Orem, Utah -- The South Dakota women's basketball team cut a 13-point lead to one in the final minutes but the rally fell short as the second-seeded Coyotes were upset by No. 7 seed Houston Baptist, 73-64, in the opening round of the Great West Conference Tournament Wednesday afternoon in Orem, Utah. The Coyotes, who saw a six-game winning streak end, fell to 19-11 on the year.

Junior forward Amber Hegge (Crofton, Neb.) led the Coyotes with her eighth double-double of the season with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Junior center Jodie Boss (Columbus, Neb.) added a double-double as well -- her fifth of the season -- with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman post Stacia Robertson (Grand Island, Neb.) added 12 points while sophomore guard Alexis Yackley (Onida, S.D.) led with five assists.

Tia Jackson led the Huskies with a game-high 23 points. Houston Baptist shot 51.9 percent (27-of-52) from the field, compared to 32.8 percent (20-of-61) for the Coyotes. South Dakota shot just 4-of-22 (18.2 percent) from the three-point line on the night.

"We did have some good looks," South Dakota head coach Ryun Williams said. "Early on we were hesitant. We passed up a lot of good shots. And then we got on the wrong side of momentum, and that clock started ticking. We had some opportunities late. We had some good looks at the three-point line...we just didn't make the winning plays when we had the opportunity. We continued to fight, we just didn't make the plays."

The Coyotes were down by nine at halftime (37-28) but made a run to open the second half to cut the lead to two. South Dakota scored 10 of the first 13 points of the half - including four apiece by Boss and Hegge and two from senior guard Teresa Case (Sioux Falls, S.D.) - to cut the lead to 40-38 with 16:43 left.

However, South Dakota, which battled cold shooting all night, would go without a point for the next 4:49, which allowed Houston Baptist to push the lead to double digits for the first time at 48-38 with 12:18 left.

The Coyotes, who trailed 53-40 at one point, closed the gap to 62-54 with 5:19 left after a pair of Robertson free throws, and cut the lead down further with an 8-1 run over the next 3:16 to cut the lead to 63-62--the closest South Dakota been since the first half. Hegge scored five points during that run, which was capped off by a free throw by sophomore guard Alexis Yackley (Onida, S.D.).

However, the Coyotes were unable to tie and take the lead, as Houston Baptist was 8-of-8 from the free-throw line in the final two minutes. South Dakota started the game strong with a 5-0 run, with four points coming from junior Annie Roche (Vermillion, S.D.). Houston Baptist scored six in a row to gain the lead at 6-5, but the Coyotes scored six straight - on three-pointers by sophomore guard Tempestt Wilson (Elk River, Minn.) and Case - to take an 11-6 lead.

The Huskies answered with a 9-0 run to take the lead at 15-11. South Dakota held a 20-19 lead with 7:17 left in the first half after a pair of Hegge free throws - but that would prove to be the final Coyote lead of the night.

The Coyotes shot just 25.8 percent (8-of-31) in the first half, while Houston Baptist shot 15-of-29 from the field. The result was a 37-28 halftime deficit for the Coyotes. Roche paced the Coyotes with seven points, while Robertson had six and Hegge and Case five apiece.

Wilson added eight points while Case and Roche each finished with seven. Hegge and Robertson had three assists each.

The Coyotes will now wait to hear if they will have earned a berth in the Women's Basketball Invitational postseason tournament. The selections for the 16-team tournament will be announced on Monday, March 14, with the first-round games taking place on March 16 and 17.