VERMILLION, S.D.—Six South Dakota players scored in double figures and the Coyotes shot 54 percent from the field to defeat Oregon 88-54 in front of a crowd of 5,080 fans at the DakotaDome Wednesday night. The Coyotes advance to the Women's National Invitation Tournament Championship game, which will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday in Vermillion.
 
South Dakota (31-6) held the nation's leading 3-point shooting team, Oregon (24-11), to 5-of-14 behind the arc.
 
Meanwhile, more than half of the Coyotes points came from deep while shooting 15-of-21 (71.4 percent). The defining moment for USD's 3-point shooting came with six minutes remaining in the game as senior guard Tia Hemiller threw a one-handed heave from half court as the shot clock buzzed and the ball swished through the hoop.
 
"We have talked all year about wanting to play our best basketball in March," head coach Amy Williams said after the game. "Here we are on March 30 and I think we certainly accomplished playing our best basketball at this point and I hope we have some left for Saturday."
 
The Coyotes shared the ball well, evidenced by the 23 assists on 34 made baskets. South Dakota also only committed eight turnovers in the game.
 
South Dakota senior guard Kelly Stewart and junior center Abigail Fogg each scored 14 points, tying Fogg's career high. Hemiller added 13 points while dishing out six assists. Junior guard Caitlin Duffy made 4-of-5 from deep for 12 points. Junior guard Jasmine Trimboli scored 11 points while grabbing five rebounds. Senior guard Nicole Seekamp was the final Coyote in double figures with 10 points and six assists. Freshman guard Jaycee Bradley dished out a career high five assists.
 
The Coyotes followed a 39-25 halftime lead with a 29-7 third quarter.
 
"Today it felt like whoever you put in front of us was going to have trouble," said Williams. "We were really firing on all cylinders."
 
Oregon has been without All-American forward Jillian Alleyne through the WNIT run as the junior tore her ACL two games prior to the Pac-12 Tournament. Alleyne was averaging 19.2 points and leading the nation in rebounding with 13.6 per game. Despite her absence, the Ducks entered the night shooting 53 percent from the three and averaging 78 points per game in the tournament.
 
At 6-5, Oregon center Jacinta Vandenberg made 7-of-10 field goals and three free throws for 17 points. Vandenberg also grabbed a team-high five rebounds. Guard Lexi Bando added 15 points, while guard Maite Cazorla tallied seven points and eight assists.
 
Oregon shot 21-of-52 from the field for 40.4 percent, while also shooting 35.7 percent from 3-point land.
 
South Dakota outrebounded Oregon 38-21. Senior center Margaret McCloud grabbed a game-high seven rebounds while 12 of 13 Coyotes grabbed at least two off the glass. Oregon's 21 rebounds ties a season low for a Coyote opponent.
 
The Coyotes continue a home winning streak of 13 games, which is the 14th-longest active streak in the nation.
 
South Dakota hosts the winner of Michigan vs. Florida Gulf Coast in the WNIT Championship at 2 p.m. Saturday in the DakotaDome. Tickets for the championship game can be purchased online at GoYotes.com, by phone at 605-677-5959 or in person at the Coyote Ticket Office. The game will also be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network.
 
Kelly Stewart
On the crowd of 5,000-plus…
"Every time we came out of the locker room, it was just more people. And finally, I looked up when we were about to do starting lineups, and I just got a huge smile on my face and everyone was just smiling because it was just packed and it was unreal. We can't thank our fans enough."
 
On going 15-of-21 from 3-point range…
"These are people on our whole team who are getting in the gym every day and they're putting in the work and they're shooting with each other, they're shooting on the gun. So when I see our teammates top to bottom making these 3-pointers, it's just like they've been working on that, they deserve that, that's their shot and it was just awesome to see everyone knocking those huge shots down… even Tia from half court."
 
Tia Hemiller
On the team's performance…
"It all started on defense. At the end of the season we want to start peaking and that's what we're doing. I'm really proud of the team."
 
On the shot from near half court…
"I've never made a half-court shot before. I just baseball threw it up and once it left my hands, I was like, 'oh that looks pretty good'. It was awesome."
 
On a 29-7 third quarter…
"Sometimes when you're up by so many points, you maybe relax on defense, but I didn't think that was the case. I thought the whole game, second half, we played full defense, and it really got us going."