South Dakota women's basketball hosts Doane at 1 p.m. Saturday for the final nonconference game of the season inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion.
The Game
Saturday serves as a tune-up as both teams head into the final stretch of conference action. The Coyotes have three Summit League games remaining with a regular season title on the line. The Tigers face Great Plains Athletic Conference foe, No. 2 Concordia, next week. The game is an exhibition for Doane.
The Coyotes
South Dakota (20-5, 11-0 Summit) clinched a top-two seed at the Summit League Tournament with a win on Wednesday, meaning the Coyotes are guaranteed to play on the opening Saturday in Sioux Falls. The Coyotes have won 14-straight games behind a well-rounded offense and stingy defense. The trio of sophomore guard
Ciara Duffy, junior guard
Allison Arens and junior guard
Jaycee Bradley all average double figure scoring for the Coyotes.
The Tigers
Doane (7-19, 2-16 GPAC) has a pair of conference games next week to cap off the regular season and head into the GPAC Tournament. The Tigers knocked off Morningside, 77-75, in the opening round of the tournament last season before falling to Dakota Wesleyan in the semifinal. Senior guard McKenna Dodd is the only Tiger averaging double figures this season at 15.1 points per game.
The Series
Saturday marks the seventh meeting in history with Doane, but the first in 23 years. While South Dakota leads the all-time series 4-2, the Tigers upset the Coyotes 67-62 in the last meeting between the teams in November of 1995.
One Last Thing
The Coyotes have demonstrated their ability to score from inside and out down the stretch. The Coyotes are averaging 10 3-pointers a game and have outscored opponents by 33-22 in the paint during league play. While the Coyotes only knocked down seven threes at Fort Wayne Wednesday, they scored 42 points in the paint.
