MISSOULA, Mont.—South Dakota junior guard Ciara Duffy scored a career high 26 points to lead the Coyotes to a 64-41 road victory at Dahlberg Arena.
 
The Coyotes (5-1) take home the program's first victory in the state of Montana and second road win of the season.
 
"This was a very good effort from our team from start to finish, especially on the defensive end," said USD head coach Dawn Plitzuweit. "This is a tough environment for our teams to come in and play well and our young ladies did a great job this evening.
 
"Now we move forward and prepare for a big week in Vermillion versus two very good opponents in Iowa State and Green Bay. We hope to see all of our fans and can't wait to see the Sanford Coyote Sports Center rocking on Wednesday night."
 
Duffy shot 61 percent (11-of-18) from the floor to reach 26 points, improving her career best of 25 points from last season against Michigan State. She also tallied a career high for blocks with three, grabbed three rebounds and dished out a pair of assists.
 
Junior guard Madison McKeever tallied her fifth double-figure game of the season with 10 points. She also tallied six rebounds and a pair of steals.
 
Montana (1-2) was led by senior forward Jace Henderson's 10 points. Henderson was the only Grizzly to reach double figures, while four teammates scored seven points each.
 
The Coyotes stifled the Grizzly offense in the opening quarter, not allowing a single basket in the final five minutes of the period. South Dakota led 14-7 after the first.
 
South Dakota's own offense got rolling in the second period as the Coyotes made six of their last eight field goals to head into the half with a 36-15 lead. USD shot 62.5 percent for the period while holding Montana to 27.3 percent.
 
The Coyotes maintained the 20-point lead through the final two quarters.
 
South Dakota outscored Montana 34-10 in the paint and 22-2 in points-off turnovers. The Coyotes committed a season-low six turnovers in the game.
 
The Coyotes return to the friendly confines of the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion, S.D., for a pair of games next week. South Dakota hosts the Big 12's Iowa State at 7 p.m. Wednesday and mid-major power Green Bay at 1 p.m. Saturday.