The Summit League slate begins as South Dakota hosts Denver in a Summit opening game for the third-straight season. The two teams face off in the first half of a double-header at 1 p.m. Saturday inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion, S.D.

See "One Last Thing" in our final note for a special story about Saturday's game.

The Promotions
It's Vermillion School District Day! All Vermillion Elementary and Middle School students and their families can get discounted tickets to Saturday's game through a promo code.

Additionally, fans can fill the "family section" by getting half-price tickets in the student section while USD students are on break.

The Game
Three games kick off simultaneously to start Summit League action. South Dakota (8-5) and Denver (8-6) are in the middle of the standings with four teams collecting eight wins in nonconference action. Both teams love the three, attempting more than 23 arc shots per game, and each team features a deep bench with well-rounded scoring. South Dakota is 4-2 all-time in Summit League openers.

The Coyotes
South Dakota posted its biggest comeback victory of the nonconference slate right before the break, overcoming an 18-point deficit to defeat North Dakota by five, 76-71. Senior guard Jasmine Trimboli led the rallying cry with a career high 21 points while making 10 of 12 field-goal attempts. The Coyotes are second in the Summit League for both turnovers forced (17.5) and steals (9.8) per game. The reigning NCAA Free Throw Shooting Percentage Award winners, the Coyotes are again tops in the nation from the charity stripe by ranking fourth at 80.6 percent. Leading the charge from the stripe is junior guard Allison Arens, who holds three single-game records and one career record for free throws. She set USD program records for free-throws made (18) and attempted (20) last season in the Summit opener with Denver. Against UC Riverside a week ago, she tied the record for percentage (12-of-12) in a single game. She also moved into the top spot for career free-throw percentage at 86.0 (227-of-264), although the percentage fluctuates with each trip to the line.

The Pioneers
Under first-year head coach Jim Turgeon, Denver has already won two more games than it did all of last season. The Pioneers also boast a 5-1 record in true road games. With a bench that runs 12 players deep, Denver has five players averaging between 8.6 points and 9.9 points a game. Guard Briana Johnson leads the way at 9.9 a contest, while standout freshman Carie Weinman is second in scoring at 8.9 points in less than 15 minutes a game. Weinman is shooting 53.1 percent from three (26-of-49). Samantha Romanwoski led the Pioneers last season against USD. She's averaging 8.7 points through nonconference action.

The Series
The Coyotes have taken nine-straight meetings against the Pioneers dating back to Denver's first year in the Summit League in 2013-14. This also marks the third-straight year South Dakota opens Summit League play with Denver at home.

One Last Thing
A special connection lies between Denver first-year head coach Jim Turgeon and South Dakota's own Jasmine Trimboli. Turgeon and Denver assistant coach Terra Moyers helped bring Trimboli, a native of Adelaide, Australia, to the United States five years ago. Turgeon was then the head coach at Iowa Western Community College and recruited Trimboli to spend two years as a Reiver. Trimboli earned NJCAA First Team All-America honors in 2014-15 as the Reivers finished 31-4 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NJCAA Tournament. Turgeon spent the past two seasons as the head coach at CSU-Pueblo before taking the job with the Pioneers.