VERMILLION, S.D.—South Dakota sixth-year senior
Hannah Sjerven scored a career high 35 points to lead the Coyotes to a 71-59 victory over Wichita State on Saturday afternoon inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
South Dakota won (4-4) its fifth-straight in the series against Wichita State (7-2). The Coyotes evened its record after facing the toughest November schedule in the nation as ranked by Warren Nolan.
"Today our young ladies played with incredible energy while making a ton of tough plays versus a very good team in Wichita State," said USD head coach
Dawn Plitzuweit. "We will now work to quickly prepare for a very different style of play in Bradley and hope to see Coyote Nation back in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center on Monday night."
Sjerven had equaled her season high by the halftime horn, then added on 10 second-half points to tally a career-best 35 points. It ties for the 12th-best single-game scoring output by a player this season. She knocked down 11-of-17 (64.7 percent) from the floor and made 12-of-15 from the charity stripe. She drew a season-high 15 fouls in what was an incredibly physical matchup. Sjerven's previous career high was a 31-point, 21-rebound performance last season against Bradley, whom the Coyotes face next.
It marked the 54th 30-point game by a Coyote in program history, with USD coming off fifth-year senior guard
Chloe Lamb's own 30-point game last week versus Pitt. Sjerven's 35 points tied for the sixth-best single-game performance by a Coyote in the program's 51 seasons. She also becomes just the seventh player to tally more than one 30-point game in a Coyote jersey.
Lamb and senior guard
Liv Korngable joined her in double-figures with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Lamb nabbed a season-best eight boards to lead the Coyotes on the glass and dished out four assists. Korngable was 4-of-8 from the field, handed out five assists and stole the ball twice.
Wichita State was led by junior Jane Asinde's career-high 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting. She finished with a double-double, adding 11 boards. Senior Mariah McCully added 13 points for the Shockers.
The Shockers were the second-straight foe the Coyotes have faced that ranked in the top-10 of the nation for rebounding. WSU edged out South Dakota 44-24 on the glass for 21 second-chance points. However, the Coyotes forced 25 Shocker turnovers and capitalized with 26 points-off turnovers in the game.
South Dakota jumped out to a double-digit lead midway through the first quarter and held onto it through the half. Korngable sank an open 3-pointer near the end of the third period to push USD's lead to 18 points.
An 9-2 Shocker run to start the fourth quarter closed that lead back down to 63-57 with 5:26 to play in the game. Korngable made a tough baseline driving layup to end the run and push USD's lead back to eight. The Shockers would not score another field goal in the final five minutes of the game as a series of tough defensive stops helped the Coyotes finish out the game and win 71-59.
South Dakota finished 44.1 percent (26-of-59) from the field and Wichita State shot 38.6 percent (22-of-57) from the floor.
The Coyotes return to action on Monday night as they host Bradley at 7 p.m. inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion. The Braves will be coming off a Saturday night game at Summit foe North Dakota State.
