VERMILLION, S.D.—South Dakota senior guard Nicole Seekamp recorded her ninth collegiate double-double as the Coyotes topped the Jackrabbits 80-75 in front of a DakotaDome crowd of 3,612 on Saturday afternoon.
 
With its 12th consecutive win, South Dakota (22-5, 13-1) takes sole possession of the top spot in Summit League standings. South Dakota head coach Amy Williams also became the second-winningest coach in program history with her 86th Coyote victory.
 
"What an incredible win for our program," said Williams. "I'm really proud of this team and we leaned very heavily on the experience that we have on our roster today to pull out a win. We really wanted to find a way to close out the Dome with a win. To do that for our alumni, to do that for our seniors and I'm just proud of how we found a way to close it out."
 
With the first sweep since the 1989-90 season, the Coyotes hold the tie-breaker over South Dakota State (22-5, 12-2) for the regular season title and tournament seeding.
 
"It's a little extra special to wear your home state on the front of your jersey and have this crowd behind you," senior center Margaret McCloud said of being from South Dakota and playing in this game. "Whether we are from South Dakota or Canada, Australia, Wisconsin, we have the best fans and they love you no matter where you're from and it feels great to play in front of them."
 
Seekamp scored 21 points and dished out 10 assists. She also grabbed five rebounds and stole the ball four times. The senior made seven free throws within the final minute to help the Coyotes pull away.
 
"When I was standing there, I was like, these could be the final two free throws in the DakotaDome," Seekamp said. "That's exactly what I was thinking. I've shot from that free-throw line thousands of times so I really didn't feel too much pressure. I just went out there and knocked it down and lived in the moment and cherished that moment because it's going to be the last one probably in the DakotaDome."
 
Senior guard Kelly Stewart and junior center Abigail Fogg each added 13 points. The pair combined for the Coyotes' three blocks. Fogg made the first 3-pointer of her career in the second quarter.
 
After South Dakota State had taken the lead two minutes into the third quarter, Seekamp created three plays for sophomore center Kate Liveringhouse. Liveringhouse made three shots in the paint within a minute's span to help the Coyotes pull away for the final time. Liveringhouse finished with 12 points in six minutes on 6-of-7 shooting.
 
USD's bench, led by Liveringhouse and Fogg, scored 32 points.
 
"I thought Abigail Fogg in the first half really came in and gave us a huge spark," Williams commented. "And then Kate Liveringhouse in the second half just had some stretches there where we were able to build a little bit of a lead where they sparked us with some scoring."
 
Senior guard Tia Hemiller was a perfect 4-for-4 in the first half to total nine points. Hemiller added five rebounds and four assists.
 
South Dakota State used a 15-3 run, with nine points from forward Ellie Thomposon, to wrap up the first quarter with a lead. Thompson ended with 21 points on the night, two shy of her career high. Guard Madison Guebert chipped in 18. Guard Gabrielle Boever added 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
 
Jackrabbit leading scorer Macy Miller finished 4-of-15 from the field with three made free throws for 11 points. She also handed out five assists. The Jackrabbits finished 26-of-62 from the field as a team.
 
The Coyotes outrebounded the Jackrabbits 37-32. McCloud led the Coyotes off the glass with eight. Junior guard Caitlin Duffy added six defensive boards.
 
South Dakota finished 29-of-58 from the field for the second consecutive game shooting above 50 percent.
 
The Coyotes wrap up the regular season with road trips to Fort Wayne and IUPUI next week. South Dakota is guaranteed a No. 1 or a No. 2 seed in the Summit League Tournament and will play Saturday, March 5, in Sioux Falls.
 
World Record Attempt Nets $2,000
 
South Dakota cheerleader Carrie Wintle did not break the Guiness Book of World Records for the most T-shirts put on in one minute Saturday. She put on 20 which raised $2,000 to Feeding South Dakota from South Dakota Corn.
 
Mount Rushmore Announced
 
Thousands of fans weighed in on which four women's basketball players should be on the Mount Rushmore of DakotaDome basketball. Concluding two months of voting, the USD athletic department announced Mandy Koupal, Nicole Seekamp, Amber Hegge and Katie Dailey as the four winners.
 
South Dakota women's basketball improves to an all-time DakotaDome record of 372-148 (.715). The Coyotes have won 27 of their last 28 games inside the Dome.