IRVINE, CALIF. - Bridget Yoerger scored a career-high 17 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead the South Dakota Women's Basketball Team (3-1) to a 61-60 win over California-San Diego (1-1) at the Concordia Basketball Invite on Friday, Nov. 25 in Irvine, Calif.

Yoerger, a freshman from Hinton, Iowa, scored nine points in the first half and added eight more in the second half to lead USD, which also received 12 points from junior guard Jenni Flynn of South Sioux City, Neb. Junior forward Erica Schroeder of Miller, S.D., came off the bench to add 10 points and pull down eight rebounds for the Coyotes. Yoerger hit 8-of-11 field goals and 1-of-2 free throws in 25 minutes of action. Flynn knocked home 5-of-12 field goals, including 2-of-4 three-point baskets. She also had five rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes of action. Schroeder was 5-of-6 from the field, including two offensive rebounds which she turned into baskets for the Coyotes.

The Coyotes, which trailed 35-32 at halftime, used an 11-0 run late in the second half to take a 59-48 lead with 5:40 to play and never trailed the remainder of the game. However, UC-San Diego made it close with a 10-0 run in the final 3:19 to draw within one point. UC-San Diego put up a couple of shots in the final seconds that were off line as the Coyotes picked up its third win in four outings this season. Flynn scored five points and Schroeder added four points during the Coyote 11-0 run.

"It would have been a heartbreaker if we had lost this game," said South Dakota head coach Chad Lavin, who improved to 206-115 at USD and 381-278 overall. "We had a nine-point lead late in the game and then we made some mistakes. We made it more interesting than it had to be," Lavin told Lane Grindle of the Coyote Sports Network in the post-game radio show. "Still, I think we deserved to win. We played hard and defensively we played great the entire game," he said.

South Dakota connected on 26-of-52 field goals for 50 percent, but managed to hit just 4-of-15 three-point field goals for 26.7 percent. The Coyotes converted 5-of-9 free throws. South Dakota held a 40-33 advantage on the boards, including 12 offensive rebounds. UC-San Diego made 21-of-64 field goals for 32.8 percent, including 8-of-18 from three-point range. UC-San Diego was led by reserve forward Meaghan Noud, who scored 15 points, including 13 in the first half. The Dragons also received 12 points and five rebounds from Hillary Hansen and 11 points from both Leora Juster and Alexis Mezzetta. UC-San Diego was 10-of-13 from the foul line. The match-up between USD and UC-San Diego was the first-ever meeting between the schools.

Next for the Coyotes is a Saturday afternoon game with Cal State-Los Angeles at 3 p.m. PST (5 p.m. central) at the Concordia Basketball Classic