PEORIA, Ill.—South Dakota seniors
Hannah Sjerven and
Liv Korngable had career highs as the Coyotes downed Bradley 84-68 on the road inside Renaissance Coliseum Thursday afternoon. Senior
Chloe Lamb scored her 1,000th career point in the first quarter in the landmark game for the senior starting trio.
Sjerven scored a career high 31 points and pulled down a career-best 21 rebounds for a stellar performance inside. She is the only Division I player to record a 30-20 game so far this season. She also became the first Coyote with a 30-20 game since Mandy Koupal in 2003. The last Coyote to even reach 15 boards in a game was Margaret McCloud in 2014.
Sjerven finished 11-of-16 (68.8 percent) from the floor and blocked four shots on the other end. Her inside presence opened up the floor for Coyote shooters to drain a season-high 13 triples.
Korngable's career high 24 points came efficiently on 9-of-11 shooting (81.8 percent) from the floor. She made five of the Coyotes' 3-pointers.
Lamb eclipsed 1,000 career points on a 3-pointer during the first quarter. She was the third Coyote in double-figures on the day with 18 points. She added five 3-pointers to USD's tally, pulled down six boards and dished out three assists.
The only other Coyote to score more than a point on the day was freshman
Morgan Hansen. She came off the bench and knocked down three second-half 3-pointers.
"This was a very tough game versus an opponent that is very difficult to defend and also makes things really tough with how they use their length defensively," said USD head coach
Dawn Plitzuweit. "We did a great job of finding different ways to attack and really attacking the glass on both ends. Our ability to get second-chance points proved to be the difference this afternoon.
"We now have to quickly prepare for another very strong opponent on the road on Sunday afternoon!"
The game stayed within two possessions for most of the first half as USD led 41-38 at the break. The Coyotes used an 18-2 run midway through the third quarter, sparked by nine points from Sjerven, to grow its lead to 62-47. USD outscored Bradley by six in the final frame, with its largest lead of 16 coming in the final score.
Bradley (3-3) has won every other game during its nonconference slate. The Braves were led by preseason all-Missouri Valley picks Gabi Haack and Lasha Petree with 24 and 23 points, respectively.
South Dakota recorded its best shooting performance of the season, making 46.7 percent (28-of-60) from the floor and 56.5 percent (13-of-23) from beyond the arc.
Led by Sjerven's monster game on the glass, the Coyotes outrebounded Bradley 41-28.
South Dakota also committed just eight turnovers – two of which were offensive fouls – in the game. The Coyotes rank in the top-five nationally for fewest turnovers per game and have committed less than 10 in four of five games.
The Coyotes' road trip continues at Oklahoma on Sunday with a 2 p.m. tip-off in Norman.
