The Game
No. 24 South Dakota hosts Creighton at 7 p.m. Wednesday night inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion.
 
The Coyotes
South Dakota (7-1) cracked the USA Today Coaches Poll for the first time this season on Tuesday. The No. 24 Coyotes boast wins over the Big Ten's Ohio State, SEC's Missouri and the Pac-12's Utah this season. The Coyotes were ranked for five-straight weeks in 2018-19. South Dakota's coming off its most comfortable wins of the season from the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout. Senior guard Ciara Duffy's near triple-double of 22 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists led the way in a 68-53 win over Ohio State. Saturday's 91-48 rout of Northern Illinois was an all-around team effort as the Coyote bench saw its most significant minutes of the season. The game saw 10 Coyotes score, 11 hand out an assist and five different players make at least three 3-pointers. Duffy was named the tournament's MVP.
 
The Bluejays
Creighton (6-1) has won four straight after a mid-November loss at Drake. The Bluejays already boast three wins over Summit League foes (Omaha, South Dakota State, North Dakota State) and knocked off No. 23 West Virginia at the Cancun Challenge. Senior Jaylyn Agnew, the reigning Big East Player of the Week, scored a career high 34 points in the upset. She was also named to the Cancun Challenge all-tournament team. Agnew is currently leading the Big East at 20 points per game.
 
The Series
Wednesday night marks the 25th meeting between South Dakota and Creighton with the victor taking the series lead. The two teams are meeting for the ninth time in the last decade with the Coyotes winning the last four in a row. Last season, USD defeated Creighton in the season opener 77-65 in Omaha. It was a coming-out party of sorts for senior forward Taylor Frederick, who scored her career high 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting that night.
 
One Last Thing
Loving the three. South Dakota tied the school record for 3-point field goals made in a game (17) last time out against Northern Illinois. Five players made three or more triples in the game. The Coyotes' 81 treys this season sits second in the nation, while their accuracy (making 41.5 percent from deep) ranks seventh nationally.