Top-seeded South Dakota and fifth-seeded Oral Roberts tip off at noon Monday in the first semifinal of the Summit League Tournament inside the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls.
The Game
It's survive and advance this week at the Denny. The Coyotes tied a Summit League Tournament record for winning margin in game one against Fort Wayne, while Oral Roberts' game with Denver came down to making free throws in the final minute. Both advanced to Monday's semifinal with plenty on the line. Oral Roberts looks to advance to its first tournament championship game since 2010 while South Dakota looks to capture the Summit League regular season and tournament titles in the same season for the first time in program history.
The Coyotes
South Dakota (25-5, 14-0 Summit) swept the Summit League regular season to earn the program's third title in four seasons. The Coyotes racked up
nine postseason Summit awards, including sophomore guard
Ciara Duffy and junior guard
Allison Arens on the first team with senior guard
Jasmine Trimboli earning the Defensive Player of the Year nod. South Dakota set a handful of Summit League Tournament records in Saturday's quarterfinal. In addition to tying the record with a 51-point winning margin, the USD defense held Fort Wayne to a tournament record low 32 points and junior guard
Jaycee Bradley tied the record for 3-pointers made in a game with seven. Bradley, an honorable mention selection, scored a career high 27 points in the victory, finishing at 8-of-9 from the field.
The Golden Eagles
Oral Roberts (17-12, 7-7 Summit) is the second-best defensive team in the conference this season behind South Dakota, allowing 61.3 points per game. Senior Faith Ihim, an all-Summit League first team pick, leads the team with 14.8 points and 8.1 rebounds while shooting at a league-best 56 percent. Missing from the lineup in Vermillion this season was all-Summit second team forward Maria Martianez. Martianez averages 11.8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. She returned to the Golden Eagles' lineup on Saturday. Freshman Maya Mayberry adds 11.4 points per game.
The Series
South Dakota only trailed by double-digits twice during their undefeated league season, once to Oral Roberts in Tulsa. USD overcame an 11-point third quarter deficit in that game to win by five. The Coyotes handled the second meeting with a 17-point victory. South Dakota leads the series 8-3, having won the last six meetings in a row.
One Last Thing
The Coyotes won their 19th consecutive game against Fort Wayne to set a Summit League record for consecutive victories. With an upset in the SEC Tournament Championship game on Sunday, previously undefeated Mississippi State drops out of the active winning streaks to move South Dakota to sixth nationally.
