CHADRON, NEB. -- The South Dakota Women's Basketball Team (1-0) placed three players in double figures as the Coyotes opened the 2006-07 season with a 90-50 nonconference win over Chadron State (0-1) at Armstrong Gym in Chadron, Neb., on Wednesday night.

Junior Ashley Robinette (South Sioux City, Neb.) led USD with 14 points in 22 minutes of action. An All-NCC performer a year ago, Robinette was 4-of-6 from the field and hit four-of-five shots from three-point range. Joining Robinette in double figures was sophomore forward Natalie Carda (Beresford, S.D.), who totaled 13 points, six rebounds and two steals. Carda hit 3-of-6 shots from the field and 6-of-7 shots from the foul line. The third Coyote in double digits was sophomore forward Bridget Yoerger (Hinton, Iowa), who had 11 points, nine rebounds and four steals in 19 minutes of action. USD also received nine points and six assists from junior guard Shannon Daly (Groton, S.D.). Junior guard Jenna Hoffman (Mitchell, S.D.) also had nine points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Sophomore forward Maggie Youngberg (Yankton, S.D.) had eight points, including two three-point field goals. The Coyotes hit 30-of-62 field goals for 48.4 percent and knocked down 12-of-30 three-point field goals for 40 percent. USD was equally effective from the charity stripe by hitting 18-of-23 free throws for 78.3 percent. Chadron State was led by Sunni Busch with 13 points and seven rebounds and Alyssa Lyman, who had 11 points and five rebounds. Chadron State made18-of-57 field goals for 31.6 percent but just 1-of-9 from three-point range. They were 13-of-19 from the foul line for 68.4 percent.

"Chadron State is a much better team than a year ago," said USD head women's coach Chad Lavin, who improved his overall record at USD to 219-128 in 13 seasons at the school. "We played great half court defense for about 30 minutes but we had a let down at the end of the first half," said Lavin in his post-game talk with Jeff Culhane of the Coyote Sports Network. "We had too many turnovers, which is not indicative of what this team has shown this year. In the second half, we played really great as we held them to about six points for about 10 minutes. Natalie Carda and Bridget Yoerger did a solid job inside," he said.

After trailing 3-0, USD went on a 20-0 run to grab a 20-3 advantage at the 12:47 mark of the first half. The Coyotes opened a 24-7 lead at 10:19 mark of the first half as USD hit 8-of-14 shots to start the game. USD built the lead to 30-11 at the 6:31 mark after Daly hit a jumper. Chadron State outscored the Coyotes, 14-7, to close the gap to 42-29 at halftime.

South Dakota opened the second half on a 15-0 run to grab a 57-29 lead and control of the game. Robinette hit her third three-point shot of the game for a 47-29 lead at the 18:42 mark of the second stanza. Then, Jeana Hoffman (Mitchell, S.D.) had a three-point basket as USD moved the lead to 51-29 with 17:47 left in the game. Robinette hit another three-point field goal at the 16:43 mark as USD increased the lead to 54-29. A three-point goal by Carda gave USD a 57-29 lead with 15:36 left on the second-half clock. When Yoerger scored inside, USD had a 63-33 lead (13:06) as USD outscored Chadron State, 21-4, in the opening seven minutes of the second half. Later, Youngberg hit a three point field goal to give USD a 69-42 lead with 8:58 to play in the game. Sophomore guard Anne Doshier (Rapid City, S.D.) hit a three-point field goal for an 81-44 lead with 4:30 to play. Freshman Kelly Fargen (Brookings, S.D.) scored four points in the final four minutes of the game, including an offensive rebound and put back for an 87-48 lead with 1:32 left in the game. Doshier hit her second three-point shot with two seconds left as USD finished off the 90-50 win.

Next for the South Dakota Women's Basketball Team is a trip to Colorado where the Coyotes will play three games from Nov. 22-25. First, the Coyotes face the Colorado School of Mines at 7 p.m., on Nov. 22 in Golden, Colo. Two days later, they will face Regis for a 7 p.m. game on Nov. 24 at Denver, Colo., and then finish the trip west with a 6 p.m. game on Nov. 25 with Colorado Christian in Lakewood, Colo.