They're Back!
The 2016 Women's National Invitation Tournament champions are back! The Coyotes became the first Summit League team, men's or women's, in any sport to win a national title. Nearly 20,000 fans caught a glimpse of the Coyotes in action inside the DakotaDome during their WNIT run. A sold out crowd of 7,415 fans were in the stands for the finale on the DakotaDome hardwood.
From the WNIT Championship team, four starters graduated and the top two returners were lost to injury in the offseason. In spite of the loss, the Coyotes earned a trip back to the tournament with an at-large berth and 22-8 overall record.
The Coyotes
South Dakota reaches the postseason for the seventh consecutive year. The Coyotes have gotten here as one of the most accurate shooting teams in the country, ranking in the top-12 of the nation in all three shooting percentage categories. USD leads the nation in free-throw percentage at 81.6 percent. South Dakota is led by four players who average in double-figures. Sophomore guard
Allison Arens, who earned all-Summit League first team honors earlier this month, leads the way with 16.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.7 points per game. Sophomore guard
Jaycee Bradley and freshman guard
Ciara Duffy chip in 12.7 and 11.3 points per game a piece. Senior center
Abigail Fogg is the fourth Coyote in double figures at 11.0 points a game. Fogg earned a Summit League honorable mention nod and has been the Coyotes' leading scorer in four out of the last five games. She's averaged 18 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in that span.
The Fighting Hawks
North Dakota makes its first WNIT appearance after a pair of WBI appearances and making the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Historically, UND boasted a successful women's basketball program and won three consecutive NCAA DII titles from 1997-99. This year's Fighting Hawks are led by senior Makailah Dyer, an all-Big Sky first team pick, who's haveraged 15.1 points per game. Dyer ranks at 13th on UND's all-time scoring list. All-Big Sky second team honoree Lexi Klabo and honorable mention Fallyn Freije also helped the Fighting Hawks to a share of the Big Sky regular season title. Both UND and USD were knocked out of the first round of their conference tournaments, with the Fighting Hawks falling to 7th-seeded Portland State, 65-62.
Home Court Magic
The DakotaDome, a long-time home to Coyote basketball, went out in style as the Coyotes cut down the nets following the championship game last season. South Dakota is 12-1 in their new home, the Sanford Coyote Sports Center, which opened last August. The Coyote women are 64-8 at home over the last five seasons.
An Experienced Coyote
When senior forward
Bridget Arens takes the floor, she will have played in more games than any Coyote in program history. She tied alumnae
Tia Hemiller and
Margaret McCloud for the record with the Summit League quarterfinal and will play in her 136th career game on Thursday.
Record Book Watch
Other records to watch include Arens' younger sister,
Allison Arens, who has already broken the program record for free throws made in a single game. She sank 18-of-20 against Denver. With 146 free throws in 2016-17, only two-time NCAA Div. II Player of the Year Mandy Koupal has made more free throws than Arens in a single season. Arens also ranks in at No. 13 on USD's single-season scoring charts with 500 points in her sophomore campaign. She needs eight points to crack the top-10 list.
Then there's Jaycee Bradley, whose 78 threes ranks fifth on USD's single-season charts. She needs nine more to move to surpass Raeshel Contreras' senior season for fourth on the list.
