Final Stats

VERMILLION, S.D. – Raeshel Contreras tied her season-high of 24 points while Nicole Seekamp added 22 points as South Dakota women's basketball won its home opener against UC Irvine 96-52 in the DakotaDome on Monday night.

Contreras shot 8-for-14 from the field and 4-for-9 from 3-point range, while Seekamp was 9-for-11 from the field and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc. Seekamp also dished out seven assists. Kate Liveringhouse tallied 15 points in her DakotaDome debut while Heidi Hoff tallied 10 points in her first home game in 11 months.

Following up on a 14 rebound effort against Washington last Thursday, Lisa Loeffler was USD's (3-2) leading rebounder with 10 on Monday night.

South Dakota shot 50 percent (34-68) from the field and had 28 assists in the game. The Coyotes also outrebounded the Anteaters 51-30, held a 12-6 advantage in steals, outscored UCI in the paint 36-14 and had a 33-10 advantage in bench points.

Through five games this season, USD's bench has outscored its opponent's benches 137-50.

Mokun Fajemisin was UCI's (1-4) leading scorer with 15 points while Methlyn Onogomuho added 13 points. The Anteaters shot 32.8 percent and were 0-for-9 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Contreras and Seekamp both had 16 points in the first half, combining to score on 13 of their 19 shot attempts. UCI lead for much of the first eight minutes of the game, but a 28-8 run during a seven minute stretch gave USD a 41-22 lead with 4:59 remaining. USD shot 10-for-16 during that stretch while UCI was 2-for-5 with seven turnovers. USD led 56-31 at halftime.

Liveringhouse was USD's leading scorer in the second half with nine points while Contreras added eight. Defensively, South Dakota held UCI to 26.7 percent shooting (8-for-30) and 21 points in the second half, while also adding a 30-14 edge in rebounds. The Coyotes led by as many as 46 with 1:24 remaining in the game.

South Dakota will be off until Sunday when they play at Marquette in the Al McGuire Center. That game starts at 2 p.m.