VERMILLION, S.D. -- The 16th-ranked South Dakota Women's Basketball Team dropped a closely contested 66-64 North Central Conference decision to Augustana on Saturday night before 4,101 in attendance at the DakotaDome.

The Coyotes, which saw its nine-game winning streak end, fell to 13-2 and 0-1 in the NCC. Augustana won its 17th straight game and improved to 17-2 on the season and 2-0 in the NCC. Augustana, which evened the all-time series at 30-30, won for the first time at the DakotaDome since the 2000-01 season.

Ashley Robinette, a junior forward from South Sioux City, Neb., had a season-high 18 points and six rebounds to lead the Coyotes. Robinette reached double digits for the seventh time this season and the 34th time in her career. Sophomore forward Bridget Yoerger (Hinton, Iowa) scored 14 points and grabbed four rebounds. Yoerger has scored in double digits a team-high 12 times and 30 times in her career. Junior point guard Shannon Daly (Groton, S.D.) added 10 points for USD. Junior guard Jeana Hoffman added nine points for USD.

Alison Adamson led Augustana with 21 points. Also for the Vikings, freshman guard Andrea Walsh had 15 points, all which she scored in the second half. Ashley Holiday had 11 points and seven rebounds for the Vikings.

South Dakota struggled shooting the ball in the first half which resulted in a 27-18 deficit to the Vikings. USD was just 8-of-27 for 29.6 percent in the opening half. USD hit 13-of-28 field goals for 46.4 in the second half as the Coyotes made a charge to grab the lead before dropping a two-point decision. Overall for the game, USD was 21-of-55 from the field for 38.2 percent. USD also corrected its three-point shooting in the second stanza. After opening 1-of-10 in the first stanza, USD made 4-of-11 in the second half to finish 5-of-21 for the game for 23.8 percent. The Coyotes hit 17-of-24 from the free throw line for 70.8 percent. However, USD was just 1-of-7 from the charity stripe in the first half and made 16-of-17 in the second half to aid in its comeback.

Augustana hit 25-of-53 of its field goal attempts for 47.2 percent, including 5-of-13 from three-point range for 38.5 percent. The Vikings made 11-of-14 free throw attempts for 78.6 percent.

After Augustana opened up a 4-0 lead, the Coyotes had six straight points for a 6-4 lead at the 13:56 mark of the first half. A jumper by Adamson, produced a 12-8 advantage for Augustana at the 11:14 mark. As the Coyotes continued to struggle shooting in the first half, the Vikings built a 19-12 lead at the 7:25 mark when Adamson connected from three-point range. A lay-up by USD's Natalie Carda (Beresford, S.D.) cut the lead to 23-17 at the 4:14 mark of the opening half. However, the Vikings would outscore USD, 5-1, to end the half with a 27-18 advantage. The 18 points in the first half by USD was a season-low.

Augustana continued its surge in the second half by opening a 39-24 lead at the 16:13 mark after Holiday hit a jump shot. That is when the Coyotes righted its ship and made one of the quickest recoveries in recent memory. The Coyotes proceeded to go on an 18-2 run over the next 3:08 and take its second lead of the game at 42-41 with 13:05 left on the game clock when Robinette scored on a drive to the basket and converted a free throw after being fouled. USD was able to extend its lead to 57-49 at the 6:02 mark on a jumper by Yoerger. However, Walsh stepped in the picture and her three-point shot at the 5:28 mark pulled Augustana within 57-54. A jumper by Robinette provided USD with a 61-58 lead the 2:25 mark. Once again, Walsh hit a jumper and when Hofer added two free throws at the 1:47 mark, the Vikings had regained a 62-61 lead. Two foul shots by Robinette with 1:26 left in the game provided USD with its final lead of the game at 64-62. Two foul shots by Walsh tied the game at 64-64 with 1:02 left in the game. With eight seconds to play, Adamson was fouled on a hand check call and she made two foul shots for a 66-64 lead. USD's last second desperation shot was off line.

Next for the Coyotes will be a home matchup with second-ranked North Dakota (19-1, 2-0 NCC), a 68-55 winner over Minnesota State on Saturday. The Coyotes and UND will face each other at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 13 at the DakotaDome.