GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico—Four Coyotes reached double figures as South Dakota topped Grambling State 67-53 in the first game of the Puerto Rico Classic inside Mario Morales Coliseum.
"Today was a good win versus a team that plays really hard from start to finish," said USD head coach
Dawn Plitzuweit. "It was awesome to have not only our fans at home watching, but to have our swim team that is currently training in Puerto Rico cheer us on at the game.
"Now we have to get recovered and prepped quickly to face a very good Loyola Marymount team tomorrow."
The Coyotes (11-1) led from start to finish and extended the lead to as much as 28 points in the fourth quarter.
Junior guard
Ciara Duffy paced South Dakota for the second-straight game with 13 points. She added six rebounds and a pair of assists. Senior guard
Allison Arens added 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting. She grabbed eight boards, handed out two assists and stole the ball twice. Sophomore center
Hannah Sjerven also tallied 11 points to go with her three blocks.
Sophomore guard
Monica Arens nearly had her first career double-double with 10 points and nine boards.
Just shy of double-digits, junior guard
Madison McKeever pitched in nine points and six boards. She also had two assists and two steals.
Grambling State (1-8) was led by the SWAC's Preseason Player of the Year Shakyla Hill, who nearly had her second career quadruple-double. Hill tallied 19 points, grabbed 10 boards, handed out eight assists and swiped eight steals. Teammate Jazmin Boyd joined her in double-digits with 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting.
The Coyotes jumped out to a 14-0 lead from the tip with five different players scoring in the early run.
An 11-1 run from the end of the third quarter into the beginning of the fourth put South Dakota up by 28 points, 58-30. Hill and the Tigers closed it down to a 14-point deficit in the final minutes of the fourth quarter with 15 points off turnovers.
South Dakota resumes action at the Puerto Rico Classic at 3 p.m. (CT) Thursday against Loyola Marymount. The tournament wraps up with Indiana at 3 p.m. (CT) Friday.
