Pregame Party
Join us at 30hop (900 E. 2
nd Ave., Coralville, Iowa) from 1-2:30 p.m. for a Coyote pregame party. 30hop is located two miles from Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
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 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-11 of the nation in all three shooting percentage categories, including the nation's best free-throw percentage at 80.4 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 16.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Arens scored 24 points and swiped a career high seven steals in Thursday's WNIT win. Sophomore guard
Jaycee Bradley and freshman guard
Ciara Duffy chip in 12.8 and 11.1 points per game a piece. Senior center
Abigail Fogg is the fourth Coyote in double figures at 11.1 points a game. Fogg earned a Summit League honorable mention nod and has been the Coyotes' leading scorer in four out of the last six games. She's averaged 17.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in that span. South Dakota advances to the second round after a 78-55 win against North Dakota.
The Hawkeyes
Iowa makes its 10th consecutive postseason appearance, with eight NCAA Tournaments and a pair of WNIT berths in that span. The Hawkeyes are 8-3 all-time in the WNIT. All-Big Ten second team honoree Ally Disterhoft became Iowa's all-time leading scorer in Iowa's win over Missouri State Thursday with 2,061 career points. Disterhoft averages 16.7 points and 5.4 rebounds. A top-100 recruit initially committed to Nerbaska, Kathleen Doyle made the all-Big Ten freshman team for Iowa while averaging 9.2 points, 4.2 assists and 2.0 steals a game. Iowa boasts a 15-3 record at Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season. Two of the three losses came to top-5 ranked teams including No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 3 Maryland. South Dakota State was the third team to defeat the Hawkeyes at home.
Leading the Series
It is just the fourth meeting all-time between the Coyotes and the Hawkeyes with the last game in 1981. South Dakota leads the series 2-1 overall and won the only game played in Iowa City of the three.
On the Road
In four WNIT appearances, South Dakota is on the road for just the third time in 12 tournament games. The Coyotes are 1-1 in WNIT road games, winning at the Big Ten's Minnesota en route to capturing the title last season. The Coyotes fell in a one-point contest at Northern Colorado the year prior.
136 Games and Counting
Senior forward
Bridget Arens set a new South Dakota program record on Thursday with her 136th career game. She will extend her record to 137 with Saturday's game.
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 147 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 eighth on USD's single-season scoring charts with 524 points in her sophomore campaign. She needs six points to tie alumna
Nicole Seekamp's 2014-15 season for seventh.
Then there's Jaycee Bradley, whose 81 threes ranks fifth on USD's single-season charts. She needs six more to move to surpass Raeshel Contreras' senior season for fourth on the list.
