RIVERSIDE, Calif.—South Dakota sophomore guard Allison Arens was one board shy of her first career double-double with 27 points and nine rebounds as the Coyotes defeated UC Riverside 61-55 in SRC Arena Friday night.

The Coyotes improved to 4-1 while the Highlanders fell to 1-3 on the season. 

"We found a way when adversity struck early in that fourth quarter," said USD head coach Dawn Plitzuweit. "We had nothing going our way. We weren't getting good shots off, we were getting offensive fouls called on us. They didn't have much going their way, but our team dug in and I am really proud of them for that."
 
Senior center Abigail Fogg won her fifth consecutive tip of the season, two more than the Coyotes had in all of non-conference play in 2015-16. There were six lead changes and two ties throughout the course of the game.
 
The Coyotes used a 33-13 run between the second quarter media timeout and the third quarter media to jump out to a 51-40 lead. The Coyotes never allowed the Highlanders to score consecutive buckets during the span.
 
UC Riverside went on its own 11-4 run in the fourth quarter to close the gap back up to 57-55. Arens drove in a layup with 1:09 to play. Freshman guard Ciara Duffy came up with five rebounds in the final 1:32 to prevent second chance opportunities for the Highlanders. She also had a block with 15 seconds on the clock, coming away with her own rebound and forcing the Highlanders to foul when down by four points. Duffy was one of two players to reach 10 boards in the game, joining senior forward Bridget Arens. Both were career highs on the boards.
 
"I was really proud of the defensive effort of Ciara," said Plitzuweit. "She made some big plays near the end on the glass. We needed her to be a defensive stopper for us today and she did just that. She responded well and she has been learning very quickly."
 
Allison Arens was 10-for-13 from the field to reach 27 points. She added four assists and a steal to her nine rebounds.
 
Sophomore guard Jaycee Bradley was the second Coyote in double figures with 13 points and grabbed four rebounds.
 
The Highlanders were led by Preseason all-Big West forward Rejane Verin's 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting. Verin was the only Highlander to reach double figures. Junior guard Lauren Holt, who has led the Highlanders this season, was held to four points on 2-of-7 shooting from the field.
 
South Dakota outrebounded UC Riverside 43-27 and outscored the Highlanders 15-7 on second chance points. The Coyotes shot 43.4 percent (23-of-53) from the field and made 83.3 percent (10-of-12) from the charity stripe.
 
South Dakota travels to CSU Bakersfield for its second road contest of the trip at 3 p.m. (CT) Sunday.