WNIT and the PostseasonIn its furthest WNIT run in program history, South Dakota has now improved to 6-2 in the tournament. Oregon, a two-time WNIT champion, boasts an 18-4 record in the tournament. Both South Dakota and Oregon received automatic berths to the WNIT from their respective conferences. South Dakota was the regular season Summit League champion with a 15-1 league record. Oregon was 9-9 in the Pac-12, which had five teams qualify for the NCAA Tournament and two in the WNIT. South Dakota defeated Western Kentucky inside the DakotaDome in the quarterfinals, while Oregon was the only road team to reach the semifinals. Oregon came back from behind to defeat UTEP in El Paso.
The SeriesThis is the first meeting between South Dakota and Oregon.
Scouting South DakotaSouth Dakota uses a quick style of play coupled with well-rounded scoring to post the nation's 12th-best scoring offense at 78.1 points per game. The Coyotes are 26-1 this season when scoring at least 70 points in a game. Leading USD is the Summit League Player of the Year, senior guard
Nicole Seekamp with 16.3 points, 6.4 assists and 2.6 steals per game. Second-team honoree, senior guard
Tia Hemiller is close behind with 10.4 points, a team-high 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. Senior guard
Kelly Stewart, who earned a spot on the Summit League All-Tournament team, has made a large impact in the postseason averaging 12.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in six postseason games. In addition to scoring, the Coyotes are well-rounded in rebounding with a deep bench.
Scouting OregonOregon has made its WNIT run without All-American forward Jillian Alleyne, the nation's leading rebounder who averaged 19 points before tearing her ACL two games before the Pac-12 Tournament. The Ducks lead the nation in 3-point shooting at 42.2 percent and have made 53 percent from deep in four WNIT games. All five starters have stepped up in the tournament, averaging above 9.8 points per game.
A record-setting seasonThe 2015-16 South Dakota squad has broken single-season team records for points (2,812), assists (641), rebounds (1,498) and field goals made-attempted (1028-2284). The Coyotes need 20 steals to take the single-season record in that category. Additionally,
Nicole Seekamp has the school record for career starts with 128 while
Tia Hemiller and
Margaret McCloud have the school record for career games played at 133.
Seekamp in the record booksSenior guard
Nicole Seekamp became the second 2,000 point scorer in USD history at Minnesota (3/20). The senior also ranks second in assists (614) and steals (264). Seekamp became the Summit League's all-time assists leader against Northern Iowa (3/24) and broke the USD single-season assists record against Western Kentucky (3/27). In Summit League record books, Seekamp has improved to fifth in points and seventh in steals. She needs seven points to improve to fourth all-time in the Summit.
1,000 Point ClubSenior guard
Tia Hemiller scored her 1,000th collegiate point against Western Kentucky, becoming the 14th player in program history with 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. Senior center
Margaret McCloud and junior guard
Jasmine Trimboli both reached 1,000 points at Fort Wayne (2/25). McCloud, Seekamp and Hemiller are all above 1,000 points and 500 rebounds for their Coyote careers.
Ahead in the BracketThe winner of Wednesday's game will face either Michigan (21-13, 9-9 Big Ten, RPI 78) or FGCU (32-5, 14-0 Atlantic Sun, RPI 71) in the WNIT Championship at 2 p.m. Saturday.
