CEDAR CITY, Utah - Senior Annie Roche scored 16 points to pace a balanced attack to lead the South Dakota women's basketball team to a 68-40 rout of Southern Utah in Summit League action Saturday night in Cedar City, Utah. The Coyotes moved to 13-6 overall and 5-5 in the Summit League with their third straight win, while Southern Utah fall to 5-16 and 1-9 in the conference.

Roche (Vermillion, S.D.) hit 6-of-11 shots from the field in the game, and also added four assists and four steals. Nine Coyotes scored five points or more in the game, including junior Alexis Yackley (Onida, S.D.), who had nine points and a game-high eight assists, while senior Amber Hegge (Crofton, Neb.) added eight points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Senior Jodie Boss (Columbus, Neb.) had six blocks and five rebounds to go with five points.

South Dakota shot 41.3 percent (26-of-63) from the field, including 43.3 percent (13-of-30) from three-point range, while holding Southern Utah to 26.9 percent shooting (14-of-52).

"It was a really good team performance, on both ends of the floor," South Dakota head coach Ryun Williams said. "We got off to a great start shooting the basketball; it allowed us to get comfortable. Defensively early on, we were exceptional at taking away what they wanted. Everybody was really locked in. That?'s what needed to get done tonight."

The game was tied at 4-4 with 15:43 left in the first half before the Coyotes surged into a 20-8 lead with a 16-4 run over the next 4:55. Roche was the catalyst with 10 points, hitting a pair of three-pointers, while Yackley and junior Tempestt Wilson (Elk River, Minn.) each drained treys.

Southern Utah cut the lead to 22-14 with 6:11 left, but a three from Roche, followed by two threes by Yackley, to take a 31-14 lead with 1:48 left in the half. South Dakota took a 34-18 lead into halftime.

Roche had 13 first-half points, while Yackley had nine points and six assists. The Coyotes shot 7-of-14 from three-point range in the first half.

Southern Utah cut the lead to 34-21 just 37 seconds into the second half, but the Coyotes took command from there. They went on a 14-0 run over the next 5:17 to extend the lead to 48-21. Hegge and Boss had four points each for the Coyotes during that spurt, while Roche and freshman Kelly Stewart (Amery, Wis.) added threes.

South Dakota held Southern Utah without a point for nearly seven minutes in the second half, and without a field goal for more than 14 minutes.

Wilson and junior Sam Mehr (Apple Valley, Minn.) each had six points, while Stewart, junior Pam January (Richfield, Minn.) and sophomore McKayla Knudson (South Sioux City, Neb.) had five points each. Stewart had a career-high three blocks.

The Coyotes wrap up the road trip with a game at Oral Roberts on Monday night. Game time is 7:05 p.m. in Tulsa, Okla.