NEWARK, N.J. -- A furious rally in the final minute fell two points short as the University of South Dakota women's basketball team suffered a heartbreaking 55-53 loss to the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Great West Conference play Thursday night in Newark, N.J.

Junior Abby Kinder (Granger, Ind.) led USD with 14 points and six rebounds. Sophomore Annie Roche (Vermillion, S.D.) added 11 points, while sophomore Amber Hegge (Crofton, Neb.) added nine points and four blocks.

USD (12-13, 4-4 GWC) was down 53-45 with 1:06 when it mounted a furious comeback. Kinder hit two free throws to start the run, and moments later, Roche drained a three to cut the gap to 53-50 with 43 seconds left.

After NJIT's Jessica Gerald hit 1-of-2 free throws, Kinder drained a three-pointer with 32 seconds left to bring USD with 54-53. NJIT converted 1-of-2 free throws to make it 55-53 with 29 seconds left.

USD had a chance to take the lead on its next possession, but a three-pointer missed. Despite the miss, USD still had a chance to tie or take the lead after NJIT missed two free throws.

USD had one last possession in the final seconds but a shot wouldn't fall, leaving the Coyote comeback two points short.

Senior Jasmine Mosley (Bellevue, Neb.) had seven points and five rebounds for USD. Junior Teresa Case (Sioux Falls, S.D.) had four assists.

The Coyotes led 23-21 at halftime, but NJIT took the lead at 29-28 after a Jessica Gerald layup with 15:11 left.

Hegge scored four straight points to push USD in front, 32-29 with 12:44 left, and two minutes later, Case drained a three-pointer to extend the Coyote advantage to 35-31.

USD held a 44-43 advantage with 4:32 left after a Mosley basket. But NJIT responded with a decisive 10-1 run, over the next three minutes to take a 53-45 lead, setting up the final minute.

USD was down 15-7 in the first half but ended the half on a 16-6 run to take a two-point lead into halftime. Kinder led USD with nine points in the first half, while Roche and Hegge had five each. Sophomore Jackie Hiebert (Maple Grove, Minn.) had four points off the bench for USD.

NJIT had a big edge at the free-throw line, hitting 18-of-33 attempts, compared to 6-of-8 for USD, which had four players foul out in the game. USD also committed 21 turnovers in the game, compared to 11 for NJIT. For the game, USD shot 40.4 percent, compared to 36 for NJIT.

The Coyotes will conclude the road portion of their Great West season on Saturday, Feb. 27 at Chicago State. Game time is 2 p.m. Central time in Chicago.

Note: USD's four losses in Great West play have come by a combined 12 points...it was the first meeting ever between the two schools. They will meet again March 7 in Vermillion, S.D...USD held an opponent to under 57 points for a 16th time this season; it's only the fifth time USD has lost when doing so.