In their previous game against UND, the South Dakota Coyotes dared the Sioux to beat them from the perimeter.
However, Katie Richards -- UND's primary 3-point threat -- wasn't feeling well. She was suffering from the aftereffects of a face-to-face collision with teammate Kami Winger.
"My neck was still pretty sore," Richards said. The Sioux, however, hung on for a harder-than-expected six-point victory in Vermillion, S.D.
The Coyotes again challenged the Sioux to beat them with the outside shot Saturday night at Hyslop Sports Center.
As before, the Coyotes focused their defensive attention on 6-foot-3 All-American Jenny Crouse, giving the Sioux good looks from the perimeter.
And Richards, UND's emotional leader, isn't one to back down from a challenge.
Richards buried six 3-pointers and scored 28 points in leading the No. 1-ranked Sioux to an easy 90-56 North Central Conference women's basketball victory over the Coyotes. UND improved to 11-1 in the NCC and 20-1 overall.
"It was about respect," Richard said. "We wanted to show them how well we could play. We wanted to show them we could score from the outside, too."
There was no question about UND's shooting or overall game in the first half. The Sioux were devastating, sinking 10 of 19 3-pointers as their transition game was in high gear. During one stretch, Richards and Jaime Pudenz combined to hit six straight 3-pointers for a 43-23 lead.
"They were double- and triple-teaming Jenny (Crouse) and we were open on the perimeter," said Pudenz, who finished with 17 points. "We were just going to take what they gave us."
Richards scored 24 of her points in the first half as the Sioux led 54-23 at the break. "She was on fire," UND coach Gene Roebuck said. "But she worked very hard for her shots."
As well as UND played offensively, the Sioux defense also deserved praise. "We had to play smart defensively," Roebuck said. "They like to play possession basketball. You have to play well defensively to get into transition."
Despite the attention focused on UND's inside game, the Sioux weren't shut out in the paint. Crouse managed 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Kami Winger added 12 points.
South Dakota, which pushed North Dakota State to the limit Friday night, was led by Kelly Gese's 23 points, 19 coming in the second half.
The thought of UND's harrowing 54-48 victory in Vermillion last month hadn't completely left the Sioux. They felt they had something to prove to a team at the bottom of the league.
"Mentally, we weren't playing that well," Richards said, referring to the Jan. 8 game at South Dakota. "Coach has been stressing intensity since that game."
The Sioux had no trouble with intensity or with South Dakota in the rematch.
| UND (90) | |||
| Name | FG | FT | Points |
| J. Pudenz | 5-11 | 2-2 | 17 |
| Jones | 1-8 | 0-0 | 2 |
| Leno | 0-4 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Hoffner | 2-7 | 2-2 | 8 |
| Winger | 4-5 | 4-4 | 12 |
| Super | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Carroll | 3-5 | 0-0 | 6 |
| Richards | 11-21 | 0-0 | 28 |
| Crouse | 5-14 | 5-5 | 15 |
| Hoffman | 0-0 | 2-2 | 2 |
| Totals | 31-77 | 15-15 | 90 |
| South Dakota (56) | |||
| Prickett | 2-3 | 6-6 | 11 |
| Koronkirwicz | 3-7 | 0-0 | 6 |
| Heismeyer | 0-4 | 1-2 | 1 |
| Gese | 8-21 | 6-8 | 23 |
| Merrill | 1-3 | 0-0 | 2 |
| Gorman | 1-5 | 0-0 | 2 |
| Koehler | 2-5 | 0-0 | 5 |
| Gerwing | 0-0 | 2-2 | 2 |
| Daniels | 2-3 | 0-0 | 4 |
| Totals | 19-51 | 15-18 | 56 |