VERMILLION, S.D. -- Despite placing four players in double figures, the South Dakota women's basketball team (14-10, 2-7 NCC) dropped another hard fought North Central Conference decision in a 74-68 loss to St. Cloud State (18-7, 5-5 NCC) at the DakotaDome before 1,329 in attendance.
For much of the NCC season, the Coyotes have battled its opponents tooth and nail, only to fall short at the end. In the loss on Saturday, the Coyotes and St. Cloud State were tied at 66-66 at the 1:45 mark before the Huskies ended the game on an 8-2 run to claim the NCC win.
Freshman Ashley Robinette (South Sioux City, Neb.) tied her career-best with 20 points and also have six rebounds in 27 minutes of action. She hit 6-of-12 shots from the field and 8-of-10 free throws to lead the Coyotes. Also reaching double figures was sophomore guard Jenni Flynn (South Sioux City, Neb.), who had 12 points and seven rebounds to go with two blocked shots and two assists. Megan Woster, a senior point guard from Sioux Falls, S.D., added 11 points, four assists and five rebounds. The other Coyote in double digits was Vanessa Yanez of Wagner, S.D., who had 10 points and four rebounds. Sophomore forward Erica Schroeder of Miller, S.D., tied a career-best with a team-high eight rebounds.
Five St. Cloud players also reached double digits in scoring with Shannon Francis leading the way with 17 points and seven rebounds. SCSU's leading scorer on the season, Erika Quigley, had her 19th double double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. However, USD held her nearly 10 points below her scoring average. Katie Huschle had 13 points and four assists while Kayla Rengel had 11 points and Molly Jensen added 10 points.
South Dakota jumped to a quick 5-0 lead after a Flynn basket with 18:02 to play. St. Cloud State responded with a 10-2 run and a 10-7 lead at the 14:47 mark. Then, it was USD's turn to make a charge with a 8-0 run and a 15-10 lead at the 10:44 mark when Flynn hit a three-point basket. A jumper by Yanez gave USD a 20-16 lead at the 5:50 mark. However, St. Cloud State again rallied and took a 32-28 halftime lead with a 16-8 run to close the half. After the game was tied at 26-26, Francis hit two three-pointers in the final 1:17 to give St. Cloud the lead at the break.
Flynn scored seven first-half points to lead USD. Robinette chipped in with six points. Both Jensen and Francis scored eight points to lead the Huskies.
USD was 8-of-26 from the field for 30.8 percent, including 2-of-8 from three-point range. USD made 10-of-16 free throws for 62.5 percent. St. Cloud State converted 10-of-31 field goals for 32.3 percent, including 3-of-13 from three-point range. Two of those three pointers came in the final minute of the half when St. Cloud rallied from a 28-26 deficit to take a 32-28 halftime lead. St. Cloud State made 9-of-11 free throws for 81.8 percent.
In the first half, there were five ties and three lead changes.
Francis continued her hot shooting, hitting a jumper at the 16:23 mark as the Huskies led, 40-34 early in the second half. USD rallied with a 7-1 run to tie the game at 41-41 with 13:39 as Yanez knocked home a three-point shot.
Gradually, SCSU built a lead of 51-45 at the 11:10 mark after Hansen hit a three-point shot. South Dakota responded with a 5-0 run to tie the game at 51-51 with 8:23 to play when Robinette, who had 14 second-half points, scored inside.
A jumper by Jensen gave SCSU a 58-53 lead before USD had a 7-3 run to draw within 61-60 at the 4:30 mark. Robinette scored on a lay-up off an assist from Flynn to tie the game at 66-66 at the 1:45 mark. April Carlson's lay-up gave SCSU a 68-66 lead with 1:25 to play and a Quigley rebound and basket extended the lead to 70-66 with 33 seconds left in the game. USD quickly answered when Woster scored on a lay-up with 22 seconds left, but Huschle and Francis each made a pair of free throws to hold off the Coyotes and give the Huskies a 74-68 win.
Overall, USD hit 24-of-56 field goals for 42.9 percent, but made just 4-of-17 from three-point range for 23.5 percent. The Coyotes converted 16-of-24 free throws for 66.7 percent. USD improved its shooting in the second half, making 16-of-30 shots for 53.3 percent.
The Huskies made 25-of-73 field goals for 34.2 percent, including 7-of-23 three-point shots for 30.4 percent. SCSU hit 17-of-20 free throws for 85 percent. The Huskies won the rebound battle, 48-40.
The game was tied 10 times and the lead changed three times.
Next for South Dakota is a home encounter with North Dakota on Saturday, Feb. 19 at the DakotaDome with gametime set for 6 p.m.
