GRAND FORKS, N.D.—South Dakota senior guard Nicole Seekamp stole the ball as the clock expired to seal the Coyotes' 73-70 win over North Dakota Saturday afternoon inside Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
 
"Today's game came down to grit," said head coach Amy Williams. "We found a way to grind it out. I could not be more proud of our seniors. They stepped up and made big plays right when we needed them. A great effort from our team as they overcame a lot of adversity."
 
South Dakota (8-4) has won eight of its last nine games and two-in-a-row in the series. North Dakota (4-6) lost inside 'The Betty' for the first time this season and just the 29th time since the arena opened in 2004-05.
 
Five Coyotes scored in double figures Saturday. Seekamp finished with a team-high 15 points, five assists, and four steals. Senior center Margaret McCloud, senior guard Kelly Stewart, and sophomore Kate Liveringhouse each had 11 points. Senior guard Tia Hemiller added 10 more.

With two rebounds, Hemiller became the 20th player in program history to surpass 750 points and 500 rebounds for her career.
 
North Dakota's Mia Loyd, the Big Sky Pre-Season Player of the Year, put up a game-high 22 points and grabbed seven boards. Teammate Leah Szabla scored a career-high 21 points. Makailah Dyer added 16 for the Fighting Hawks.
 
South Dakota held the lead for nearly 38 minutes of the contest. The Coyotes' reached their largest lead of 13 at the end of the first. With both teams scoring 12 points in the second quarter, the Coyotes took a 35-24 lead into the half.
 
North Dakota went on a 15-8 run in the final six minutes of the third quarter with eight points from Loyd to make it a one-basket game. A layup by Dyer with 7:55 remaining in the fourth put the Fighting Hawks up 50-49.
 
The Fighting Hawks gained momentum as the lead changed four times in the beginning of the fourth. Seekamp hit a 15-foot jumper with 7:27 to go to quiet the crowd inside The Betty. Hemiller had a steal two minutes later that she ran down court for an easy layup and extend the Coyotes' lead to five.
 
North Dakota would foul six times in the final 1:17 to send the Coyotes to the line. South Dakota sank 6-of-9 from the charity stripe to hold onto the lead.
 
Overall, South Dakota was 27-of-57 (47.4 percent) from the field, forced 23 Fighting Hawk turnovers, and held a 19-11 advantage in bench points. North Dakota also shot 47 percent (25-of-53) from the field.
 
The Fighting Hawks won the rebounding battle 34-28 which resulted in 20 second-chance points to South Dakota's eight. Liveringhouse and McCloud both had a team-high five boards.
 
South Dakota travels to Champaign, Ill., to face Illinois at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the State Farm Center.