VERMILLION, S.D. (Dec. 10, 2005)--The South Dakota women's basketball team (7-2) won its fourth consecutive game with a 55-47 nonconference win over Mount Mercy (5-6) at the DakotaDome, Saturday afternoon, with 2,348 in attendance.

After a grueling game against Wayne State last night (Dec. 9), the legs weren't quite underneath the Coyotes this afternoon, but nonetheless, USD forced 17 turnovers that led to 20 points and beat the Mustangs in the paint with 20 points to keep its winning streak alive.

Freshman Bridget Yoerger (Hinton, Iowa) connected on 6-of-12 field goals and 3-of-5 free throws to finish with a game-high 15 points, while junior Vanessa Yanez (Wagner, S.D.) finished with 11 in her seventh start of the season.

The Coyotes found themselves down, 7-0, 4:30 into the game as Addie McCreedy scored a lay-up at 15:30.

However, USD went on a 20-2 run down to the 7:10 mark of the first half, erasing Mount Mercy's only lead of the game when sophomore Ashley Bjorkman (Vermillion, S.D.) hit a three-pointer to give USD a 20-9 lead.

The Mustangs battled back and trailed by only three, 26-23, at halftime.

In the second half, USD built up a lead of 16, 53-37, on a lay-in by sophomore Ashley Robinette (South Sioux City, Neb.), with 5:25 left to play in the ball game. Robinette was the recipient of one of senior Meghan Woster's (Sioux Falls, S.D.) 10 assists in the contest.

For the game, the Coyotes shot 38.5% (20-of-52) from the field, including 8-of-24 (33.3%) from three-point land. At the free throw line, USD knocked down 7-of-11 attempts for 63.6%. USD also had the advantage in rebounds, 41-36.

Mount Mercy, who was led by Dani Anderson's 11 points, shot 33.3% (19-of-57) from the field and was 4-of-15 (26.7%) from behind the arc. The Mustangs, who made 5-of-8 (62.5%) free throws, came up with 12 steals of their own in the contest.

USD will play its third game in as many days tomorrow, Dec. 11, when they host William Penn at 1 p.m. in the DakotaDome.