with a career-high 16 points, 13 in the second half when she sparked a brief rally that kept the Sioux from running away.
The Sioux scored the first eight points, six by Crouse, to take a 62-47 lead with 18:40 left. The Bison countered with two baskets by Jayne Boeddeker before the Sioux ran off another eight in a row.
With 16:07 remaining, it was 70-51.
"We played well at times, but in the second half we came out flat and got in a hole," said Bison coach Amy Ruley.
NDSU threatened to crawl out. An 11-2 run got them it within 11. Later, Molly Reif's driving hoop cut it to 83-75 with 6:15 left. That's when UND's Jenny Hoffner put her signature on this series.
She had two baskets, one a 3-pointer, that surrounded Casey Carroll's 10-foot jumper and the Sioux regained control at 90-77 with 3:34 left.
"We seemed out of synch for the moment," Roebuck said. "She hasn't looked for her shot as much as I think she should. She's surrounded by good offensive players and I think she's been concentrating on defense and staying in the lineup. She has a great shot."
For the first five minutes of the game, these teams were on a 160-120 final-score pace. The Sioux hit their first seven shots, four of them 3-pointers. Throughout the half, the Bison consistently countered with Even, Jaime Berry and Boeddeker.
Even kept the Bison close in the first 10 minutes. Berry used her quickness effectively against the bigger Sioux. And Boeddeker came off the bench for eight first-half points.
But it was the Sioux trio of Pudenz, Richards and Crouse that was too much in a 54-47 Sioux halftime lead. They combined for 41 of UND's total, led by Crouse with 15. About the only time the Sioux looked vulnerable was when Richards went to the locker room for a few minutes after colliding with a teammate on a loose ball.
"It affected us a bit," Roebuck said.
That's when the Bison went on a brief roll.
"We had it in our minds to play together no matter what the situation," said Bison guard Kiauna Burns.
But Richards came back. And so did the Sioux.
NDSU (11-1, 2-1): Luecke 0-1 0-0 0, Reif 1-4 2-2 4, Amundson 7-9 2-2 16, Gehrke 1-6 0-0 3, Boeddeker 6-17 2-2 14, Stefonowicz 1-3 0-1 2, Ulstad 1-2 0-0 2, Berry 6-16 1-1 14, Even 8-15 0-2 18, Burns 5-10 0-2 10. Totals: 36-83 7-12 83.
UND: (12-0, 3-0): Pudenz 6-20 4-5 18, Jones 2-4 2-2 6, Hoffner 5-6 2-3 14, Winger 3-8 0-0 6, Super 0-1 2-2 2, Carroll 3-6 0-0 6, Richards 6-12 4-8 19, Crouse 10-15 4-5 24. Totals: 35-72 18-25 95.
Halftime-UND 54, NDSU 47. 3-Point goals-NDSU 4-10 (Even 2-4, Berry 1-2, Gehrke 1-2, Reif 0-1, Luecke 0-1), UND 7-16 (Richards 3-4, Pudenz 2-9, Hoffner 2-3). Fouled Out-Even, Burns. Rebounds-NDSU 44 (Boeddeker 8), UND 48 (Richards, Crouse 11). Assists-NDSU 17 (Stefonowicz 4), UND 25 (Pudenz 8). Total fouls-NDSU 22, UND 18.