VERMILLION, S.D. - Senior forward
Amber Hegge recorded her 11th double-double of the season while senior guard
Annie Roche added 17 to lead the South Dakota women's basketball team to a 64-61 win over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in nonconference action Thursday night in Vermillion, S.D. The Coyotes finished the regular season with a 22-7 mark, while SIUE fell to 18-10.
Hegge (Crofton, Neb.), who was named to the All-Summit League first team earlier in the day, finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds along with three assists and three blocks. Roche (Vermillion, S.D.) added 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting and also added three assists. Freshman Kelly Stewart (Amery, Wis.) added eight points and four rebounds off the bench, while junior guard Alexis Yackley (Onida, S.D.) added a game-high eight assists.
The win helped further solidify the postseason tournament position for the Coyotes, who finished 12-1 in their last 13 games of the season after being 10-6 at one point. South Dakota is not eligible for the NCAA tournament but has hopes for a bid in the WNIT.
"Our players always responded," South Dakota head coach Ryun Williams said. "We had that 2-5 start in the Summit League and that tough road trip to NDSU and SDSU, and we responded with eight wins in a row. That's a credit to our team."
Facing their toughest nonconference test of their home season, the Coyotes - who led by as many as 12 in the game - weathered a late SIUE rally in the final minutes once again with key free throw shooting. The Coyotes hit 7-of-8 free throws in the final 1:11 to ice their 15th home win of 2011-12.
The Cougars tied the game at 55-55 after Melia Duncan drained a three-pointer with 2:21 left in the contest. Senior center Jodie Boss (Columbus, Neb.) scored a key layup on the other end to put the Coyotes back in front, 57-55 with 1:50 left.
The Coyotes then forced a turnover, and Yackley drained a pair of free throws to push the lead to 59-55 with 1:11 left.
SIUE converted a layup to close within 59-57, but a pair of free throws by Stewart pushed the Coyote lead back to 61-57 with 46 seconds left. Once again, after SIUE cut the lead to two at 61-59 with 17 seconds left, Roche hit two free throws to make it 63-59. Duncan's layup with nine seconds left cut the lead to 63-61, and after Boss hit 1-of-2 free throws with eight seconds, SIUE had a chance to tie in the final seconds - but the Coyotes got the key stop, as Katie Hempen's three bounced off, preserving a three-point Coyote win.
South Dakota found itself down 8-0 three minutes into the game, but scored eight straight - with Stewart and Hegge each draining threes - to tie the game at 8-8 with 14:54 left in the half. SIUE answered with six straight points of its own to push the lead to 14-8, but the Coyotes responded with a key 10-0 run over the next 4:37 to take an 18-14. Roche sparked the run with seven points, while Stewart added a key three.
South Dakota pushed the lead to 23-16 with 8:21 left after Hegge scored on a layup. The Coyotes maintained that lead and took a 31-26 lead into halftime. Hegge had 13 points in the first half while Roche added 10 and Stewart six. The Coyotes shot 40.7 percent in the first half, compared to 36.7 percent (11-of-30) for SIUE.
The Coyotes opened the second half with seven straight points to stretch the lead to 38-26 with 18:15 left in the half. Roche had five points, including a three, to spark the run, while Hegge added two free throws.
SIUE came back with a 16-4 run to tie the game at 42-42 with 12:55 left. However, junior Tempestt Wilson hit back-to-back threes to push the Coyote lead to 48-42 with 11:01 left. Hegge followed with a three-point moments later to cap off the 9-0 run, giving the Coyotes a 51-42 lead with 9:19 left. From there, SIUE cut the lead, setting up the final minutes, where the Coyotes made the big free throws.
"We made enough plays," Williams said.
Boss added seven points, six rebounds, two assists and one block.
The Coyotes will now await word on their postseason hopes. WNIT bids are announced on March 12.
