VERMILLION, S.D.–South Dakota freshman guard Madison McKeever scored a career high 19 points as the Coyotes cruised past Fort Wayne 87-59 inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center on Wednesday.
 
South Dakota (17-3, 6-1 Summit League) extends its program record home winning streak to 23 games, a mark that ranks third among active win streaks in the nation behind UConn and Baylor. Fort Wayne (3-16, 0-6 Summit) remains winless in Summit play.

"I think that's a good win for our team," said USD head coach Dawn Plitzuweit. "We came out of the gates and started really fast. We attacked, got to the rim and got some good opportunities offensively. Defensively, I thought we were pretty solid through most of the game, but we fouled them too many times. That's something that we need to work on and continue to get better at."
 
McKeever scored 19 of USD's 31 bench points in a game that featured the Coyote reserves. McKeever also added two to her team-high 31 steals this season.
 
Sophomore guard Allison Arens posted a stat line of 18 points, five assists, four rebounds, three steals and a career high three blocks. Five of the Coyotes' season-high seven blocks on the night came in the first quarter. Arens also scored at an efficiency of 77.8 percent (7-of-9) from the field.
 
Senior center Abigail Fogg was the third Coyote to reach double figures with 15 points, also on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Fogg blocked three shots and grabbed five rebounds.
 
Sophomore guard Jaycee Bradley was just shy of double figures with nine points. Senior forward Bridget Arens and freshman guard Ciara Duffy each had seven.
 
Fort Wayne put three players in double digits with senior Rachel Rinehart scoring a team-high 14 points. De'Jour Young and Anna Lappenkuper chipped in 13 and 10 apiece.
 
The Coyotes outrebounded the Mastodons 38-24. USD had 13 offensive boards, which is the most the Coyotes have had in Summit action to date. Redshirt-freshman forward Megan Bonar pulled down a career high seven boards, including four offensive rebounds to lead the Coyotes on the glass.
 
The Mastodons held the Coyotes close through the first five minutes of the game until a pair of turnovers started a 10-0 run for USD kicked off by a made three from Arens. South Dakota would jump out to a 14-point lead at the end of the first quarter and work to extend that lead to 30 by the third quarter.
 
Only two starters saw the court briefly in the fourth period as all six Coyote reserves split time on the floor. Senior forward Kelsey Biltoft played her first minutes for the Coyote basketball team after a four-year standout career as a middle blocker for South Dakota volleyball. Biltoft joined the team at the start of second semester.
 
Also chipping in to score for the Coyote bench was junior center Kate Liveringhouse with five points, sophomore guard Kaitlyn Severyn with four and freshman forward Taylor Frederick with three.
 
The Coyotes shot the ball at 54.8 percent (34-of-62) from the field, surpassing 50 percent for the sixth time this season.
 
South Dakota has the weekend off before continuing its three-game home stand next Thursday by hosting North Dakota State inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center at 7 p.m.