B1G Time
Tonight marks the first time in 35 years a B1G program, men or women, visits Vermillion. The last team to visit on the women's side was Minnesota during the 1980-81 season. All-time against the Big Ten conference, the Coyote women hold a 5-8 record with two wins, Illinois and Minnesota, coming last season.
The Last Time
This game is the second half of a home-and-home series with Illinois and just the second meeting all-time between the two programs. South Dakota was victorious in the first meeting, defeating Illinois 85-76 in Urbana-Champaign. The top two scorers from both teams in that game have either graduated or transferred. The only players returning who scored double figures in that game were true freshmen at the time. South Dakota sophomore guard
Jaycee Bradley made 5-of-7 from behind the arc in the first half to score a then-career high 17 points. Illinois sophomore guard Cierra Rice had 13 points and five rebounds in the game.
About the Coyotes
Under the direction of first-year head coach
Dawn Plitzuweit, the Coyotes have moved to a motion offense which has the program shooting 45.3 percent (199-of-439) from the field. Leading the way under the new offense is sophomore guard
Allison Arens. Arens has posted five 20-point games in eight games this season and ranks 18th nationally at 21.1 points per game. She also contributes 5.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Bradley (13.6) and freshman guard
Ciara Duffy (13.3) are the other pair of Coyotes to average double figures this season. The shooting guard duo have combined for 42 made 3-pointers this season and both rank near the top-50 in the nation. South Dakota is one of three Summit League teams to rank in the top-20 nationally 3-point field goals made.
About the Illini
Illinois enters just its second road game of the season tonight after playing at George Washington on Sunday. Sophomore forward Alex Wittinger posted five consecutive double-doubles to rank fifth in the nation. She's averaging a double-double at 13.0 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. She also swats down 2.38 blocks per game, which ranks 34th in the nation. Freshman Brandi Beasley, averaging 8.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, posted a career-high 16 points at George Washington. The Illini are the second-straight team the Coyotes will face with a strong scoring defense than scoring offense. Illinois is holding opponents to 34.6 percent from the field to rank 45th.
Home Court Advantage
South Dakota remains undefeated at 2-0 inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center since its opening this fall. The Coyotes boasted a 71.8 winning percentage in 37 seasons inside the DakotaDome. In fact, South Dakota has lost just one home game in the past three seasons, to Washington, who advanced to the 2016 NCAA Final Four.
