KANSAS CITY, Mo.–South Dakota senior center Abigail Fogg was one board shy of a double-double as the Coyotes defeated Southern Illinois 68-57 inside the Swinney Recreation Center as a part of the Roo Holiday Classic Tuesday afternoon.
 
Coyote sophomore guard Allison Arens was named the Roo Holiday Classic MVP and Fogg joined her on the all-tournament team. The Coyotes were the only team to capture both wins in the tournament.
 
South Dakota (11-2) has posted its best nonconference start since the program's move to NCAA Div. I. Southern Illinois (6-5) finishes 1-1 at the Roo Holiday Classic after a win over host UMKC last night.
 
"We were proud of the fact that in the first game of the tournament we found ourselves in a shootout with Northern Illinois, but today we beat Southern Illinois with our defense," said USD head coach Dawn Pitzuweit. "Our team's finding ways to put themselves in positions to be successful and ultimately, that's all we can ask for out of them. Their effort was outstanding today."
 
Fogg tallied 19 points and nine rebounds to lead the Coyotes. She shot 77.8 percent (7-of-9) from the field. Arens added 17 points, dished out five assists and grabbed three boards. In the Roo Holiday Classic, Arens averaged 23.5 points, 4.5 boards and 4.0 assists per game. Fogg averaged 15.5 points and 7.5 rebounds.
 
Coyote freshman guard Ciara Duffy was the third Coyote in double figures with 11 points, three assists and a pair of steals.
 
South Dakota started out on a 12-0 run with four players scoring right off the bat. Southern Illinois wouldn't make a field goal for the first seven minutes of the ball game and were ice cold throughout the first half, making 5-of-27 attempts. Saluki guard Rishonda Napier, a two-time all-Missouri Valley Conference pick, was 1-of-9 from the field in the first half. Napier would finish perfect from the field (4-of-4) in the second half to lead the Salukis with 16 points. Teammates Kim Nebo and Lauren Hartman added nine a piece.
 
Southern Illinois went on an 11-3 run to start the second half, with the Coyotes' only points coming on Fogg's 3-point play. The Salukis shot 84.6 percent (11-of-13) in the third quarter to close in to a single digit game.
 
Fogg scored seven points to start out the fourth quarter for the Coyotes and increase the margin to 17. Napier had a pair from downtown and assisted on a fast break to teammate Nicole Martin that again brought the Coyote lead to single digits. Senior forward Bridget Arens answered with a layup, forced a steal and assisted on her sister Allison's basket with four minutes to play. Neither team scored in the final three minutes of the game.
 
Also contributing to the Coyotes scoring were sophomore guard Jaycee Bradley with eight points, freshman guard Madison McKeever with seven and Bridget Arens with six. Arens was perfect from the field (3-for-3), grabbed six boards and dished out three assists.
 
South Dakota shot 47.2 percent (25-of-53) from the field and 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from downtown.
 
South Dakota returns from the holiday break on Dec. 28 by opening its Summit League slate with Denver at 7 p.m. inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.

2016 Roo Holiday Classic All-Tournament Team
Allison Arens, South Dakota (MVP)
Abigail Fogg, South Dakota
Cassidy Glenn, Northern Illinois
Rishonda Napier, Southern Illinois
Kim Nebo, Southern Illinois
Samantha Waldron, UMKC