VERMILLION, S.D.—South Dakota women's basketball has climbed to No. 12 in the USA Today Coaches Poll announced Tuesday.
This marks the highest ranking ever – in either the Associated Press or USA Today Coaches Poll – by a Summit League men's or women's basketball team.
The No. 12 Coyotes (26-2, 15-0 Summit League) have clinched their second Summit League regular season title in three years. The Coyotes are one victory away from running the table, a feat that has only been done twice in The Summit League / Mid-Continent Conference history (South Dakota, 2017-18; Northern Illinois, 1993-94).
South Dakota has been ranked in the USA Today Coaches Poll for 13 consecutive weeks. The Coyotes have also spent nine weeks in the AP Top 25. This marks the second-most appearances by a Summit League team in a single season (2008-09 South Dakota State women's basketball team spent 14 weeks in USA Today Coaches Poll and 10 weeks in Associated Press poll).
The Coyotes are led by two-time Academic All-American
Ciara Duffy with 17.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game. Junior center
Hannah Sjerven and junior guard
Chloe Lamb join her in double-figures with 11 points per game.
No. 12 South Dakota hosts North Dakota for Senior Day at 1 p.m. Saturday inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. Tickets are available at GoYotes.com.
| Rank |
School (record) |
Points |
Last Week's Rank |
First-Place Votes |
| 1 |
South Carolina (27-1) |
761 |
1 |
20 |
| 2 |
Baylor (26-1) |
743 |
2 |
8 |
| 3 |
Oregon (26-2) |
727 |
3 |
3 |
| 4 |
Connecticut (23-3) |
660 |
5 |
0 |
| 5 |
Louisville (25-3) |
638 |
6 |
0 |
| 6 |
Stanford (24-4) |
632 |
4 |
0 |
| 7 |
Maryland (23-4) |
592 |
8 |
0 |
| 8 |
UCLA (23-4) |
512 |
7 |
0 |
| 9 |
Mississippi State (23-5) |
453 |
9 |
0 |
| 10 |
Gonzaga (27-2) |
451 |
13 |
0 |
| 11 |
North Carolina State (23-4) |
434 |
10 |
0 |
| 12 |
South Dakota (26-2) |
368 |
15 |
0 |
| 13 |
Arizona (22-5) |
367 |
11 |
0 |
| 14 |
Texas A&M (22-5) |
349 |
17 |
0 |
| 15 |
DePaul (25-4) |
336 |
12 |
0 |
| 16 |
Kentucky (20-6) |
300 |
16 |
0 |
| 17 |
Missouri State (23-3) |
289 |
18 |
0 |
| 18 |
Oregon State (20-8) |
286 |
14 |
0 |
| 19 |
Northwestern (24-3) |
280 |
20 |
0 |
| 20 |
Iowa (22-5) |
210 |
21 |
0 |
| 21 |
Princeton (21-1) |
175 |
23 |
0 |
| 22 |
Florida State (21-6) |
165 |
18 |
0 |
| 23 |
Florida Gulf Coast (27-2) |
160 |
22 |
0 |
| 24 |
Indiana (21-7) |
53 |
26 |
0 |
| 25 |
TCU (20-5) |
39 |
27 |
0 |
