VERMILLION, S.D. -- Heather Nelson scored a career high 28 points to lead the South Dakota Coyotes women's basketball team (13-7, 7-5 in the NCC) to a 58-38 North Central Conference win over Nebraska-Omaha (8-15, 4-8 in the NCC)on Friday night before 2,042 at the DakotaDome. South Dakota snapped a two-game losing streak with the win.

Against UNO, Nelson, a junior forward from Yankton, S.D., had her best performance as a member of the South Dakota women's basketball team. She hit eight of 15 field goals, three of six three-pointers and nine of nine free throws while also grabbing seven rebounds in a stellar performance.

Sophomore forward Mandy Koupal (Wagner, S.D.) added 15 points and seven rebounds while sophomore Krista Orsack (Sioux Falls, S.D.) had 12 points. Only four Coyotes scored with Julia Frie (Byron, Minn.) adding the other three points. While Nelson, Koupal and Orsack provided the offense, South Dakota again exhibited solid defense. They limited UNO to 16 first half points and just 22 in the second half for a total of 38.

This is the fourth time this season that South Dakota has held an opponent under 50 points and the second time the Coyotes have held an opponent under 40 points. The 38 points is the lowest total for UNO since the 1979-80 season.

The Coyotes opened a 9-4 lead after Koupal hit a lay-up at the 15:50 mark. Koupal added a pair of free throws at the 12:22 mark to increase the lead to 13-6. Then, South Dakota went on an 8-2 run as a three-pointer by Nelson gave USD a 21-8 lead at the 8:04 mark. A three-pointer by Orsack provided South Dakota with a 24-10 lead at the 5:57 mark. UNO struggled all night on offense and had just 13 points with 2:53 to play in the half. The Coyotes continued to pressure the Mavericks and led 29-16 when Orsack hit a jumper at the 1:16 mark.

South Dakota hit just 11 of 30 field goals for 36.7 percent, including just four of 15 three-point shots for 26.7 percent. USD was five of eight from the free throw line for 62.5 percent. Orsack scored all 12 of her points in the first half while Koupal had 10 and Nelson added eight points. Nebraska-Omaha hit seven of 30 field goals for 23.3 percent but did not hit any of their five three-pointers. The Mavs made two of five free throws. Lindsey Petersen led UNO with four points. Both teams had 22 rebounds in the opening half. The second half played out very much like that of the opening stanza of play in this key NCC game. Early in the second half, Nelson hit a three-pointer to give the Coyotes a 36-18 lead at the 17:42 mark. UNO started to fight back as a lay-up by Jen Mitchell cut the lead to 36-22 at the 14:53 mark. But, the Coyotes answered the charge with five straight points including a lay-up by Koupal at the 11:52 mark for a 41-22 lead.

On this night, Nelson would provide the majority of the Coyotes' offense with jumpers, drives to the basket, three-pointer and free throws. Her lay-up with 9:18 to play increased the South Dakota lead to 48-27. At the 3:12 mark, she hit two free throws for a 51-33 lead. She added the final points of the night with two more free throws with 1:23 to play to give the Coyotes a 58-38 lead. Overall, the Coyotes hit 19 of 58 field goals for 32.8 percent, including just five of 25 three-point shots. USD hit 15 of 20 free throws for 75 percent.

Meanwhile, UNO hit 16 of 54 field goals for 29.6 percent. The Mavs hit just two of 14 three-pointers for 14.3 percent and only four of 11 free throws for 36.4 percent. Anne Bomstad had eight points and four rebounds to lead UNO. Tanya Hammes, who scored 20 points in the earlier game vs. South Dakota, had just six points and nine rebounds. Both teams had 38 rebounds.