By Wayne Nelson
Herald Staff Writer
UND lived comfortably during its 88-72 North Central Conference women's basketball win over Minnesota State-Mankato on Friday night.
But the Sioux never made it to easy street against a team that traditionally has struggled to make ends meet in the NCC.
UND's working-class victory at Hyslop Sports Center didn't take the Sioux to their usual Park Avenue home, but it kept them in line for the second seed in next month's North Central Region postseason tournament.
"There were good spurts and there were bad spurts," UND's Jaime Pudenz said. "At times, we got out of sync. We just have to be more consistent."
UND's good spurts were too much for Mankato. The Mavericks were hanging around with 15 minutes to play, trailing 44-39. But a 10-2 run, highlighted by two Jenny Boll baskets and capped by a Pudenz' three-pointer, gave the Sioux a 54-41 lead with 13 minutes left.
"All-in-all, it was one of those games where nothing was real pretty," UND coach Gene Roebuck said. "But we stayed focused and stayed with it."
Early, UND was on a 100-point pace. Theresa LeCuyer, who led the Sioux with 21 points, scored on a steal to give UND a 22-11 lead with 12:05 left in the first half. Three minutes later, the Mavericks switched to a zone and the Sioux struggled with their outside shooting for a few minutes.
The Mavericks, led by Jenny Grooms' 18 points, closed to within five points before halftime (38-33) but could get no closer. The Sioux defense prevented it.
"When they made a run, our defense tightened up," said Pudenz, who finished with 14 points.
However, UND's offense tightened up a few times in the first half, allowing the Mavericks to stay within range. "We just have to get better offensively," Pudenz said. "When we make better passes, everyone gets in sync."
The Sioux offense was on in the second half, as they shot 59 percent from the field.
Katie Richards complemented LeCuyer's scoring with 20 points. The Sioux senior also grabbed seven rebounds in 33 minutes.
The Sioux regulars played longer than they usually do. They had to. "The (Mavericks) played hard for 40 minutes," Roebuck said. "We had to play hard all the way."
As a result, UND improved to 10-3 in the NCC and 19-4 overall. And its comfortable basketball life continued.
| UND (88) | |||
| Name | FG | FT | Points |
| Pudenz | 5-12 | 1-3 | 14 |
| Jones | 2-5 | 2-3 | 6 |
| Haas | 1-1 | 2-2 | 4 |
| Hoffner | 2-4 | 0-0 | 6 |
| Moen | 1-2 | 0-0 | 3 |
| Richards | 6-13 | 6-8 | 20 |
| Arndtson | 0-4 | 1-2 | 1 |
| LeCuyer | 7-11 | 7-8 | 21 |
| Boll | 4-5 | 0-0 | 8 |
| Palbicki | 2-3 | 1-2 | 5 |
| Totals | 30-60 | 20-28 | 88 |
| Minnesota State (72) | |||
| Neuberger | 4-7 | 0-0 | 9 |
| Stachowski | 5-13 | 2-2 | 12 |
| Curtis | 3-6 | 1-2 | 8 |
| Wolle | 3-7 | 2-2 | 10 |
| Applen | 0-0 | 2-2 | 2 |
| Charlton | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Swanson | 3-8 | 0-0 | 6 |
| Volk | 3-5 | 0-0 | 7 |
| Salonek | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Groom | 6-10 | 5-6 | 18 |
| Totals | 27-60 | 12-14 | 72 |
Halftime: UND 40, MSU 33.
3-point goals: MSU 6-16 (Wolle 2-4, Neuberger 1-3, Stachowski 0-1, Curtis 1-3, Swanson 0-2, Volk 1-1, Salonek 0-1, Grooms 1-1). UND 8-25 (Richards 2-6, Pudenz 3-9, Jones 0-2, Moen 1-1, Hoffner 2-4, Arndtson 0-3).
Fouled out: Stachowski, Boll.
Rebounds: MSU 30 (Wolle 8), UND 38 (Richards 7).
Assists: MSU 16 (Swanson 5), UND 25 (Pudenz 7).
Total fouls: MSU 20, UND 15.
A–2561.