Northern Colorado was matching North Dakota basket for basket, playing much like the team that upset the Sioux 67-66 during the opening weekend of the North Central Conference season in early January.
The only problem for the Bears was that the back-and-forth battle came in the second half of Saturday's North Central Region women's semifinal. In the opening half, Northern Colorado looked too much like the team the Sioux blew away 92-57 in the NCC regular-season finale on March 4.
The two halves added up to an 82-67 victory for UND, which will play North Dakota State in tonight's regional championship for a trip to the Elite 8 in Pine Bluff, Ark.
The Sioux defense suffocated Northern Colorado in the early part of Saturday's game, and North Dakota took a 41-26 lead into the locker room.
"Our defense was the difference in the first half," said Sioux guard Jaime Pudenz, who finished the game with 16 points. "They were taking a lot of tough shots, and that's because we were making them take a lot of tough shots."
Northern Colorado opened the second half with a 12-3 run that cut North Dakota's lead to 46-40.
The teams then matched each other point for point until the Sioux put together a 9-0 scoring streak with 10 minutes remaining in the game.
After that, however, the Sioux were able to match Northern Colorado on every possession and the teams finished with 41 points apiece in the final 20 minutes.
"Northern Colorado is a very dangerous team and they have very good shooters," said Sioux head coach Gene Roebuck. "In the first half we were able to stop them with our defense.
"But I knew they would play better in the second half. When we had to trade baskets with them, we did that and that's the sign of a good team."
Theresa LeCuyer led North Dakota with a game-high 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Katie Richards added 15 points for the Sioux (25-4).
Jill Fadenrecht scored 12 points to lead Northern Colorado (20-9). Fadenrecht was the only Bears player to reach double figures in points.
The Sioux and Bison have taken turns dominating Division II basketball in the 1990s, and tonight's matchup in the championship game will decide which team gets the first shot at carrying that success into the 2000s.
North Dakota State won five national championships in six years beginning in 1991, while North Dakota has won the last three Division II titles.
"This has been the game for the last 10 years," Roebuck said. "We've won it and they've won it and I think both teams are pretty equal. It's going to be a battle."
| UND (82) |
|
|
|
|
| Name |
FG |
FT |
Points |
| Pudenz | 5-12 | 2-2 | 16 |
| Jones | 1-3 | 0-1 | 2 |
| Haas | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Hoffner | 2-4 | 0-0 | 4 |
| Moen | 1-1 | 0-0 | 2 |
| Richards | 4-7 | 6-6 | 15 |
| Arndtson | 0-2 | 5-6 | 5 |
| LeCuyer | 9-17 | 4-9 | 24 |
| Boll | 5-11 | 2-4 | 12 |
| Palbicki | 0-1 | 1-4 | 1 |
| Pick | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1 |
| Totals | 27-60 | 21-34 | 82 |
| Northern Colorado (67) |
| Fadenrecht | 4-10 | 4-4 | 12 |
| Clark | 2-8 | 0-1 | 4 |
| Dittburner | 4-12 | 0-0 | 9 |
| Ketterer | 6-11 | 0-0 | 13 |
| Logan | 2-6 | 1-1 | 6 |
| Bentson | 1-2 | 2-4 | 4 |
| Ruff | 2-4 | 0-1 | 4 |
| Borell | 3-8 | 1-2 | 7 |
| Sauter | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Kohler | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2 |
| Sauter | 3-4 | 0-0 | 6 |
| Totals | 28-69 | 8-13 | 67 |
Halftime: UND 41, UNC 26.
3-point goals: UNC 3-13 (Dittburner 1-7, Ketterer 1-2, Logan 1-1, Clark 0-3). UND 7-17 (LeCuyer 2-4, Pudenz 4-6, Hass 0-1, Hoffner 0-2, Richards 1-3).
Fouled out: Ketterer, Borell.
Rebounds: UNC 37 (Fadenrecht 7). UND 51 (LeCuyer 11).
Assists: UNC 16 (Dittburner 5). UND 17 (Boll 4).
Total fouls: UNC 27, UND 19.
Attendence: 3,212
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