SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dec. 28, 2005)--The South Dakota women's basketball team (10-3) had its seven-game winning streak stopped with a 61-59 loss to the Winona State Warriors (7-4) in the first game of Augustana College's Sioux Valley Clinic Classic at the Elmen Center on the Augustana campus in Sioux Falls, S.D., Wednesday afternoon.
Despite each team placing four players in double figures, USD was unable to keep up with Winona State's 51.1% field goal shooting (24-of-47) as the Coyotes made 44.6 from the field (25-of-56). USD also struggled from behind the three-point arc making 31.8% (7-of-22).
USD began the game with an 8-0 run that was capped by a three-pointer from junior Erica Schroeder (Miller, S.D.) at 17:57. The Coyotes built up two other eight-point leads in the first half, but led by three, 28-25, at halftime.
After USD's initital 8-0 run, Winona State responded by outscoring USD, 18-9, over an 11-minute period which ended with WSU's Shelby Kruger connecting from three-point range to give the Warriors at 18-17 lead.
South Dakota's Vanessa Yanez (Wagner, S.D.) scored eight of her 10 points in the first half points on two three's and a jumper.
In the second half, the two teams traded leads for the first 12 minutes. Senior Brittany Bessert (Fort Collins, Colo.) gave the Coyotes its last lead, 49-48, on a lay-up with 8:38 remaining.
After a WSU timeout and a missed USD free throw, the Warriors took the lead for good on two of Leslie Ross's game-high 14 points at 7:22 to make the score 50-49. Winona State built its lead to five, 57-52, at 2:34, when Ross finished a three-point play.
Bessert beat the press and scored a lay-up with 2:15 left in regulation to make the score, 57-54. After another Ross basket, sophomore Ashley Bjorkman (Vermillion, S.D.) knocked down a three-pointer to cut the lead to two, 59-57, with 1:08 left to play.
Winona State made a pair of free throws and Bessert made a lay-up with five seconds left to make the final score, 61-59
USD made 2-of-4 (50%) at the foul line, but was outrebounded, 31-29.
Bessert led the Coyotes with 13 points, while Bjorkman and freshman Bridget Yoerger (Hinton, Iowa) added 12. It was Yoerger's 10th straight double digit scoring game. Senior Meghan Woster (Sioux Falls, S.D.) had nine assists, four steals and four rebounds. With her effort against WSU, Woster took over third on USD's career assists chart and has 448 (Kelly Gese, 439 (1996-2001).
WSU was 5-of-10 (50%) from three-point range in the game and was 8-of-13 (61.5%) at the free throw line. In addition to Ross's 14, Liz Buttke, Amanda Reimer and Shelby Krueger all added 12 points. Krueger completed the double double with 12 assists.
USD will take on Upper Iowa in its last game of the Sioux Valley Clinic Classic at 2 p.m., tomorrow, Dec. 29, at the Elmen Center.
