SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The 20th-ranked South Dakota Women's Basketball Team (19-7, 5-6 NCC) dropped a 75-63 North Central Conference decision to 13th-ranked Augustana (25-5, 9-3 NCC) at the Sioux Falls Arena before 3,506 in attendance.
South Dakota dropped its second league game this season to Augustana, also falling 66-64 at the DakotaDome on Jan. 6. The Coyotes now head to face St. Cloud State (17-9, 5-6 NCC) with a top division spot in the league at stake. The winner of the game on Saturday at Halenbeck Hall will finish third or fourth in the league standings and guarantee itself a home game in the upcoming NCC Tournament. Game time for Saturday's match-up in St. Cloud is set for 2 p.m.
The Coyotes were led in scoring by junior point guard Shannon Daly (Groton, S.D.), who had 15 points and three rebounds. She hit 5-of-8 field goals, including both of her three-point shots. Junior forward Ashley Robinette (South Sioux City, Neb.) had 12 points, five rebounds, two steals and two assists. Two other Coyotes, junior guard Jeana Hoffman (Mitchell, S.D.) and sophomore forward Natalie Carda (Beresford, S.D.), scored in double digits with 10 points each.
Overall the Coyotes hit 21-of-63 field goals for 33.3 percent but were only 10-of-34 from three-point range for 29.4 percent. USD made 11-of-16 free throws for 68.8 percent. The Coyotes lost for the first time this year (9-1) when making 10 or more three point field goals in a game.
"We did a lot of things right tonight," said USD head coach Chad Lavin. "We had a lot of opportunities but we had trouble shooting the ball. Over the past several games, we just aren't putting the shots down. We came back from a 16-point second half deficit because our players put everything on the line. But when we got close we just could not convert the shots," he said.
The Vikings were led by senior guard Alison Adamson who had a career-high 26 points to go with eight rebounds. Ashley Holiday had a double double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Chelsea DeVille had 10 points. The Vikings hit 26-of-59 field goals for 44.1 percent, including 5-of-21 from three-point range for 23.8 percent. Augustana made 18-of-24 free throws for 75 percent.
After Augustana scored the opening basket of the game, the Coyotes used a couple of three-pointers to grab a 12-4 advantage at the 16:50 mark. Jeana Hoffman's three-pointer gave USD the eight-point lead, which would be its largest of the game.
Augustana rallied behind the play of Adamson to run off 16 of the game's next 20 points for a 20-15 lead at the 9:16 mark of the opening half. The Vikings continued its surge and the lead grew to 27-17 after Adamson scored on a drive at the 6:08 mark of the half. Augustana took a 42-31 lead to halftime after Jeana Hoffman hit a three-point shot with two seconds left to keep the Coyotes within striking distance. After USD led 12-4, Augustana closed the half on a 38-19 run.
USD hit 12-of-34 field goals for 35.34 percent, including just 4-of-16 from three-point range in the opening half. The Coyotes were led in scoring by Daly and Hoffman with 10 points.
Adamson scored 18 points for Augustana, hitting 8-of-12 field goals. Overall Augie was 16-of-31 from the field for 51.6 percent and 4-of-14 from three-point range. The Vikings controlled the boards in the half, with a 25-11 advantage, including nine on the offensive end.
After neither team was able to get any offense going in the early portions of the second half, Carda hit a three-point shot to draw the Coyotes with 44-34. However, Augustana kept driving to the basket with free throws the end result. Two foul shots by Amy Puthoff built the Vikings' lead to 50-34 with 15:54 to play in the game. It didn't take the Coyotes long to respond. Robinette hit a pair of free throws at the 14:54 mark to cut the lead to 50-38. Then, USD hit three-point field goals on its next two possessions to draw within 50-44 at the 13:20 mark of the half. After Augustana built the lead to 54-46 on a jumper by Amanda Ahrendt at the 12:05 mark, USD went on a 6-0 run to draw within 54-52 at the 9:42 mark of the second half. The Coyotes eventually tied the game at 56-56 with 8:24 left on the clock after Daly hit two free throws. However, USD missed several opportunities to take the lead and Augustana gradually rebuilt a double digit lead. Augustana outscored USD, 17-6, over the final 8:10 to build its lead to 11 points at 73-62 with 26 seconds left in the game.
