VERMILLION, S.D. - The South Dakota women's basketball team said good-bye to a couple of long losing streaks during this memorable February weekend when they knocked off consecutive top 10 ranked opponents at the DakotaDome.
South Dakota won their fourth straight game, stopping No. 2 ranked North Dakota, 74-65, before 1,750 in attendance on Saturday night. In doing so, the Coyotes broke a 23-game losing streak to North Dakota, dating back to 1989. That season the Coyotes defeated UND, 69-65 at Grand Forks. This is the second straight night that South Dakota has defeated a top 10-ranked squad. One night ago, the Coyotes defeated No. 9 North Dakota State, 72-71 in overtime.
The Coyotes, who won their seventh NCC game of the season, displayed their best offensive and defensive effort of the season in the win over North Dakota.
In the first half, defense was the name of the game for the Coyotes. South Dakota limited the Fighting Sioux to five of 22 shooting from the field for 22.7 percent. UND made just two of four three-point field goals in the opening half. And, South Dakota limited the explosive Fighting Sioux squad to just 19 points.
Early on it appeared North Dakota was on their game, jumping to a quick 7-3 lead after a steal by Mandy Arndtson and lay-up by Jenny Boll. But the momentum quickly changed to the Coyotes' end of the floor as South Dakota went on a 20-5 scoring run. A jumper by Heather Nelson pulled South Dakota within 10-9 with 13:06 to play in the first half. The Coyotes grabbed their first lead of the game at 13-12 when freshman guard Krista Orsack hit a jumper at the 10:23 mark. A lay-up by Julia Frie increased the lead to 15-12 at the 7:18 mark. South Dakota went up 19-12 at the 5:11 mark when Iverson broke free inside. South Dakota grabbed its largest lead of the half when Kelly Gese grove for a lay-up and a 23-12 lead at the 3:52 mark. But the Sioux, who went on a 9:40, scoring drought in the opening half, finally scored when Marisa Leighton hit a pair of free throws at the 2:46 mark. Then a jumper by Tonia Jones cut the Coyote lead to 23-16 at the 2:24 mark. Nelson hit a pair of free throws for the Coyotes as they built a 25-16 lead with 1:50 to play in the half. A free throw by Arndtson closed out the first-half scoring as the Coyotes went to the locker room with a 25-17 lead over the nation's number two team.
South Dakota hit 10 of 23 field goals for 43.5 percent in the opening half but was unable to connect from three-point range in four attempts. They were seven of seven from the free throw line. Nelson had eight points to lead South Dakota. North Dakota, which won the rebound battle 19-13, received seven points from Arntson.
For the past several games, the Coyotes have stringed together strong first-half performances. The past two weekends, they have extended their strong play to 40 minutes. Tonight, they had a strong second half performance, hitting 11 of 18 field goals for a season-high 61.1 percent.
When Koepp knocked down a three-pointer to open the second half (19:47), the Coyotes opened an 11-point lead and the Fighting Sioux found themselves in a deep hole. But, UND is a proud team and they worked themselves back into the games. A lay-up by Janel Palbicki and three-point play by Theresa LeCuyer pulled the Fighting Sioux within 30-26 at the 18:21 mark of the second half. South Dakota answered when Orsack hit a three-point basket for a 33-26 lead with 18:03 to play. Shortly thereafter, a lay-up by Gese gave South Dakota a 37-28 lead with 15:44 to play. The Coyotes kept the pressure on the Sioux, moving ahead 45-33 on a pair of foul shots by Nelson at the 13:00 minute mark. Then Nelson drained a three-pointer and South Dakota owned a 48-35 lead with 12:04 to play.
Clearly the Coyotes confidence was gaining. Two years ago, South Dakota nearly upset North Dakota, owning a lead late in the game only to falter. This group of Coyotes was focused on finishing their second upset in two nights. A jumper by Koepp moved the lead to 50-37 at the 10:35 mark. A few seconds later, Nelson hit two foul shots and South Dakota had their biggest lead of the game at 52-37 with 10:09 left. The teams traded baskets for the next new minutes and Amanda Iverson's two foul shots with 5:10 to play gave South Dakota a 63-48 lead. A lay-up by Becky Moen of UND drew the Sioux within 64-53 with 3:38 to play. But again the Coyotes answered when Gese hit a jumper with 2:30 on the clock. The closest North Dakota could get for rest of the game was nine points, 74-65 with 24 seconds left when Moen scored on a lay-up at the buzzer.
Overall, the Coyotes hit 21 of 41 shots for 51.2 percent and four of 10 from three-point range for 40 percent. The Coyotes made 28 of 37 free throws for 75.7 percent. Gese again had an outstanding game for South Dakota, scoring 17 points, handing out five assists and grabbing six rebounds. Nelson led South Dakota with 19 points and she hit all 10 of her free throws. Koepp had 11 points and five rebounds while Frie had 10 points and seven rebounds.
UND hit 24 of 60 field goals for 40 percent and were six of 19 from three-point range for 31.6 percent. They hit 11 of 22 free throws for 50 percent. Moen led UND with 17 points and also grabbed five rebounds. Arndtson had nine points and nine rebounds while Jones had seven points, five rebounds and six assists.
