MAYVILLE, N.D. — It was a very somber day at the May-Port CG School District, where Katie Richards’ children attend school and where she has been a huge part of the basketball program over the past decade.

“You will never find anybody quite like Katie,” said May-Port CG Boys Basketball Coach Taylor Kunkel.

He brought Richards on as an assistant coach four years ago.

“That’s why she coached, was to make an impact in the best way she could and teach those things that are going to be with kids for the rest of their lives,” Kunkel said.

The 45-year-old mother of four was killed in a

single car crash early Thursday morning

. Her SUV drove through a T-intersection, vaulted and rolled.

The crash happened at the intersection of Eagle Avenue and Grand Forks County 25, about 8 miles west of Reynolds, North Dakota.

Before coming on as an assistant, Richards was a trailblazer more than a decade ago when she became one of the first women in North Dakota to serve as a boys basketball coach.

At the time she said her personality was better suited for a boys team.

She was also coaching a series of teams from kindergarten to high school.

“Basketball was life and life was basketball for her,” Kunkel said.

The hard nose farm girl from Hope was Miss Basketball North Dakota in 1995.

From there Richards went to the University of North Dakota where she is considered one of the best to ever put on a basketball jersey at the college. She is considered the fuel and energy who lead UND to three national championships during her time there.

“On the basketball court she was tenacious. She was such a hard worker, she had no quit in her, she was just a winner. She was such a hard worker, whether it was practice or games, she could go through a brick wall to try and win a game. A true, true champion,” said Sheri Stockmoe, who was a graduate assistant coach for two seasons while Richards was at UND.

The team recently got together back in September for one final tour of the Hyslop Sports Center. During that trip Richards made everyone go visit a teammate who was in the hospital.

“As good of a basketball player as she was, she was 100 times a better person,” Stockmoe said. “We were lucky she was on our team.”

“We are all devastated and heartbroken to hear the news about Katie,” UND Athletics Director Bill Chaves said in a statement. “She was one of the most influential alums we have had at UND and her legacy will live on forever.”

Richards worked as the director of Student Success and Disability Services at Mayville State University. University President Brian Van Horn made a statement on behalf of the university:

“We lost an important and beloved member of the Mayville State Family with the passing of Katie Richards, who died in a car accident early this morning. Katie was Director of Student Success and Disability Services at Mayville State. She was the right person in the right job. She positively impacted students, faculty, and staff daily, and she was an effective and respected leader who assisted students in their goals to achieve solid academic progress. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family, the entire Mayville State Family, and our community at large, as the tragic loss of Katie will be felt by all.”

Funeral arrangement for Katie Richards are still pending.

Matt Henson is an Emmy award-winning reporter/photographer/editor for WDAY. Prior to joining WDAY in 2019, Matt was the main anchor at WDAZ in Grand Forks for four years.