?? The South Dakota vs. South Dakota State Summit League championship game that seemed a foregone conclusion heading into the postseason is now going to be a Tuesday afternoon reality at the PREMIER Center.
 
The Coyotes (28-4) survived a predictably rough semifinal against North Dakota, knocking out the Fighting Hawks by a score of 84-61 in a contest that included a great start, a bit of wandering in the second quarter and a comprehensive effort after halftime.
 
With 53 total fouls – the Coyotes and Fighting Hawks combined for an implausible 120 during their two games during the regular season – it was going to be a difficult task for the Coyotes to advance to their biggest game of the year with a win that was easy to watch.
 
USD was nevertheless able to build up a suitable margin in the third quarter, surviving the fourth without injury. It was more a feat of strength and physical toughness than a test of skill but USD eventually got what it wanted.
 
"We knew this was going to be a really physical game – they have a lot of really good athletes and lot of really physical players," said junior Ciara Duffy, who scored 17 points. "We had to mentally and physically prepare for that. I think we did a pretty good job. We were in foul trouble a little bit, especially me, but we did a better job of guarding but not fouling in the second half."
 
It set up Round III of USD vs. SDSU with this third game following two overtime contests between the two teams during the regular season. It's not exactly news but it bears repeating in this case: the two state rivals came in as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds and split during the regular season with both needing more than 40 minutes to determine a winner.
 
How much closer can two teams get with an NCAA berth on the line?
 
While many in the business of predicting who will qualify for the NCAA postseason have both teams getting in regardless of who wins the tournament final, that wasn't a conversation that would have served any purpose on Monday.
 
In its place was wondering how well the sixth-seeded Fighting Hawks had prepared the Coyotes for the big one coming up. To that end, UND had made USD's 23-point win seem like hard work.
 
"South Dakota State has a lot of skilled athletes, really physical play especially down low," Duffy said. "So I think this was a good prep game for the championship."
 
The Coyotes' last loss was at Frost Arena on Feb. 24 in Brookings. The Jackrabbits' last loss was on Jan. 6 in Vermillion. Both were memorable displays of ability delivered in environments where poise can be difficult to summon on command.
 
Duffy, who earned first-team academic All-America honors this week, talked like she wouldn't want it any other way.
 
"We need to stick to who we've been the whole year," Duffy said. "There are going to be ups and downs, teams are going to go on runs that we're going to need to withstand. But I think it's always going to come back to who we've been and doing the little things right."
 
While the players involved have never known this postseason tournament to be any different – Tuesday's crowd could potentially be the largest in the nation this season for a Division I college women's tournament championship game – Coach Dawn Plitzuweit has seen how it works in other places. All the more reason to embrace it.
 
"I've coached in the Big Ten and in the Big Ten tournament and I can tell you the athletes' experience is very, very different because of the fan base that is here and the atmosphere that is here," she said. "It's very, very unique. It's very special and it's really fun for the young ladies."
 
The Coyotes will take with them plenty of experience in playing in big games, in part because of their in-state rivals. They'll also take along a few bruises thanks to the Fighting Hawks.
 
"First of all, we have to get recovered because this was a very physical battle," Plitzuweit said. "We have to get our bodies ready to play again. We know each other pretty well, so we'll go back and clean up a few things to the best of our ability and then you let players play at this point in time. Let them play hard and let them play free."
 
Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on ESPNU.

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