VERMILLION, S.D. --- The #16 University of South Dakota women's basketball team used a dominating effort in the first half to cruise to an 87-60 DakotaDome victory over the University of Sioux Falls in USD's 2006-07 non-conference finale. The victory pushed the Coyotes' record to 16-4 on the season while the Cougars fell to 12-13. All but one of the 13 South Dakota players that suited up on the evening scored, with four of that dozen getting to double-digits. Junior guard/forward Ashley Bjorkman (Vermillion, S.D.) came off the bench to lead the Coyotes with 12 points, buoyed by 4-of-6 accuracy from three-point range.

Both junior guard Jeana Hoffman (Mitchell, S.D.) and sophomore forward Bridget Yoerger (Hinton, Iowa) poured in 11 points for USD, with Yoerger's coming on 4-of-5 shooting to compliment her six rebounds. Yoerger tied for the team boarding lead with freshman forward Jasmine Mosley (Bellevue, Neb.).

Junior guard Jenna Hoffman (Mitchell, S.D.) was the fourth Coyote to reach double-digits in scoring with her 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Hoffman also dished out a game and season-high seven assists on the evening.

USF was led in scoring by junior forward Jenna Kraayenbrink's 12 points. Senior forward Kristen Klaassen posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore guard Cindy Meyer came off the bench to add 10 points.

South Dakota forced the Cougars into committing 26 turnovers on the evening while making only 16 themselves. That differential in miscues helped USD enjoy a 36-9 advantage in points off of turnovers. The Coyotes also limited USF into shooting just 32.7% from the floor (18-of-55), including a mere 21.4% in the first half alone (6-of-28).

Sioux Falls actually got on the board first with a jumper by Kraayenbrink 1:03 into play. However, that lead was short lived as Yoerger evened the score with a jumper of her own on the next possession, a shot that ignited an 11-0 Coyote run. After the Cougars scored again at the 15:57 mark to make the score 11-4, USD unleashed another substantial run with 10 more points to stretch the lead to 21-6 with 11:42 left on the clock.

South Dakota kept up the pressure from there as it led 35-8 with 6:24 remaining in the half before finishing with a flourish and enjoying a 41-13 advantage at the break. Though both teams offenses excelled in the second half with a combined 93 points put on the board, Sioux Falls found itself behind by as much as 41 at one point before rallying for the 23-point defeat.

The Coyotes will return to the DakotaDome in their next time out on Saturday, Feb. 3, when they host Nebraska-Omaha in a North Central Conference contest beginning at 6 p.m.