South Dakota travels to Montana for a game at 8 p.m. (CT) Saturday inside Dahlberg Arena in Missoula, Mont.

The Game
This marks the finale of the Thanksgiving week trio for the Coyotes. South Dakota will tip-off its third road game of the season, while Montana will play just its third game overall. The Griz have only played two games to date, in part due to a 20-game Big Sky slate awaiting them in 2019.

The Coyotes
South Dakota (4-1) makes its debut in the state of Montana this weekend. The Coyotes return nine letterwinners from its Summit League championship team, including returning starters in senior guard Allison Arens, junior guard Ciara Duffy and junior guard Madison McKeever. In Wednesday's 73-64 win over Wichita State, Duffy and McKeever were the lone Coyotes in double figures. Duffy was two shy of her career high of 23, while McKeever tied her career high of 19 points. The Coyotes attacked the rim and made 30-of-36 from the free-throw line to seal the victory. Junior forward Taylor Frederick and redshirt-sophomore Hannah Sjerven have been solid in the post for the Coyotes early this season with both averaging in the double figures. Nine of 14 Coyotes have tallied double-digits in at least one game this season.

The Griz
Montana (1-1) lost its season opener 76-52 at Gonzaga, but rebounded with a 90-45 rout of Providence (Mont.) at home earlier this week. Historically a strong program, Montana has been to 21 NCAA Tournaments with its last coming in 2015. The Griz are also under a third-year head coach in Shannon Schweyen. Her first two seasons at the helm included preseason Big Sky Player of the Year Kayleigh Valley tearing her ACL, twice, in 2016 and 2017. With Valley now graduated, the Griz are led by McKenzie Johnston's 15 points per game. Jace Henderson had grabbed 9.5 rebounds a game to lead the Griz on the glass.

The Series
This marks the first meeting between South Dakota and Montana in women's basketball. The Coyotes are 11-3 all-time against Big Sky foes.

One Last Thing
If the shots aren't falling, it could come down to a battle of the boards. The Coyotes have outscored foes 15.4 to 4.0 in second-chance points this season. South Dakota had 17 offensive rebounds against Wichita State on Wednesday.