VERMILLION, S.D.—South Dakota senior guard Nicole Seekamp scored 16 points and handed out a career-high 12 assists to lead the Coyotes to a 97-69 win against Marquette in the team's home opener at the DakotaDome.
 
Tia Hemiller scored 15 points and had a game-high eight rebounds for South Dakota, which improved to 1-3. Margaret McCloud made all five shots she took for 10 points. Jasmine Trimboli scored 11 of 40 bench points for South Dakota.
 
Marquette of the Big East got 18 points from freshman guard Natisha Hiedeman, but stayed winless in four games. McKayla Yentz had 11 points and Allazia Blockton added 10. The Golden Eagles are the youngest team in the nation with eight freshmen, a sophomore and Yentz, a junior.
 
Seekamp scored the final five points of a 15-0 run near the start of the third quarter that helped the Coyotes turn a 38-33 halftime lead into a 58-37 advantage. The Coyotes scored a season-high 33 points in the third quarter on six three-pointers and 13 of 19 shooting. South Dakota shot 65 percent in the second half (24 of 37) and 57 percent (37 of 65) for the game.
 
South Dakota's 40 bench points included Heidi Hoff's nine points on three triples and Abigail Fogg's eight points on 4 of 5 shooting. The Coyotes, who made 17 three-pointers in an overtime loss at Kansas State Thursday, made 12 of 21 from beyond the arc Tuesday.
 
Hiedeman made four of Marquette's eight 3-pointers. The Golden Eagles were 8 of 25 from 3-point range and shot 43 percent (29 of 67) for the game.
 
South Dakota next competes against Appalachian State at 1:30 p.m. CT Friday at the Florida Atlantic Thanksgiving Tournament in Boca Raton, Fla. The Coyotes will also play Saturday against either Florida Atlantic or Delaware State.