DULUTH -- How does a team get to be No. 1 in the nation?
Shooting 71 percent from the field in the first half certainly helps. Having five players in double figures doesn't hurt.
But stepping up at crunch time to stop an opposition rally is crucial.
Mix those ingredients together and you have the UND Sioux, two-time NCAA Division II women's basketball champion.
UND ran its record to 6-0 Saturday by squashing Minnesota-Duluth's second-half rally in a 93-77 victory at Romano Gym.
Junior guard Jaime Pudenz scored 17 points and had eight assists as the balanced Sioux overcame a pair of outstanding efforts by Duluth senior center Stacy Nelson and junior forward Sue Fiero, who combined for 54 points.
Nelson had 29 points and 13 rebounds -- no easy feat against players like 6-foot-3 center Jenny Crouse (16 points, six rebounds, four blocked shots) and 6-2 Kami Winger (12 points, seven rebounds). But even with Fiero's 25 points and six assists, it wasn't enough to stop the Sioux.
"I think if we could have started out a little stronger so they didn't get ahead so far in the beginning, we could have been with them at the end," said Nelson, who was held to a season-low six points in their first meeting.
"But I think we battled back and played really hard. They are a very good team and we just wanted to play better than last time and give them a run for their money."
The Sioux beat the Bulldogs (3-5) by 28 points Tuesday and looked as though they'd easily match that margin Saturday when they ran out to a 48-31 lead late in the first half.
The first 15 minutes, we really needed to play well and we did," UND coach Gene Roebuck said. "I knew this game was going to be a lot tougher."
Duluth trimmed the gap to 52-39 at the half and Katie Richards made it 55-39 with a 3-point basket 20 seconds into the second half.
Nelson and Fiero then went to work in earnest. They combined for nine of Duluth's next 11 points to cut the Sioux lead to nine. Duluth managed to get within eight points twice, at 72-64 on Fiero's jumper, and 74-66 on Fiero's layup.
But layups by Crouse and Mandy Arndtson (14 points, five rebounds) and two free throws each by Crouse and guard Tonia Jones put the Sioux back up 82-67 with just over 3 minutes to go. The Sioux spent much of the final minutes at the free throw line, adding to their eventual winning margin.
Roebuck said he had worried about how his team would react to today's rematch.
"Duluth's got a very, very good team and I think the game on Tuesday was not a Duluth-style of basketball game," he said. "I give our team a lot of credit because we had to come back here after winning pretty big. Our players rose to the occasion. They had to play really hard to win the game."
While the Sioux had balanced scoring, only Fiero and Nelson scored in double figures for Duluth.
"North Dakota is better than us, Duluth coach Karen Stromme said. "But we battled them. We had some moments when we played the way we didn't want to play, and good teams are going to magnify your mistakes. They made us very aware of when we were falling asleep.'