South Dakota hosts Bellevue at 1 p.m. Sunday inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion, S.D.
The Game
South Dakota women's basketball will bid farewell to 2018 with its final nonconference home game of the season on Sunday. Left on the nonconference slate for the Coyotes is a road game at No. 23/25 Missouri and the Puerto Rico Classic with games against Indiana, Loyola Marymount and Grambling State.
The Coyotes
South Dakota (8-1) is receiving votes in the latest AP Poll after knocking off No. 23 Iowa State for the first win over an AP Top 25 team in program history. The Coyotes have won six in a row and are off to their best start since the 2008-09 season. Junior guard
Ciara Duffy paces a balanced offense at 14 points per game, while newcomer
Hannah Sjerven has provided depth to both ends of the court. Senior guard
Allison Arens is coming off a season-best 20 points at Missouri State, where she moved into 20th on USD's career scoring charts. She's also closing in on the top-10 career list for steals and assists at USD.
The Bruins
Bellevue (9-4, 1-0), an NAIA Division II program from just south of Omaha, Nebraska, is receiving votes in the NAIA top-25 poll. The Bruins used a 13-point run in the fourth quarter to win their conference opener Thursday at Dakota State 68-59. Sophomore forward Elexis Martinez leads a Bruin squad picked to finish second in the North Star this season. She's averaging nearly 16 points and seven boards. Faith Ross, a freshman guard from Gretna, has hit 35 of Bellevue's 117 triples.
The Series
This marks the second meeting in as many years between the two programs. The Coyotes beat the Bruins 89-32 last November inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
One Last Thing
Coyote associate head coach
Jason Jeschke got his start in the coaching world under Bellevue's head coach Dave Denly. Jeschke spent five years under Denly at his alma mater, Southwestern College, pairing up for a 120-39 record and four-straight NAIA Tournament appearances.
