Lamb sets the temperature

It’s not what you would call breaking news but University of South Dakota senior Chloe Lamb says she has every intention of coming back for another year of basketball for the Coyotes next season.

That is good news for all kinds of people at USD. It includes professors, coaches, teammates, kids in the community, Coyote fans and family and friends.

The Coyotes will bust out of a COVID-induced break this weekend with a pair of games at South Dakota State on Friday and Saturday. It will not include the customary amount of hoopla attached to a Jacks-Coyotes women’s game because the season is being bent into an odd shape by the continued presence of the pandemic. It’s still the State-U game, though.

“Playing State is always going to be a little different,” said Lamb, a former star at Sully Buttes whose mother is an SDSU grad. “There’s the rivalry and everything that comes with it around those games. There’s a different structure to it this year and the conference as a whole but it’s going to be fun. It’s a tough matchup for us and we think we bring a tough matchup to them, too.”

It will give players like Lamb the opportunity to compete. This year, that’s the key. Playing back-to-back games on the rival’s home court? Sounds odd, but that’s the way it is. USD was idle last weekend because the virus was present in the Omaha program. The Coyotes will have had a two-week break going into Frost Arena on Friday.

Normally that would definitely qualify as a bum deal, but not so much in the current environment.

“It’s just different, you know? You see the things that you took for granted in the past,” Lamb said. “You realize a lot of the things given to you in the past. For me, I definitely realized how grateful I am for the opportunities that we have and the things we’re given.”

For people who have been a part of so many big games over a four-year span, it’s sometimes beneficial to focus on the present context and encourage others to do the same.

“We could be saying things like, ‘Well, why can’t we do this now?’” Lamb said. “Instead you have to look at the bigger picture and just be thankful that we’re playing games and that people can come to most of those games and we’re having a season.”

It is comforting for the Coyote program to know they have people like Lamb, a strong contributor since her freshman season, to help everybody settle down. Or, as the case may be, fire up.

USD coach Dawn Plitzuweit has put together nothing but 20-win seasons with Lamb on the roster, something that includes last year’s 30-2 record with Summit League regular season and Summit tournament titles. There was a whole lot of winning going on, in other words, with the possibility for more with the Coyotes qualifying for the 2020 NCAA tournament that was never played.

The best of times and the worst of times? That’s a little extreme. But the point is, during the ups and downs, a player with Lamb’s steadying presence means a lot.

“There are a lot of different kinds of players in this world,” Plitzuweit said. “You have thermometers that play where the temperature is set at. Then you have players like Chloe. Chloe is a thermostat. Chloe sets the temperature. She can make adjustments. She doesn’t get caught in the heat of the moment – she can still be composed. When the team needs to get pumped up, she can do that. When they need to calm down, she can do that, too.”

Lamb plans on getting into coaching after her playing days end. Plitzuweit has seen her in action in that capacity at basketball camps and has no doubt, she’s going to be very good at it.

Two summers ago, Plitzuweit was watching Lamb coach a team that was down by 20 at half. It was humbling, it was embarrassing, etc., etc. The USD coach wandered over at halftime and was going to say a few things to the players, but then she stopped and just listened.

“Chloe was giving them the Xs and Os, she was motivating them, she was getting after it – pumping them up,” Plitzuweit said. “Then her team came back and won. It was a great turnaround but what I really remember is watching the way she was coaching. It was really, really special. She has a really good feel for the game in terms of understanding it but also in understanding how to get the best out of kids.”

Lamb is averaging 17.2 points a game for the 10-3 Coyotes, who have won all six of their Summit League games heading into the weekend.

She had 29 in a win over Wichita State and scored 22 or more points in three of her last five games. There is also this side note: she has not missed a free throw in conference play and is 35-for-40 for the season. More important though as this team heads into a big weekend, is that they’re getting to play their games and the people close to them will be able to watch.

“I think we’ve done a good job of rolling with the punches,” Lamb said. “We have done what we can with what we’ve been given. With all the procedures that we have to follow, we’ve made the most of it. We’re keeping a positive mindset. I’m pretty proud of how we’ve handled the whole thing.”

Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday in Brookings.