VERMILLION, S.D. -- When it is all said and done, postseason basketball is about winning and the #22 South Dakota Women's Basketball Team (21-7) was up to the task in a 68-60 win over Minnesota State (16-12) in the first round of the North Central Conference Tournament on Wednesday night before 1,148 at the DakotaDome.

South Dakota won its fourth straight home game in the first round of the NCC Tourney and improved to 5-2 overall in NCC Tournament first round games. USD is 6-6 overall in the NCC Tourney.

USD won its second straight game to improve to 21-7 on the season, which is the squad's best record since going 25-7 in the 2003-04 season. USD, which is ranked third in the North Central Region rankings, now face Nebraska-Omaha in the NCC Tourney semifinals at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Grand Forks, N.D. UNO (16-11) upset second-seeded Augustana (25-6), 64-61, at the Elmen Center on Wednesday. In the other semifinals on Saturday, third-ranked North Dakota will face Minnesota-Duluth (15-13), which defeated St. Cloud State (17-11), 83-79 at Duluth, Minn., also on Wednesday.

In the win over MSU, the Coyotes placed four players in double figure points and point guard Shannon Daly had a career-best 11 assists. Daly, a junior from Groton, S.D., added five points and two steals in a solid floor game. Bridget Yoerger, a sophomore from Hinton, Iowa, had 19 points and reached double digits for a team-high 20th time this season. Yoerger, who also grabbed four rebounds and had a steal, hit 6-of-10 shots from the field and 7-of-10 free throws. Jeana Hoffman, a junior from Mitchell, S.D., added 16 points and seven rebounds as she connected on 4-of-7 three-point baskets. Her sister, Jenna Hoffman, added 11 points and eight rebounds to go with four steals. In addition, junior forward Ashley Robinette, a junior from South Sioux City, Neb., had 13 points, including 6-of-6 from the free throw line.

Minnesota State was led by Joanne Noreen who had a career-high with 27 points. Alex Andrews added 14 points for the Mavericks.

MSU outshot USD, 43.4 (23-of-53) to 38.3 percent (18-of-47) but USD held a huge advantage at the free throw line. The Coyotes hit 25-of-32 free throws for 78.1 percent while MSU made 9-of-12 for 75 percent. USD also hit 7-of-23 three-point field goals for 30.4 percent while MSU was hitting on 5-of-14 shots from beyond the arc for 35.7 percent.

The Mavericks also held a 35-30 rebound advantage but the Coyotes forced the visitors into 19 turnovers while committing just 12.

Things fell in USD's favor early in the game as the Coyotes used a three-point field goal by Ashley Bjorkman (Vermillion, S.D.) at 12:34 and a lay-up by Robinette at 10:48 of the first half to build a 14-8 advantage. However, MSU answered with four straight points to draw within 14-12 at the 9:34 mark. At the 7:27 mark of the half, Robinette hit a three-point field goal to help USD to a 19-14 advantage. Once again, MSU responded as the Mavericks went on a 10-0 run, capped by a lay-up from Andrews, to take a 24-19 lead with 3:44 left in the first half. Robinette's jumper with 2:16 before halftime pulled USD within 26-24. However, MSU outscored the Coyotes, 6-2, in the final two minutes to take a 32-26 lead into the break.

The Coyotes haven't had a lot of wins this season when trailing at the break. USD was just 1-7 this season when trailing at halftime. The Coyotes reversed that trend by outscoring MSU, 42-28, in the second half.

After MSU grabbed its largest lead of the game at 34-26 with 19:10 left to play, USD began its rally. A three-point shot by Jeana Hoffman cut MSU's lead to 36-35 at the 16:47 mark of the second half. Then, Yoerger capped an 11-2 run with an inside basket at the 16:14 mark to give USD's its first lead (37-36) since the 6:24 mark of the first half. USD moved the advantage to 45-39 when Daly converted a pair of free throws with 12:56 left on the game clock. The Coyotes built the lead to 50-42 when Jenna Hoffman canned a three-pointer at the 11:39 mark of the half. Hoffman's basket capped a 24-8 run by the Coyotes over the previous eight minutes of the half.

MSU fought back to 51-49 on a 7-1 run as Noreen scored on a lay-up with 9:41 left to play in the game. Jeana Hoffman proceeded to knock down a three-pointer at the 8:05 mark to give USD a 54-49 lead. Anna Voltmer's bucket with 5:05 left drew MSU within 54-53. The Mavericks took their final lead of the game at 57-56, when Tiffany Moe hit a jumper with 3:19 to play.

The teams traded three-point baskets before USD utilized solid free throw shooting to put the game in the win column. Robinette hit four straight charity tosses to build USD's lead to 63-60 with 1:53 left in the game. Then, Yoerger knocked down two foul shots at the 1:10 mark for a 65-60 lead. Daly hit a free throw for a 66-60 lead with 23 seconds left and Jeana Hoffman capped the charity toss display with two foul shots with nine seconds left to ice the game and give USD a hard fought 68-60 win. In the final 2:11, USD hit 9-of-10 free throws.