For one night, glory returned to North Dakota State. The Bison played their best game in over three years Sunday night to advance to the Elite 8 in the NCAA Division II women’s basketball tournament .
The 92-72 win over the University of North Dakota in the North Central Regional title game before 4,041 loud fans at the Bison Sports Arena sent NDSU to the national tournament for the first time since 1996.
It also ended a three-year Sioux regional reign. UND was also the three-time defending national champion. Before that, the Bison won four straight national titles. The Bison win left the teams 3-3 in the regional title game.
It left NDSU seniors Jayne Even and Kiauna Burns in a state of euphoria afterward. Even would’ve been the first Bison four-year player since the early 1980s never to make a national tourney.
Burns made sure of it. She dominated the backcourt like no Bison player has since Jody Buck ran the show 10 years ago.
It’s doubtful there was a more action-packed first half in the series than the 44-34 NDSU halftime lead. After a slow start by the Sioux, no shot looked unmakeable by either team.
They traded baskets like boxers trade blows. Katie Richards’ 3-pointer, for instance, pulled the Sioux within 33-24. A loud roar was heard from the UND fans.
Fifteen seconds later, Jaime Berry countered with a 3-pointer, one of her three in the first half. A load roar was heard from the NDSU fans. Back and forth; it was championship basketball at its best.
The Bison staked their 10-point lead via a Sioux scoreless streak that went from 12:57 to 7:42, which was enough room for the Bison to take a 22-10 advantage. That despite nine rebounds by UND’s Theresa LeCuyer in the first eight minutes of the game.
If halftime is supposed to cool teams off, NDSU didn’t oblige. The Bison continued their offensive pressure getting two 3-pointers from Amanda Gehrke and one from Even to take a 14-point lead in the first eight minutes of the second half.
The Bison didn’t wilt. Burns’ made a driving layup at the 11-minute mark for a 66-51 advantage. Richards was the only Sioux to keep it from a major blowout with four field goals in a span of 3:15.
Later, a three-point play by Jaime Berry and a Burns free throw made it 70-53 with 10 minutes remaining. The Sioux crawled within 14, then Burns converted a three-point play on a driving finger roll for a 73-58 advantage at 8:58.
The Sioux spent the next four minutes in a 12- to 14-point deficit, hardly the run of points they were looking for – especially with time not on their side.
The Bison were too tough on this night. It was the glory of old.
| UND (72) | |||
| Name | FG | FT | Points |
| Pudenz | 5-14 | 2-2 | 13 |
| Jones | 3-7 | 0-1 | 6 |
| Haas | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Hoffner | 0-4 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Moen | 2-3 | 0-0 | 4 |
| Richards | 9-15 | 0-0 | 21 |
| Arndtson | 1-6 | 6-7 | 8 |
| LeCuyer | 3-9 | 1-1 | 7 |
| Boll | 5-8 | 2-3 | 12 |
| Palbicki | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1 |
| Pick | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Totals | 28-66 | 12-16 | 72 |
| NDSU (92) | |||
| Gehrke | 3-3 | 1-2 | 10 |
| Even | 8-19 | 10-13 | 27 |
| Boeddeker | 6-10 | 0-0 | 12 |
| Burns | 7-14 | 4-7 | 18 |
| Amundson | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0 |
| Reif | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Ditty | 2-3 | 0-0 | 5 |
| Perrizo | 0-2 | 2-2 | 2 |
| Berry | 7-9 | 1-1 | 18 |
| Totals | 33-62 | 18-26 | 92 |
Halftime: NDSU 44, UND 34.
Total fouls: UND 23, NDSU 17.
Fouled out: Boll, Richards, Pudenz, Berry.
Total rebounds: UND 42 (LeCuyer 12); NDSU 33 (Even 9).
3-point goals: UND 4-16 (Pudenz 1-7, Hoffner 0-3, Richards 3-6); NDSU 8-16 (Burns 0-1, Ditty 1-2, Gehrke 3-3, Boeddker 0-1, Perrizo 0-1, Berry 3-3, Even 1-5).
Assists: UND 10 (Pudenz 2, Richards 2); NDSU 15 (Burns 6).
Turnovers: UND 16 (Pudenz 4); NDSU 8 (Even 2).
A–4,041.