VERMILLION, S.D.—South Dakota's bench lit the spark for the Coyotes as they ran away from the Bison 80-54 inside the DakotaDome Saturday afternoon.
 
South Dakota (17-5, 8-1 Summit) won its seventh consecutive game against the Bison with senior guards Nicole Seekamp and Tia Hemiller leading the way. Seekamp finished with 17 points, four assists and three steals. Hemiller had 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting.
 
However in the game's 26-point differential, the Coyote bench made the difference by outscoring the Bison 33-14.
 
"It isn't all about the five starters this late in the season," head coach Amy Williams said. "It's about who can come off the bench and score points. The team that has the depth is the one that will win games."
 
All 13 Coyotes saw the court for at least nine minutes. Junior guard Jasmine Trimboli had eight points and freshman guard Allison Arens added seven to lead the bench in scoring. Senior guard Heidi Hoff, junior forward Bridget Arens, junior center Abigail Fogg, and sophomore center Kate Liveringhouse each finished with four.
 
North Dakota State (6-16, 1-8 Summit) had one player with more than two points at the half. Senior guard Marena Whittle went on to finish with 15 points, six rebounds and two blocks. The Bison shot 18-of-40 from the field and made 15-of-18 from the free-throw line. It was the 26 Bison turnovers, with four shot clock violations, that cost them down the stretch.
 
The Coyotes continued to crash the boards, outrebounding the Bison 33-21. South Dakota held North Dakota State to two offensive rebounds. Junior guard Caitlin Duffy led the Coyotes in rebounding with six, while senior center Margaret McCloud had five with four offensive boards.
 
South Dakota's largest lead came with 3:33 remaining in the third quarter as Liveringhouse made a layup to put the Coyotes up 35 points. Bison guard Taylor Thunstedt answered with a three-pointer and three-point play. She would finish with eight points after scoring a career-high 31 against the Coyotes two weeks ago.
 
The Coyotes return to action with a pair of road games next weekend. South Dakota is at Denver at 8 p.m. Friday and at Omaha at 2 p.m. Sunday.