KEARNEY, NEB. -- The South Dakota Women's Basketball Team (4-1) struggled offensively and had a four-game winning streak snapped by Nebraska-Kearney (4-1) in a 73-45 nonconference loss on Thursday night at the Health and Sports Center on the Nebraska-Kearney campus.
The Coyotes had its lowest scoring night since dropping a 68-44 loss to Augustana on Jan. 26, 2002. The loss ended a five-game road trip to open the season for the Coyotes. USD will host its home season opener with UC-Colorado Springs at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the DakotaDome, which will be the first of six straight home games for the Coyotes.
USD hit just 14-of-60 shots from the field for a season-low 23.3 percent. The Coyotes, which was hitting 45 percent from three-point range coming into tonight's game, made just 4-of-22 three-point shots for 18.2 percent. The Coyotes were 13-of-22 from the foul line for 59.1 percent.
"We struggled shooting the ball," said South Dakota head coach Chad Lavin. "We stayed close for the first 10 minutes and then they put together a run with a couple of three-point shots and we couldn't rebound," Lavin told Jeff Culhane of the Coyote Sports Network in a post-game interview. "We just need to put this one behind us and try and play better on Saturday (against Colorado Springs)."
Junior guard Jenna Hoffman (Mitchell, S.D.) led the Coyotes with 12 points and six rebounds. Junior forward Ashley Robinette (South Sioux City, Neb.) added eight points and sophomore forward Bridget Yoerger (Hinton, Iowa) had seven points and four rebounds.
Nebraska-Kearney hit 28-of-62 field goals for 45.2 percent, although they made just 2-of-9 three-point shots. UNK was 15-of-20 from the foul line for 75 percent.
Four players scored in double figures for the Lopers, including Melissa Hinkley who had a game-high 16 points. Liz Fischer added 15 points and eight rebounds while Amy Mathis had a double double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Jonni Mildenberger added 10 points for the Lopers.
UNK had a decisive edge in rebounds with a 51-35 advantage.
The Coyotes played even for first 10 minutes of the game. The Coyotes rallied from an 8-2 deficit (16:33) to take a 9-8 lead on a lay-up by Jenna Hoffman at the 14:59 mark. USD's final lead of the game occurred at the 9:47 mark when Robinette drained a three-pointer for a 15-14 lead. From that point, UNK outscored USD 18-5 during the remainder of the first half to grab a 33-20 advantage at the break. USD did not score for 7:51 until receiving a pair of free throws from Yoerger with 1:56 left in the first half and cutting the deficit to 29-17. USD hit just 7-of-25 field goals in the first half, including 2-of-11 from three point range.
In the second half, the Lopers continued to build on its lead moving ahead, 50-30, at the 14:29 mark on a lay-up by Mathis. Two free throws by Mildenberger at the 5:29 mark of the second half provided UNK with a 65-40 advantage. A foul shot by Katie Torland with 2:44 to play provided the Lopers with its largest lead at 73-42.
In the second half, the Coyotes continued to struggle with its field goal shooting. USD made just 7-of-35 shots for 20 percent. The Coyotes hit just 2-of-11 three-point field goals in the second stanza
