VERMILLION, S.D.—Six NCAA Tournament teams, a Vermillion visit from the Big 12's Iowa State and a December tournament in Puerto Rico highlight the 2018-19 South Dakota women's basketball schedule announced Friday by head coach Dawn Plitzuweit.
 
"Our scheduling philosophy is one that places our team in a position to play demanding competition as we prepare for the rigors of the Summit League," said Plitzuweit. "Our goal in forming the schedule each season is to play marquee type games and to play teams that play a variety of styles and this year is certainly no exception. Within our nonconference schedule, three of our opponents won their conference championship, two of them played in the WNIT and five of them played in the NCAA Tournament, so this schedule will provide us with a great challenge and a tremendous opportunity to improve!"
 
South Dakota, the 2018 Summit League champions, will face opponents from 11 different Division I conferences including the Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC.
 
The season opens Nov. 7 at NCAA Round of 32 qualifier Creighton. While the Coyotes' have taken the last three meetings with the Bluejays in Vermillion, including 73-68 a year ago, Creighton won the previous meeting in Omaha in 2013.
 
Plitzuweit plays host to mentor Kevin Borseth and his Green Bay Phoenix on Dec. 1. The Phoenix reached the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in the last decade and captured their 20th consecutive Horizon League title in 2017-18.
 
Other NCAA foes include road trips to Drake (Nov. 15) and the SEC's Missouri (Dec. 15). Drake advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight season after winning the Missouri Valley Conference. Missouri competed in its third-straight NCAA Tournament in 2018.
 
The Coyotes welcome 2017-18 opponents Incarnate Word (Nov. 11), Wichita State (Nov. 21) and the Big 12's Iowa State (Nov. 28) to the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. The Cyclones have made an appearance in eight of the last 10 NCAA Tournaments.
 
Additional road trips include Montana (Nov. 24) and Missouri State (Dec. 4). Missouri State fell to TCU in the second round of the WNIT last season.
 
USD will compete in the Puerto Rico Classic Dec. 19-21 in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, to wrap up the nonconference slate. Opponents include NCAA qualifier Grambling State, Loyola Marymount and 2018 Women's National Invitation Tournament Champions Indiana.
 
"Our schedule this year allows us to play some of the very best teams within the region," said Plitzuweit. "Our fans will get a chance to fill the Sanford Coyote Sports Center when Iowa State, Green Bay, and Wichita State come to Vermillion. We are also playing some tough road games regionally versus Creighton, Missouri, Drake and Missouri State. Lastly, the opportunity to match up against Indiana who won the WNIT last year will give our team another tough test versus a regional team, even though that matchup takes place in our tournament in Puerto Rico."
 
The 16-game Summit League slate begins Dec. 30 at North Dakota State and wraps up March 2 at home with North Dakota. Game one of the USD-SDSU rivalry series is slated for Jan. 6 in Vermillion, while the Coyotes make the return visit to Brookings on Feb. 24.
 
"The Summit League has been one of the top leagues in the nation over the past couple of years," Plitzuweit said. "Last year we had a conference RPI of 12th and the year before we had a conference RPI of 11th, so we have proven to consistently be a top league at the national level. We believe that this year will continue to prove to be incredibly challenging especially with the addition of the University of North Dakota, a team who has been a postseason team in two out of the last three years."
 
The Summit League Tournament will be held March 9-12 at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.