The Tournament

South Dakota women's basketball is set for three games in three days at the Paradise Jam held at the University of Virgin Islands Nov. 25-27 in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
 
Game 1 vs. Northwestern at 4:45 p.m. CST Thursday
Game 2 vs. #23/18 Texas A&M at 7 p.m. CST Friday
Game 3 vs. Pitt at 4:45 p.m. CST Saturday
 
All three games will be broadcast on espn3 with play-by-play from Brad Wells and analysis from Kevin Lehman. Fans can tune into the game on the Coyote Sports Network with Carter Woodiel. The first two games will be carried on KVHT 106.3 FM in Yankton/Vermillion while Game 3 will be on KVTK 101.5 FM, 1570 AM in Yankton/Vermillion. All three radio broadcasts can also be found on The Varsity Network app.
 

The Coyotes

The Summit League preseason favorites, South Dakota (2-2) plays three Power 5 teams on three consecutive days for the first time in program history. The Coyotes are led by a trio of super seniors accounting for 68 percent of the team's scoring. Liv Korngable, the inaugural Summit Player of the Week this season, enters the weekend averaging 15 points and four assists per game. Hannah Sjerven and Chloe Lamb, both on the preseason Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year watch list, join her in double-figures. Sjerven's averaging 14.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. Lamb adds in 14 points per game. The duo of second-year freshmen Maddie Krull and Kyah Watson join them in the starting lineup.
 

The Wildcats

Northwestern (3-1) was receiving votes in both polls prior to Sunday's 78-75 loss to DePaul. The Wildcats are led by Veronica Burton's 18.3 points per game. Courtney Shaw joins her in double-digits with 12.3 points per game while shooting at a 59.4 percent clip. Defensively, the Wildcats have held opponents to 55 points per game. Northwestern is sixth in the nation for blocked shots per game (7.8) and 20th for steals per game (13.0). Burton's four steals per game this season ranks seventh in the country.
 

The Aggies

No. 23/18 Texas A&M (4-0) was a Sweet 16 team a year ago and enters this weekend's tournament on a 20-game nonconference winning streak. The Aggies boast a 30-point scoring margin entering the weekend, putting up 89 points per game. A 6-foot guard, Kayla Wells leads the group with 18.5 points per game while shooting 55.6 percent from the floor. Jordan Nixon is averaging 17.3 points and five assists per game. Destiny Pitts and Qadashah Hoppie join them in double-figures with 12 and 11 points per game, respectively. Texas A&M leads the nation in 3-point percentage this season, knocking nearly 10 threes per game at a 48.1 percent clip. The Aggies are led by long-time head coach Gary Blair in his final season. Blair is third among active coaches and 12th all-time in Division I head coaching wins (840).
 

The Panthers

Pitt (4-0) is off to a hot start, outscoring its first four opponents by 21 points per game. The Panthers are led by Jayla Everett's 18.3 points per game. Everett and Destiny Strother account for 20 of the team's 23 3-pointers so far this season. The Panthers have five players behind Everett averaging between seven and nine points per game. Pitt has put an emphasis on rebounding this season and it shows in the national statistics. The Panthers own the second-best rebounding margin in the nation, pulling down 52.5 per game, at least 20 more than their opponent per game.
 

The Series

This marks the first meeting in program history with all three teams.
 

One Last Thing

This marks the third time the women's basketball program has left the continental 48 for a regular season tournament, with all three trips in the last five years (Mexico in 2017; Puerto Rico in 2018).