BROOKINGS, S.D. - A night after suffering a tough loss to Augustana in Sioux Falls, the University of South Dakota women's basketball team experienced a tough shooting night as they fell to South Dakota State 70-51 at Frost Arena Saturday night.

USD (6-5, 1-3 NCC) shot poorly, committed costly and unforced turnovers, and had numerous scoring droughts in their third NCC loss in four games this season. Meanwhile, SDSU (8-4, 2-2 NCC) worked through some offensive struggles of their own in building their lead late in the first half and throughout the second half. The Jackrabbits defeated the Coyotes for the 20th straight time. The Coyotes last win was in 1991. USD has not won at Frost Arena since 1990 when they took a 58-57 decision.

Poor shooting by both clubs marked the first half of the game. Neither team gained a clear advantage at the start of the game as the two teams were tied four times in the first 10 minutes. A three-pointer by Nicole Jaycox gave the Coyotes an 11-8 lead at the 12:08 mark. Then freshman Krista Orsack buried a three-pointer for a 14-8 lead at the 9:23 mark. It was not until SDSU's Angie Loken hit a jumper in the lane at the 6:38 mark that either team could muster a basket. SDSU went 7:20 without a score. But after Loken scored, the Jacks had an offensive resurgence while the Coyotes shooting went south. The Coyotes went over eight minutes without a basket while SDSU was building a lead. First, Gwen Greiner hit a three-point basket to draw the Jacks within one at 14-13 at the six-minute mark. Then a Loken basket, three-pointer and layup by Shari Johnson moved SDSU's margin to 20-14 at the 3:42 mark. A basket by Julia Frie broke a 14-0 run by SDSU and ended an eight-minute scoreless streak for the Coyotes. USD scored just two points in the final 9:23 of the first half. USD was able to convert just 6-of-28 first half shots for 21.4 percent, 2-of-9 from three-point range. The Jacks hit 9-of-33 shots for 27.3 percent, and hit all four of their free throws as they grabbed a 24-16 halftime lead. Frie led the Coyotes with four points and three rebounds while Greiner led the Jacks with seven points.

Things improved drastically for the Coyotes in the first five minutes of the second half as the Coyotes cut the Jacks' eight-point lead to one at 28-27 when Kelly Gese hit a layup. The score was part of an 11-4 run by the Coyotes. But the Coyotes offense again struggled as the Jacks outscored USD 13-4 to grab their largest lead of the game at 41-31 with 10:14 to play in the game. From that point, SDSU continued to add to their lead. After Angie Loken scored and was fouled, Melissa Pater grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back in for a 50-37 lead with 6:42 to play. Brenda Davis hit a three-point basket at 5:12 and SDSU led 55-37. The margin grew to 64-42 on a three-point basket by Sherri Brende with 2:19 to play in the game.

USD hit 13-of-31 (.419) shots in the second half but still managed to hit just 19-of-59 (.322) field goals. The Coyotes really struggled from three-point range, hitting only 3-of-19 (.158). The Coyotes made 10-of-15 (.667) free throws. Gese led the Coyotes in scoring with 13 points while Orsack had 11.

SDSU hit 28-of-72 (.389) field goals, and were 8-of-18 (.444) from three-point range while making 6-of-9 (.667) free throws. The Jacks were led in scoring by Pater with 19 points, and she grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. Davis had 15 points including 3-of-5 shooting from the three-point line. Brende chipped in with 10 points. SDSU held a 52-38 rebound advantage.