BAKERSFIELD, Calif.—Thanksgiving weekend marks the first trip to California for South Dakota freshman guard
Madison McKeever. While it's a business trip for the Coyotes with games at UC Riverside and CSU Bakersfield, the team has gotten to enjoy the warmer climate and bond while traveling.
"With it being Thanksgiving, I have been thankful to be here with the team and have tried to take it all in," McKeever said. "It's my first year away from home, but it has been a lot of fun and a lot of memories have already been made."
McKeever's parents, Kevin and Bernice, also ventured out to California this weekend to watch her play.
"The timing worked out perfectly, with both of them having Thanksgiving weekend off from work," McKeever said. "It was nice for them to come out here. My younger sister's playing basketball in high school still, so it's hard for them to come to everything. They came down to Sioux Falls and to our home game and I think they're planning to make as many trips to Vermillion as they can."
McKeever scored six points at UC Riverside on Friday. She's averaging 5.6 points, 1.8 steals and 1.6 rebounds through the first five games.
A native of Erskine, Minn., McKeever scored 3,298 points at Win-E-Mac High School to rank 10th all-time on Minnesota's record book. She also finished in second all-time in Minnesota with 823 steals.
"I loved how family oriented the program is," McKeever said about choosing to sign with South Dakota last fall. "Then of course there's the Sanford Coyote Sports Center that was under construction with the new weight room and new gym.
"I thought it would be pretty sweet to play in, which it definitely is."
Although McKeever was recruited and signed to play for former coach Amy Williams, USD head coach
Dawn Plitzuweit and assistant coach
Russ Rose drove the five hours to Erskine to visit after being hired by South Dakota. McKeever took the opportunity to get to know the new coaches before arriving on campus in June.
The Coyotes were also presented with the chance to visit Australia through a foreign tour in August. Between the 17 hour overseas flight and the 12-day trip, McKeever had plenty of time to spend with the new team and new coaching staff.
"It was our first time being all together," McKeever said. "Scuba diving was my favorite part of the trip. I mean, I panicked before I even went under the water because it was my first time I was unsure of the little mouthpiece. It turned out to be pretty cool."
The trip overseas and first few months of practice have also given McKeever the opportunity to learn Plitzuweit's expectations of her on the court as a ball handler, defender and shooter.
"Madison is a small guard who is really a bulldog on the court," Plitzuweit said during the USD Preseason Media Day. "Fans are going to have a lot of fun watching her play. She gets after it, is constantly in attack mode and is a whole lot of fun. She played with a lot of confidence in Australia and I think over the course of time fans will see her as a leader in this program. But that's maybe a little much to ask for a freshman starting in game one."
McKeever and the Coyotes are off to a 4-1 start, the program's best since the 2011-12 season.
"I'm excited to see how the competition is and how people grow during the season," said McKeever. "I know I have changed a lot since last season. I have become a lot stronger and more confident as the games have been going on. I can't wait to see what all we can accomplish."
South Dakota tips off at CSU Bakersfield at 3 p.m. CT Sunday afternoon. Fans can listen to the game on KVTK 1570 AM in Yankton/Vermillion. The broadcast will also be available on KVHT 106.3 FM following the men's game.
