VERMILLION, S.D.—Seven Coyotes scored eight or more points as South Dakota took down Western Illinois 86-50 inside the DakotaDome Thursday night.
 
South Dakota (21-5, 12-1) extended its win streak to 11 games, tying for the 11th-longest active streak in NCAA Division I. Western Illinois (14-12, 7-6) lost for the second time in the middle of its four-game road swing.
 
"Western Illinois runs a high-powered offense that looks to take quick shots one way or the other," said USD head coach Amy Williams. "I thought we did a good job of staying locked into the defense and making them take shots that were a little tough. We rushed them into their shots and it worked out well for us."
 
South Dakota senior guard Nicole Seekamp led the Coyotes with 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Senior guard Tia Hemiller scored 12 points for the second consecutive game while also grabbing five rebounds. Senior center Margaret McCloud was the third Coyote in double figures with 10 points and six rebounds. McCloud is five points away from 1,000 for her career.
 
Western Illinois forward Sophie Reichelt had 14 points and seven rebounds to lead the Leathernecks. Reichelt finished 4-of-16 from the field with all four made baskets coming from behind the arc. Leatherneck guard Emily Clemens was also in double figures with 12 points and a team-high four assists.
 
Reichelt hit a game-tying 3-pointer to start the second quarter, but the Coyotes pulled away with a 12-0 run to end the first half. Hemiller and junior guard Jasmine Trimboli each had five points in the run.
 
South Dakota riled up the home crowd with an 11-2 run to open the fourth quarter. The Coyotes ran the same end-zone inbounds play twice within a minute as freshman guard Allison Arens found Seekamp wide open for a pair of buckets. Seekamp then sliced a bounce pass through a crowded lane to freshman guard Jaycee Bradley, who used a reverse layup to score.
 
The Coyote defense would not let the Leathernecks find a rhythm on offense. The Leathernecks, who average 9.5 made 3-point field goals per game, were held to 6-for-28 (21.4 percent) tonight. Western Illinois was held to 24.6 percent from the field and scored more than a quarter of its points from the free-throw line.
 
South Dakota's bench scored 42 points in the win. Trimboli and Bradley led the way with nine apiece. Sophomore center Kate Liveringhouse and junior center Abigail Fogg each added eight more.
 
The Coyotes also controlled the boards, outrebounding the Leathernecks 51-27.
 
South Dakota hosts South Dakota State Saturday at 2 p.m. to conclude its three-game home stand and finish off nearly four decades of women's basketball inside the DakotaDome. South Dakota holds an all-time DakotaDome record of 371-148. The Coyotes and the Jackrabbits enter Saturday's game in a dead heat for first place in the league standings.