IRVINE, CALIF. -- Despite placing three players in double figures, the South Dakota Women's Basketball Team (3-2) dropped a 82-70 decision to Cal State-Los Angeles (4-1) on Saturday at the Concordia Basketball Invite in Irvine, Calif.

Senior guard Brittany Bessert (Fort Collins, Colo.) led USD with a season-high 14 points, two rebounds and two assists. USD also received 12 points from both sophomore forward Ashley Robinette (South Sioux City, Iowa) and freshman forward Bridget Yoerger (Hinton, Iowa). Erica Schroeder (Miller, S.D.) had a team-high six rebounds.

Cal State-Los Angeles was led by guard Monica Tokoro, who had 20 points, sseven ix assists and four steals. The Golden Eagles also received 18 points and 11 rebounds from Charmaine Utz. Brittany Henderson also had a double double with 13 points and 12 rebounds while Amber Fouse scored 11 points.

South Dakota hit 40 percent from the field by making 20-of-50 field goals. The Coyotes struggled from three-point range, connecting on just 6-of-23 shots. USD was 24-of-35 (68.6 percent) from the foul line. Bessert made 10-of-11 free throws. Cal State-Los Angeles connected on 48.6 from the field on 34-of-70 shooting. The Golden Eagles hit 4-of-10 from three-point range and made 10-og-14 shots from the charity stripe.

In a back-and-forth first half, South Dakota took a 13-8 lead on a free throw by Robinette with 12:54 to play. Later, USD's Kristi Tighe (Homer, Neb.) knocked home a three-point basket to give USD a 25-23 lead with 5:35 to play in the first half. The lead exchanged hands four more times in the half with USD's final lead of the game (30-29) at the 2:46 mark on an inside basket by Yoerger. Cal State-LA outscored USD, 6-2, in the final two minutes to take a 35-32 halftime lead.

Cal State-Los Angeles, which used full court pressure to cause USD problems, utilized a 13-4 run in the first four minutes of the second half to grab a 48-36 advantage at the 16:02 mark.

USD made a couple of runs at the Golden Eagles, drawing to within 59-53 at the 8:48 mark on a pair of foul shots by Bessert. However, Cal-State Los Angeles fought off the Coyotes' charge and used a 11-5 run to regain a 12-point lead at 70-58 with 6:30 to play in the game. Cal State-Los Angeles built the lead to 80-61 with 3:20 to play. USD cut the margin to 82-70 when Yoerger scored the final points of the game on an inside basket with 15 seconds left.

Next for the Coyotes will be the Southwest Minnesota State Basketball Classic on Dec. 2-3. USD will face Minnesota-Crookston at 1 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2 before playing host Southwest Minnesota State at 6 p.m. on Dec. 3.