ST. CLOUD, MINN. -- Freshman Renae Luecke led the 14th-ranked South Dakota women's basketball team (16-3, 6-2) to a 72-47 win over St. Cloud State Saturday night in front of 1,682 fans at Halenbeck Hall.

Luecke, a native of Sioux Falls, S.D., scored a career-high 19 points and keyed an 18-0 Coyote run in the second half that broke the game open. The 5-9 guard came off the bench to hit 5-of-7 three-point field goals.

USD took a 36-25 lead into the locker room after the first half of play after shooting 50.0 percent from the floor (14-of-28). Senior forward Heather Nelson (Yankton, S.D.) paced the Coyotes in the opening stanza with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

St. Cloud State stayed close during the first eight minutes of the second half, cutting the USD advantage to five at 46-41 with 11:57 on the clock. Two consecutive three-pointers by Luecke though ignited the 18-0 Coyote run over the next 6:49, putting the game out of reach for the Huskies. Luecke capped the scoring spurt with her fifth three-pointer of the night and team-leading 47th trey of the season.

Junior forward Mandy Koupal (Wagner, S.D.) posted her 10th double-double of the season and 25th of her career with 16 points and 17 rebounds. USD's only other double-figure scorer was Nelson with 14 points.

The Coyotes allowed just one Husky to score in double figures as Kristine DeGroot had 10 points and seven rebounds.

For the game, South Dakota shot 46.3 percent from the floor (25-of-54), while holding SCSU to just 32.7 percent on 18-of-55 shooting. The Coyotes connected on 11-of-22 attempts from the three-point line (50.0 percent), compared to a 3-for-9 performance (33.3 percent) by the Huskies. St. Cloud State won the rebounding battle, 40-33. USD gave up a season-low eight turnovers, while forcing SCSU into 18.

The Coyotes return to the floor next Thursday, Feb. 6, against Nebraska-Omaha in the DakotaDome starting at 6 p.m.