The NCAA News - News and FeaturesJune 30, 1997
The STATE of basketball
Hoop dreams truly are fulfilled in North Dakota, home to the winner of the last five Division II Women's Basketball Championships
Finding the Fighting Sioux and the Bison battling it out is not unusual in North Dakota, but in Division II women's basketball the rivalry produced a new champion this year for the first time in five years.
 The Fighting Sioux of the University of North Dakota finally wrested the championship away from North Dakota State University to win their first women's basketball championship. They ended a four-year reign by the Bison.
Along the road -- literally a 70-mile stretch of pavement between the two schools -- North Dakota State beat North Dakota twice during the regular season but lost to the Fighting Sioux in the North Central region title game to end its 45-game winning streak.
North Dakota won the regional final on its state rival's home court to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time, and then won the championship on its home court in Grand Forks.
The giant killers beat back the University of Southern Indiana in the championship game, snapping the Screaming Eagles' 29-game winning streak.
The championship ended a decade of frustration for North Dakota, which -- despite being a dominant team -- never qualified for the national tournament. In 1990 and 1992, North Dakota lost in the quarterfinals, but this was the first year the Sioux reached the Elite Eight.
After 10 years as head coach, Gene Roebuck finally saw his team claim the trophy. Roebuck has compiled a 246-50 record but has suffered from being down the road from a powerful adversary and archrival.
After the win, Allison Derck, one of two Sioux seniors, said, "We just wanted it. We were on a mission."
North Dakota won two championships in 1996-97. The Division I men's ice hockey team won its sixth overall championship in that sport.
Other highlights from women's championships include:
The University of Arizona held on to the Division I Women's Softball Championship in a big way -- the championship game against the University of California, Los Angeles, was called after five innings because the Wildcats had an eight-run lead. It was the second consecutive title for Arizona and the fifth overall. Arizona and UCLA have met in five of the last seven title games. One or the other of the teams has won the championship every year since 1987.
In Divisions II and III, the titles were won by newcomers to the softball championships ranks. California University of Pennsylvania won in Division II and Simpson College took the honors in Division III.
In Division II women's volleyball, the University of Nebraska, Omaha, was triumphant in a title match involving two teams that had never before reached the final. The
University of Tampa lost to a fired-up Nebraska-Omaha team. Senior setter Amy Steffel passed out rings to her teammates in the preseason signifying the team's goal to win. The Lady Mavericks took the rings off only to take the court.
It took two overtimes for the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, to beat the University of Notre Dame in Division I soccer. The title game was a rematch of the 1995 semifinal game and a repeat of the 1994 title game. Notre Dame defeated the Tar Heels in a regular-season game in 1996 before losing to them in the championship. It was North Carolina's 13th championship.
The University of California, San Diego, made its third straight appearance in the Division III soccer title game and took home its second straight championship and third overall. Division II also sported a repeat champion when Franklin Pierce College kept its streak alive by winning its third straight championship. Franklin Pierce defeated Lynn University in the championship game, avenging the team's only loss this season.
In Division II field hockey, it was business as usual with Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania meeting Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania for the seventh time in the eight-year history of the event. Bloomsburg won the event this year, avenging a one-point loss in the 1995 championship game. Bloomsburg now has won the championship three times.
Middlebury College won its first title in Division III lacrosse when it defeated the College of New Jersey, which entered the title game after six undefeated regular seasons. Middlebury lost to the College of New Jersey in last year's championship game.
In its first year of Division II competition, Lynn won both the individual and team titles in the Divisions II and III golf championships. In Division I, Arizona reclaimed its title after losing it in 1996. The Wildcats have won four of the last five championships.
The University of Washington claimed the first National Collegiate Women's Rowing Championships. A perennial power in rowing, the Huskies entered the inaugural NCAA championships as the favorite and held on to win their first NCAA championship. Washington won several regional and national titles in rowing before the NCAA championship was established.
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