ROCHESTER, Mich. - Senior forward Amber Hegge recorded her second straight double-double to lead the South Dakota women's basketball team to a 58-51 win over Oakland in Summit League action Saturday in Rochester, Mich. The Coyotes improved to 5-1 overall and 1-1 in the Summit League with the win, while Oakland fell to 3-4 overall and 1-1 in the conference.

Hegge (Crofton, Neb.) finished with game highs of 24 points and 14 rebounds for her 16th career double-double. She also led the team with three assists. Senior guard Annie Roche (Vermillion, S.D.) added 13 points, hitting 4-of-5 shots from the field and 5-of-6 free throws. Junior guard Alexis Yackley (Onida, S.D.) had five points and four assists.

The Coyotes shot just 36.5 percent (19-of-52), including 4-of-22 from three-point range. However, once again their defense delivered big, holding Oakland to 35.1 shooting (20-of-57), including only 23.1 percent (3-of-13) from three-point range. The Coyotes held Oakland's top scorer, Bethany Watterworth, who was averaging more than 21 points per game entering the contest, to just 14 points on 6-of-16 shooting.

Oakland was picked to finish second in the Summit League, according to the league's preseason poll.

"It was an outstanding win in a lot of different areas," South Dakota head coach Ryun Williams said. "We guarded extremely well, and we just make some big plays. We played really good team defense. It was a good team win."

It took several big plays over the final five minutes for the Coyotes to prevail. They led by as many as six in the second half before Oakland took the lead at 46-44 with 7:37 left on a three by Watterworth.

The game was tied at 48-48 when junior guard Sam Mehr (Apple Valley, Minn.) delivered a huge three-pointer to give the Coyotes a 51-48 lead with 5:21 left. It was a lead South Dakota never relinquished.

Oakland cut the gap to 51-50 with 1:57 left, and Hegge hit a free throw to make it 52-50. After a key defensive stop, the Coyotes had the ball in the final minute, and Hegge drained a three-pointer with 42 seconds left to give them a 55-50 lead. Oakland got no closer than four the rest of the way, as Hegge hit two key foul shots and Roche hit one.

South Dakota held Oakland to just three points over the final 6:01 of the game.

"The stops were so crucial," Williams said. "We were extremely disruptive defensively."

The win came despite the Coyotes not scoring over the first six minutes of the game. Their defense kept it close - holding Oakland to just five points during that stretch - until freshman Taylor Moore (Milford, Neb.) got the Coyotes on the board with a three with 13:48 left in the half.

The Coyotes, despite shooting only 29.6 percent in the first half, took a 24-21 lead into the break, thanks to 13 points and eight rebounds from Hegge.

Early in the second half, the Coyotes pushed the lead to 37-31 on a Yackley three with 14:33 left. Oakland answered with a 17-9 run over the next 8:22 to take a 48-46 lead with 6:01 left, before South Dakota's defense seized control down the stretch.

Senior Jodie Boss (Columbus, Neb.) had three blocks and four points.

The Coyotes go back into nonconference play Wednesday at Northern Iowa. Game time is 7:05 p.m. in Cedar Falls, Iowa.