VERMILLION, S.D.–South Dakota seniors Abigail Fogg and Bridget Arens had career games to lead the Coyotes past Oral Roberts, 79-50, inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center on Wednesday night.
 
In the Summit League standings, the Coyotes (21-5, 10-3 Summit League) are a half-game behind Western Illinois (11-3) for first place. The Leathernecks defeated South Dakota State (10-4) in Macomb tonight. Oral Roberts (13-14, 5-9 Summit) has lost three straight to drop to sixth.
 
"The game was truly a tale of two halves," said USD head coach Dawn Plitzuweit. "We struggled to defend in the first half, but to Oral Roberts credit they made great reads and made us pay no matter how we guarded them. After halftime, our team buckled down and did a tremendous job guarding. It was great to see them make the necessary adjustments and play with such intensity."
 
Fogg, a 6-4 center, made six threes in the first half on her way to a new career high of 27 points. A week after her first career double-double, she finished 10-of-16 from the field with seven rebounds and three assists. Arens tied her career high of 17 points while hitting three from downtown. She was 7-of-12 from the floor and added two steals.
 
"We are all really proud of how Bridget and Abigail have continued to progress and improve their skill sets throughout their senior seasons," said Plitzuweit. "Oral Roberts really collapsed off of our post players tonight. Our perimeter players made great reads and our posts responded to the challenge by hitting open shots."
 
Arens scored the Coyotes' first 10 points of the game to keep the scored tied at the first media timeout. The Golden Eagles were 10-of-13 (76.9 percent) from the floor in the first quarter, but the Coyotes five made 3s kept the score tied at 22.
 
Fogg and Arens combined for eight threes at the half. Neither had made more than two or attempted more than four in a game entering tonight's contest.
 
In addition to the seniors, South Dakota had a pair of freshman guards reach double figures. Madison McKeever scored 14 points and Ciara Duffy chipped in 13. Both scored a majority of their points in the second half with McKeever earning fast break opportunities off steals and Duffy firing from long range.
 
South Dakota took a 41-34 lead into the half. A 9-0 run by the Coyotes with seven points from Arens at the beginning of the second half would put the Coyotes up 14 midway through the third quarter. From there, South Dakota would outscore Oral Roberts 23-7 in the fourth period for a 29-point win. After shooting nearly perfect in the first period, Oral Roberts shot 23 percent in the second half.
 
Oral Roberts was led by junior forward Faith Ihim's 17 points. Golden Eagle centers Maria Martianez and Montserrat Brotons added eight a piece.
 
Although Oral Roberts came out firing, the Coyotes' steady shooting led to their fifth league game above 50 percent from the field. South Dakota finished at 53.6 percent (30-56) from the floor and 52.2 percent (12-23) from downtown. Additionally, the Coyotes had 19 points-off turnovers by swiping 11 steals, the most in a Summit game this season.
 
The Coyotes host Omaha for senior day at 1 p.m. Saturday inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. Fogg, Arens and senior forward Kelsey Biltoft will be honored approximately 20 minutes prior to tip-off.