South Dakota travels to Western Illinois for 4:30 p.m. tip-off Saturday in the second game of a doubleheader with the Coyote men inside Western Hall in Macomb, Ill.

The Game
South Dakota departs state lines for the final time of the regular season to take on the Leathernecks and angle for the Coyotes' 10th consecutive win. Five of South Dakota's final seven league games are played inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center with the two road contests coming at Western Illinois and at South Dakota State. Meanwhile, the Leathernecks' remaining slate is a doozy with its final four regular season games coming against the other four teams in the top-five of the Summit League standings.

The Coyotes
South Dakota (22-3, 10-1 Summit) made history this week as it entered the Associated Press Top 25 and the USA Today Division I Coaches polls for the first time, debuting at No. 25. The Coyotes got to this point by putting an emphasis on defense and holding foes beneath 60 points per game. South Dakota had a stretch of five-straight games where they did not give up more than 50 points, the first time the feat had been accomplished since 1973, including a 92-49 win at home against the Leathernecks. That said, South Dakota boasts the ninth-best scoring margin in the country by outscoring foes 19.4 points per game. South Dakota has a balanced offense paced by junior guard Ciara Duffy's 14.9 points per game. Senior guard Allison Arens and sophomore center Hannah Sjerven also average double-figures with 11.6 and 10.6 points, respectively. Arens became the fourth Coyote in program history to surpass 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists in her career last Saturday.

The Leathernecks
Western Illinois (12-13, 8-4) has won four in a row and seven of its last eight, excluding a loss to the Coyotes at the end of January. The Leathernecks are one of five Summit teams ranked in the nation's top-50 for 3-pointers made. Western Illinois ranks 13th with 224 (nine per game), but have let a bevy of them fly this season as they rank fourth in the nation for 3-pointers attempted. Two-time all-Summit League pick Taylor Higginbotham became Western Illinois' all-time leading scorer two weeks ago, but more impressive was in the first meeting with the Coyotes she was held scoreless for the first time since the middle of her freshman year. Higginbotham is averaging 14.3 points and 7.6 boards this season. Junior Olivia Kaufmann paces the team in scoring with 16 points a game.

The Series
South Dakota leads the all-time series with Western Illinois 13-3. South Dakota took the first meeting of the season 92-49 with five players reaching double-figures. Sophomore center Hannah Sjerven led the way with her third double-double of the season with 22 points and 13 rebounds in the game.

One Last Thing
Last Saturday's contest displayed the will-to-win by this group of Coyotes as South Dakota triumphed 75-64 against Oral Roberts, marching back from a nine-point deficit early in the fourth quarter to win the game.