VERMILLION, S.D. -- The 22nd-ranked South Dakota Women's Basketball Team (22-7) continued its postseason mastery at the DakotaDome with a 73-58 decision over Nebraska-Omaha (16-12) in the semifinals of the North Central Conference Tournament on Saturday before 2,825 at the DakotaDome.

For the 20th straight time this season, the Coyotes, which improved to 22-7, won a game in which it led or was tied at the halftime break. USD, which is seeded third in the tourney, also won its fifth straight NCC Tournament game at the DakotaDome and improved to 2-3 in semifinal games of the tournament.

The Coyotes will now meet top-seeded and third-ranked North Dakota (28-3) at 5 p.m. on Sunday at the Betty Engelstadt Center in Grand Forks, N.D. The Coyotes and UND will meet in the finals for the second time in three years. In the 2004-05 tournament, USD, which was seeded seventh, advanced to the title game before falling to UND, 84-69. North Dakota won its NCC semifinal game today with a 74-54 decision over Minnesota-Duluth (15-14). Tonight's win was also important for the Coyote in the regional rankings. USD was ranked third in the most recent regional poll with the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Committee set to announce its playoff pairings on Sunday night.

Jenna Hoffman, a junior from Mitchell, S.D., led the Coyotes in scoring with 16 points while also adding seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and a blocked shot in 31 minutes of work against UNO. Both Jeanna Hoffman, also a junior from Mitchell, S.D., and Ashley Bjorkman scored 13 points and made three, three-point field goals. Sophomore forward Bridget Yoerger of Hinton, Iowa, talled 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Shannon Daly, a junior guard from Groton, S.D., tied her career high with a team-high eight rebounds. She also had seven assists and four points for USD.

The Coyotes' perimeter game did heavy damage to the hopes of seventh-seeded Nebraska-Omaha, which was looking for its second straight upset after knocking off second seeded Augustana on Wednesday. USD was able to connect on 11-of-29 three-point field goals for 37.9 percent. It is the 11th time this season, USD has scored double digits in three-point field goals and the Coyotes are 10-1 in those games.

Overall, USD had a solid shooting game by making 25-of-54 field goals for 46.3 percent. The Coyotes also converted 12-of-18 free throws for 66.7 percent.

Nebraska-Omaha was led in scoring by Karen Thies, who concluded her career with 15 points. Cayla Hargrove supplied 12 points and Alyssa Green had 10 points. Overall, the Mavericks hit 20-of-64 field goals for 31.3 percent. UNO was 8-of-24 from three-point range and 10-of-12 from the foul line for 66.7 percent.

South Dakota jumped out to a quick 7-0 (18.43, first) lead behind the play of Jeana Hoffman, who tallied all seven points. UNO responded with a 7-2 run as USD led, 9-7. The Coyotes had a 16-7 run to build a 25-14 lead at the 6:25 mark. With a 7-0 run, UNO pulled within, 25-21, with 3:22 left on the first half clock. UNO stay after the Coyotes and trailed only, 29-26, at the halftime break. Jeana Hoffman, who scored all 13 of her points in the first half, led USD, which hit 44.4 percent from the field. Thies and Ashley Freerksen had six points to lead UNO, which hit 34.5 percent from the field in the opening half.

The Mavericks hung close in the second half for awhile as Cayla Hargrove hit a three-pointer at the 16:09 mark to cut USD's lead to 37-34. However, the Coyotes had a 9-2 run to grab a 48-36 lead with 12:42 left in the game following Bjorkman's three-point shot. Jenna Hoffman knocked home a shot from beyond the three-point arc as USD built a 55-40 lead with 9:04 left in the game. From that point, UNO was not able to get closer than 14 points. USD led 66-49 on Bjorkman's third three-point field goal of the game at the 2:20 mark. Then, Anne Doshier (Rapid City, S.D.) hit a pair of free throws to give the Coyotes its largest lead of the game at 70-50 with 1:36 left in the game. Doshier added a three-point field goal with 58 seconds left for a 73-54 USD lead.