CHICAGO -- The University of South Dakota women's basketball team wrapped up the road portion of its Great West Conference schedule on Saturday with a 72-61 loss at Chicago State in Chicago.

USD (12-14, 4-5 Great West) split the season series with the Cougars (11-18, 6-5 GWC). The Coyotes will conclude their regular season with three home games in four days starting on March 4 against Texas-Pan American.

The Coyotes were led by sophomore Amber Hegge (Crofton, Neb.), who had 22 points, while junior Abby Kinder (Granger, Ind.) added 14.

USD battled back from a 13-point deficit in the second half to cut the lead to two with three minutes left before the Cougars pulled away late. Down 37-24, USD went on a 9-2 run - sparked by five points from sophomore Annie Roche (Vermillion, S.D.) and two each from Hegge and senior Kara Iverson (Yankton, S.D.) - to cut the Chicago State lead to 39-33.

The Cougars pushed the lead back to 12 but again, USD closed the gap. The Coyotes were within four after Kinder drained two free throws with 6:25 left.

Two minutes later, Iverson drained a three-pointer to bring USD within 55-52, the closest the Coyotes had been since the first half. After Chicago State's Courtney Waldron hit a basket, Kinder nailed a three-pointer to bring the Coyotes within 57-55 with 3:18 left.

USD was within three at 59-56 with 2:24 left after Hegge hit one of two free throws but got no closer, as Chicago State ended the game on a 13-5 run to secure the win.

Iverson finished with eight points for USD, while Roche had seven. Senior Jasmine Mosley (Bellevue, Neb.) had seven rebounds and two steals to go with six points.

USD trailed the entire first half faced a 26-18 deficit at halftime. USD shot just 26.1 percent in the first half and committed nine turnovers, which led to 10 Chicago State points.

For the game, USD shot 36.5 percent, compared to 51.1 percent for Chicago State.

USD's game against Texas-Pan American, set for March 4 in Vermillion, will begin at 6 p.m. at the DakotaDome. USD will face Houston Baptist on March 6 and New Jersey Institute of Technology on March 7. All three games will be pivotal in determining USD's seed for the Great West Conference tournament.