SIOUX FALLS, S.D.—No. 1 South Carolina used a 16-2 run in the third quarter to pull away from South Dakota as the Coyotes fell 81-71 in the first game of the Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic inside the Sanford Pentagon.
The top-ranked Gamecocks (2-0) end South Dakota's 19-game winning streak that dated back to the program's previous loss to South Carolina on Dec. 22, 2019.
"Our effort and attention to detail for our first game was really good in stretches, but we have to continue to grow in our toughness and consistency moving forward," said USD head coach
Dawn Plitzuweit. "We have to now recover our bodies as we face another very good and well-coached Gonzaga in less than 48 hours."
Four of South Dakota's five starters reached double-figures in the game. Senior guard and preseason all-league pick
Chloe Lamb paced the Coyotes with 18 points after a clutch 3-pointer that closed the deficit near the end of the game.
Senior guard
Liv Korngable recorded career highs across the stat line with 16 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
Senior center
Hannah Sjerven, the Summit's Preseason Player of the Year, recorded her 10th career double-double with 13 points and 12 boards. She added three blocked shots and a pair of assists.
True freshman
Maddie Krull made her first collegiate start against the Gamecocks, scoring 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Freshmen classmates
Kyah Watson and
Morgan Hansen added five and four points, respectively, off the bench.
South Carolina was led by guards Zia Cooke and Destanni Henderson with 19 points apiece from outside. Cooke is on the preseason Naismith watch list.
Despite the difference in length, it was the Coyotes (0-1) who had the inside presence in the game, outscoring the Gamecocks 50-42 in the paint. The game was tied 37-all at the break and the nation's top rebounding team, South Carolina, held just a 27-25 edge on the boards in the first half.
Defensively, the Coyotes held unanimous preseason All-American Aliyah Boston to two points in the first half. Boston finished with 12 points and eight boards in the game.
Momentum shifted in the third quarter as South Carolina came out firing, making 12-of-17 from the field for 70.6 percent. The Gamecocks led 68-48 after three.
The Coyotes fired back in the fourth, chipping away at the Gamecocks lead through the final frame. Lamb scored nine of her 18 points in the quarter, including a clutch 3-pointer in the last minute to close the gap to 78-71. South Carolina closed it out with three made free-throws in the remaining seconds for a final score of 81-71.
This marked South Dakota's first time playing the No. 1 team in NCAA Division I. With another ranked team on tap for Monday, it will also mark the first time in program history that USD will face back-to-back AP Top 25 foes.
The Coyotes face No. 21/20 Gonzaga at 2 p.m. Monday in the Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic at the Sanford Pentagon.
