Herald Staff Writer
They turned to experienced seniors Jaime Pudenz and Katie Richards, the players who helped UND win the last three NCAA Division II national women's basketball championships.
As they have in the past, Pudenz and Richards delivered. The two carried UND to a 90-68 win over South Dakota State on Friday night at Hyslop Sports Center, a win that kept the Sioux one game behind league-leading North Dakota State in the North Central Conference race.
"As seniors, we need to show that we're confident enough to go out and do the job," Richards said. "We decided it's time to lead. And everyone followed."
Pudenz scored a season-high 29 points, igniting a devastating second-half transition game. Richards, meanwhile, added 18 points, carrying the scoring load early with her strong inside play.
Against SDSU, the Sioux entered the heart of their NCC schedule. Tonight, Augustana is at Hyslop Sports Center. And NDSU comes to Grand Forks next week, giving UND three straight games against teams that are in the top four of the NCC.
"You need seniors to step up in the big game," UND coach Gene Roebuck said. "That's what they did. And I'm going to throw (senior) Lynda Hass in there, too. She gave us some big relief off the bench."
The game was a contrast in styles. In the first half, the play was choppy. Twenty-three fouls slowed the pace. Thirteen fouls were called in the first five minutes, and the Sioux were in the double bonus seven minutes into the game.
UND's defense was solid, holding the Jackrabbits to 28 percent shooting. It was a matter of which team had the depth to survive the high number of fouls.
"In a game like this, there is a lot of intensity," Roebuck said. "Players will go after each other. It was physical on both ends. The calls were going both ways. We had people sitting out (in the first half), and they had people sitting out. You just had to adjust."
In the second half, it was vintage Sioux. Pudenz triggered a devastating transition game, highlighted by a Richards-to-Jenny Hoffner-to-Theresa LeCuyer fast-break basket. The ball never touched the floor.
Pudenz made 10-of-14 field-goal attempts, including a 5-for-7 showing on three-pointers. She also came up with eight rebounds and added four assists.
"The seniors have to step up and be leaders," Pudenz said. "We can't drop any more games in the (North Central) region and we still have a shot at the conference title.
"Katie and I really didn't talk about things before the game. We just tried to get everyone involved. We all knew it was a big game and we just attacked."
UND still didn't feel comfortable with its 38-25 halftime lead. SDSU's guards, Sherri Brende (25 points) and Gwen Greiner (10), displayed solid shooting throughout.
SDSU coach Nancy Neiber said her team never got into the flow against the Sioux.
"They took control," she said.
| UND (90) | |||
| Name | FG | FT | Points |
| Pudenz | 10-14 | 4-8 | 29 |
| Haas | 2-3 | 1-2 | 7 |
| Hoffner | 0-4 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Moen | 2-6 | 1-2 | 5 |
| Richards | 7-14 | 4-5 | 18 |
| Arndtson | 2-3 | 1-2 | 6 |
| LeCuyer | 6-9 | 3-6 | 15 |
| Boll | 1-5 | 0-0 | 2 |
| Palbicki | 2-10 | 2-6 | 6 |
| Pick | 0-1 | 2-2 | 2 |
| Totals | 32-69 | 18-33 | 90 |
| South Dakota St. (68) | |||
| Brende | 8-14 | 5-6 | 25 |
| Loken | 2-5 | 3-5 | 7 |
| Koupal | 2-5 | 2-2 | 6 |
| Sylvester | 3-7 | 0-0 | 6 |
| Greiner | 3-9 | 2-2 | 10 |
| Johnson | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2 |
| Olson | 0-4 | 0-0 | 0 |
| DeRyuck | 2-5 | 0-0 | 4 |
| Pater | 1-3 | 2-4 | 4 |
| Rippke | 2-11 | 0-1 | 4 |
| Nelson | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Totals | 24-67 | 14-20 | 68 |
Halftime: UND 38, SDSU 25.
3-point goals: SDSU 6-15 (Brende 4-8, Sylvertson 0-2, Griener 2-4, Olson 0-1), UND 8-20 (Richards 0-3, LeCuyer 0-1, Pudenz 5-7, Arndtson 1-1, Hass 2-3, Moen 0-1, Hoffner 0-4).
Total fouls: SDSU 28, UND 20.
Fouled out: Boll.
Rebounds: SDSU 45 (Loken 11), UND 47 (Arndtson 9).
Assists: SDSU 14 (Sylvester 8), UND 26 (Arndtson 7).
Turnovers: A 13, UND 21.
Attendance: 2,511.