Flagstaff, Ariz. -- A 19-6 run over the final six minutes proved to be the difference as the South Dakota women's basketball team recorded a 69-57 win over Northern Arizona in nonconference action Thursday night in Flagstaff, Ariz. Sophomore guard Alexis Yackley paced a balanced Coyote attack with a career-high 19 points.

Yackley (Onida, S.D.) finished 10-of-11 from the free-throw line and added a game-high six assists and three steals in the win for South Dakota (6-5). Junior Jodie Boss (Columbus, Neb.) had her second double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 points. Freshman Katelyn Edwards (Crete, Neb.) chipped in with a career-high 10 points and six rebounds off the bench for South Dakota. South Dakota, which had five players with seven points or more in the game, hit 22-of-26 free throws in the game, including several big foul shots during the final minutes.

"It was a great team victory," South Dakota head coach Ryun Williams said in the postgame radio interview. "I'm really proud of the kids. We needed every ounce of energy from every single kid tonight. We showed tremendous mental toughness for 40 minutes. We made some big free throws down the stretch."

South Dakota led by seven at halftime but Northern Arizona (4-5) came back in the second half to take a 51-50 lead with 7:16 left. The Coyotes started the decisive run from there, as junior Jackie Hiebert (Maple Grove, Minn.) hit a jumper to put South Dakota back in front, 52-51. It was a lead the Coyotes never gave up.

Sparking the final run was the Coyotes' free-throw shooting. South Dakota hit 15-of-16 free throws over the final 5:50 of the game, led by Yackley going 10-for-10. Northern Arizona was was close as 58-53 with 3:20 left but Yackley hit four straight free throws to push the Coyote lead to 62-53, and the Coyote lead never dropped below eight the rest of the way.

The Coyotes opened the game with a quick 6-0 run in the first 2:19 - on baskets by junior Amber Hegge (Crofton, Neb.), sophomore Tempestt Wilson (Elk River, Minn.) and Boss. South Dakota held the Lumberjacks without a point for the first 5:14 of the game while stretching that lead to 8-0.

Northern Arizona finally got on the board with 14:46 left in the first half, but the Coyotes answered when Edwards drained a three-pointer to push the lead to 11-2. The Lumberjacks climbed back into the game and cut the lead to 14-13, but South Dakota scored seven of the next nine points to extend the lead back to 21-15. Junior guard Annie Roche (Vermillion, S.D.) drained a trey and scored five points during that stretch for the Coyotes.

The lead was down to 28-27 with 3:27 left in the first half, but the Coyotes closed the frame strong by outscoring the Lumberjacks 7-1, allowing them to take a 35-28 lead into the halftime break. A three-point play by Edwards sparked the Coyotes during the final minutes of the first half.

Boss had eight points in the first half to pace the Coyotes, while Edwards had seven and Roche and Alexis Yackley five each. South Dakota shot 50 percent in the first half, compared to 39 percent for the Lumberjacks.

For the game, South Dakota shot 45.8 percent while holding the Lumberjacks to just 34.8 percent shooting. Roche added nine points for South Dakota, while Wilson had seven points. Yackley added five rebounds.

South Dakota returns home for a Monday nonconference contest against Tabor College. The game, part of a women's/men's doubleheader, begins at 6 p.m. at the DakotaDome in Vermillion, S.D.

Note: It was the first-ever meeting between the two schools in women's basketball...Edwards' three-pointer was the first of her collegiate career...Hegge, South Dakota's leading scorer, was limited to just two points in three minutes of action because of illness.