South Dakota women's basketball travels to Wichita State for a 2 p.m. tip off Saturday at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas.

The Coyotes are 1-1 on the season with a home win over Creighton and a road loss at Iowa State. Wichita State returns home for the first time after an 0-2 road trip to start the season at Creighton and Oklahoma State. USD senior center Kate Liveringhouse paces the Coyotes' scoring through the first two games with 17.5 points while shooting at a 53.8 percent clip (14-of-26). Junior guard Allison Arens, a 2016-17 all-Summit League first team pick, has averaged 14 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals through the first pair of games. Sophomore guard Ciara Duffy and junior guard Jaycee Bradley have averaged 9.5 points and 9.0 points, respectively. The trio of Arens, Duffy and Bradley are the Coyotes' returning starters from a year ago.

Series History

• Series Overall: Wichita State leads 3-1
• Series in Wichita: Wichita State leads 1-0
• These two teams met twice in 1981-82 at a pair of neutral site tournaments in Des Moines, Iowa, and Warrensburg, Missouri, where the Shockers went 2-0. South Dakota captured the most recent meeting, 57-47, in Vermillion in 2010-11.
• The Coyotes are 1-0 all-time against The American Conference, the new home to Wichita State. That victory came last season at Tulsa.

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.
• The Coyotes return three starters led by all-Summit first team pick Allison Arens (17.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.8 apg).
• South Dakota was picked third in the preseason Summit League poll with Arens picked to the preseason 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 top shooting guard in the nation.
• Liveringhouse, who averages six points over her career, is off to a stellar start for the Coyotes.
• South Dakota looks to retain its scoring efficiency from a year ago. USD captured the NCAA's Free Throw Shooting Percentage Award (80.4), ranked 10th in the nation for 3-point field-goal percentage (37.9) and 11th for field-goal percentage (46.9).

Scouting the Shockers

• In its final season in the Valley, Wichita State finished 15-16 (9-9) and took fifth in the regular season. The Shockers fell to Drake in the MVC Tournament semifinal.
• The Shockers return four starters led by all-MVC first team pick Rangie Bessard (17.3 ppg, 7.6 rpg).
• Wichita State was picked 10th in its first season in The American Conference, home to UConn.
• Bessard continues to lead the Shockers this season with 18.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.
• Wichita State's two losses to date have come to common opponents Creighton and Oklahoma State.

The Valley Connection

• Wichita State is the third-straight former Missouri Valley Conference member the Coyotes face this season. Six of USD's 12 Div. I nonconference opponents are former or current members of the Valley (Iowa State, Creighton, Wichita State, Oklahoma State, Indiana State, Tulsa).

Coyote Quick Facts

• The defending NCAA Free Throw Shooting Percentage champions, South Dakota ranks third in the nation from the stripe at 90.9 percent (30-33) after two games.
• South Dakota committed just seven turnovers against Creighton on Tuesday, the fewest turnovers in a game since the 2014-15 season. It was the fifth time under Plitzuweit the Coyotes have committed fewer than 10 turnovers.
• The Coyote defense also held Creighton to 37.9 percent shooting, a drastic drop off from the 60-percent clip the Iowa State Cyclones were shooting at in the season opener.

Up Next

• The Coyotes head south of the border next week for the Cancun Challenge in Mexico. South Dakota will face Oklahoma State, Indiana State and Tennessee in a three-day span from Nov. 23-25.