DULUTH, Minn. - Led by
Jenna Hoffman's 17 points,
The University of South Dakota women's basketball team clinched at least a share of the North Central Conference title with a 74-54 win over Minnesota-Duluth on Saturday at Romano Gym in Duluth, Minn. The Coyotes, ranked fourth in NCAA Division II, won for the 22nd straight time and improved to 24-1 overall. They lead the North Central Conference with a 10-0 record.
By virtue of two regular seasons wins over second-place North Dakota, the Coyotes will be the number one seed and host of the North Central Conference Finals in early March. South Dakota needs one more win or a North Dakota loss to capture the outright NCC title. This is the fifth time that the Coyotes have won at least a share of the league title and the first since 2002-03 (14-2). USD also won NCC titles in 1982-83, 1983-84 and 1984-85. South Dakota has recorded 24 wins in a season for the first time since the 2002-03 team had a 25-7 record.
Jenna Hoffman (Sr., Mitchell, S.D.) scored a game-high 17 points by making 4-of-8 field goals and 8-of-9 shots from the foul line. She also had five steals, three rebounds and an assist in 33 minutes of work. Bridget Yoerger (Jr., Hinton, Iowa) added 16 points and nine rebounds while also blocking two shots. Yoerger has become the third Coyote player this season to surpass 1,000 points (1,005) for a career. Earlier this month, Ashley Robinette (Sr., South Sioux City, Neb.) and Jeana Hoffman (Sr., Mitchell, S.D.) cracked the 1,000-point mark for a career.
Jeana Hoffman also scored in double figures for USD with 12 points, including 3-of-8 from three-point range. She has made 88 three-point field goals this season, which is one away from the all-time record held by Shelby Peterson (89, 1991-92). Robinette chipped in with 10 points, three rebounds and two assists. Robinette made 2-of-3 shots from three-point range and has 127 for her career, which ranks eighth on USD's all-time chart.
Against the Bulldogs, the Coyotes connected on 22-of-63 field goals for 34.9 percent while making 7-of-19 three-point shots for 36.8 percent. They made 23-30 shots from the foul line for 76.7 percent.
Minnesota-Duluth, which fell to 4-20 overall and 1-9 in the NCC, shot 35.2 percent (19-of-54) from the field. They were led in scoring by senior Katy Freeman with 15 points. The Bulldogs made 7-of-22 shots from three-point range and 9-of-13 from the free throw line.
Paced by eight points from Robinette, the Coyotes opened up a 10-1 lead just 3:27 into the game. It appeared that the Coyotes were going to put the game away early when they extended the advantage to 35-9 when Yoerger hit a pair of foul shots with 7:40 to play in the first half. However, the Bulldogs caught fire and closed the half on a 22-8 run to draw within 43-31 at the halftime break. South Dakota was able to build a first half lead on the strength of an 18-0 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Bulldogs continued their surge in the second half as they cut The U's lead to 46-39 at the 17:32 mark after Kim Wagers made a pair of free throws. South Dakota answered that charge by outscoring UMD, 10-2, over the next nine minutes to build a 56-41 lead at the 10:56 mark of the second half. USD increased the lead to 20 points (65-45) as Jenna Hoffman made two free throws with eight minutes left to play. South Dakota took a 24-point lead at 72-48 when Kelli Fargen (So., Brookings, S.D.) made a foul shot with 56 seconds remaining in the game.
South Dakota will conclude the regular season with a pair of home games. The Coyotes will host Augustana at 6 p.m. on Thursday, February 28, and then face St. Cloud State at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 1 at the DakotaDome.
