South Dakota hosts Creighton tonight at 7 p.m. inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion.

The Coyotes opened the 2017-18 season last Friday at Iowa State. After a back-and-forth game that featured seven lead changes, the Cyclones finished on top with an 81-76 victory in Hilton Coliseum in front of more than 9,000 fans. USD senior center Kate Liveringhouse led the Coyotes with 17 points. Sophomore guard Ciara Duffy and junior guard Jaycee Bradley also scored in double figures with 11 points and 10 points, respectively.

Santa Yotes Promotion & Fansgiving

• All tickets for tonight's game are $10 with $5 of the proceeds being donated to Santa Yotes, a program that will purchase new books and balls for local children during the holiday season.
• Students can win free Coyote gear throughout the game, culminating in genuine USD Adidas athletic shorts. Students should sign up when they arrive and must be present to win.

Home Openers

• South Dakota women's basketball is 38-8 all-time in home openers.
• The Coyotes have won four-straight home openers, including a victory over Stephen F. Austin to open the Sanford Coyote Sports Center last season.
• The last team to defeat USD in a home opener was Creighton, with a 53-49 defeat at the beginning of the 2012-13 season.

Series History

• Series Overall: Creighton leads 12-10
• Series in Vermillion: South Dakota leads 6-3
• These two programs previously met at least once annually from 1977-78 through 1987, but the series then went on hold until 2010-11 when the Coyotes moved to NCAA Division I.
• The series is tied 3-3 since the renewal in the Division I era, in part thanks to a pair of opening round Women's National Invitation Tournament wins by the Coyotes in 2014-15 and 2015-16.

Scouting the Coyotes

• This marks year two for the Coyotes under head coach Dawn Plitzuweit, who has guided programs to 20 winning seasons in 22 years.
• South Dakota was picked third in the preseason Summit League poll with junior guard Allison Arens picked to the first team and sophomore guard Ciara Duffy picked to the second team.
• Junior guard Jaycee Bradley was named to the preseason watch list for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, which recognizes the nation's top shooting guard.
• South Dakota looks to retain its scoring efficiency from a year ago. USD captured the NCAA's Free Throw Shooting Percentage Award by sinking 80.4 percent from the line. The Coyotes also ranked 10th in the nation for 3-point field-goal percentage (37.9) and 11th for field-goal percentage (46.9).
• An increased tempo, protecting the basketball and aggressive defending are three areas of improvement Plitzuweit emphasized for 2017-18.

Scouting the Bluejays

• Creighton claimed a share of the 2016-17 Big East regular season title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Audrey Faber and Sydney Lamberty are the lone returning starters form that squad.
• The Bluejays were picked fourth in the preseason Big East poll and Faber was voted to the preseason Big East team.
• Under head coach Jim Flanery, the Bluejays are 5-4 when playing in the state of South Dakota with games against the Coyotes and the Jacks.
• Both Flanery (25) and Lamberty (15) were the leading scorers for the Bluejays against the Coyotes in their last matchup in 2016.

Coyote Quick Facts

• Senior Kate Liveringhouse, who has played in more than 100 games for the Coyotes, earned her first career start Friday at Iowa State. She led the team with 17 points, three assists and a block. It was the most points she's scored since her freshman year when she put up a career high 21 points against Oral Roberts.
• South Dakota is unique this season in that it has a sixth-year senior (Caitlin Duffy), a fifth-year senior (Jasmine Trimboli) and fourth-year senior (Liveringhouse).
• Friday's game saw the debuts of Coyote freshmen Chloe Lamb and Monica Arens. Lamb played the most minutes in the game, scoring eight points with four assists and two steals while handling the point. Arens tallied five points and a pair of steals, including a breakaway layup that shifted the momentum of the game in the first quarter.

Sanford Coyote Sports Center Magic

• South Dakota finished 13-1 inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center last season.
• Combined with men's basketball and volleyball, the Coyotes were 36-3 in the facility's inaugural season.
• Tonight marks one of eight nonconference home games for USD women's basketball in 2017-18.