The NCAA News - News and Features

March 2, 1998

Division II Women's Basketball

North Dakota squads strong again

Event: 1998 Division II Women's Basketball Championship.

Overview: The championship trophy has resided in North Dakota for six of the last seven years and could return there yet again. Defending champion North Dakota is ranked second nationally with a 23-1 record and remains undefeated in conference play. The Fighting Sioux lead all Division II teams in scoring offense with 92.1 points per game. The charge is led by junior center Jenny Crouse. Crouse leads the nation in field-goal percentage at 69 percent and is second in blocked shots with 99. The Fighting Sioux return Jaime Pudenz, who was the outstanding player in last year's championship. North Dakota is winning games by an average of 32.2 points per game .... North Dakota State has won five titles in the '90s. The Bison have a 21-3 record and are led by three-point shooters Rachael Otto and Theresa Lang. Otto broke the North Dakota State single-game mark for three-point field goals in one game with seven in a win over Nebraska-Omaha .... Saint Rose and Emporia State are the two remaining undefeated teams in Division II and hope to make a run at the title. Besides scoring in double figures, Saint Rose's Krista Kandere (14.5 points per game), Evija Azace (12.5 ppg), Nicole LaRocque (11.5 ppg) and Mbuyi Mukendi (11.0 ppg) are helping hold opponents to 47.9 points per game. Emporia State is led by senior center Nicole Dinkins, who has been hot in the last five games for the Lady Hornets .... Others teams to watch include Seattle Pacific, West Florida, Bowie State, Southern Indiana, Bentley and Nebraska-Kearney.

Field: Forty-eight teams. Six qualifiers in each of eight regions will play to determine the eight quarterfinalists that will advance to the Women's Elite Eight. Twenty-one conferences have been given automatic-qualification privileges.

Dates and sites: Regional tournaments will be March 5-7 or 6-8 at on-campus sites. The Women's Elite Eight will be hosted by Arkansas-Monticello March 18, 19 and 21 at the Pine Bluff (Arkansas) Convention Center -- the championship's first predetermined finals site.

Television coverage: The championship game will be televised live on ESPN2 at 3 p.m. (Central time) March 21.

Information/results: The Fax-on-Demand telephone number is 770/399-3060 (passcode 1915); request numbers are 1266 for bracket/schedule; 5064 for quarterfinal results; 5065 for semifinal box scores, 5066 for third-place game box score and 5067 for championship game results. Game scores and pairings also will be available on the World Wide Web at www.ncaa.org. Regional scores will appear in the March 16 issue of The NCAA News. Women's Elite Eight results will be in the March 30 issue.