MACOMB, Ill.—Western Illinois guard Anna Deets scored a game-high 23 points and the Leathernecks got their first win of the Summit League season with a 76-67 decision against South Dakota Saturday at Western Hall.
 
South Dakota (7-8) had won 12 consecutive games against conference foes dating back to last season. The Coyotes fell to 3-1 in conference play and lost to the Leathernecks for the first time in 12 games dating back to the spring of 2017.
 
Turnovers told the story in this one. South Dakota committed 18 of them while Western Illinois had eight. Neither team shot the ball particularly well but the Leathernecks took 18 more shots than their guests and that was the difference in a nine-point margin.
 
Coyote guard Grace Larkins had 18 points and a career-high 12 rebounds for her second collegiate double-double, but was 4-of-16 from the field on a day the team shot 32 percent. Freshman Walker Demers had a season-high 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds off South Dakota's bench. Morgan Hansen, Jeniah Ugofsky and Alexi Hempe had eight points apiece.
 
Three-point shooting was going to play a big role in the one and the two teams canceled each other out in that regards. Western Illinois was 10-for-35 and South Dakota was 8-for-29.
 
The Leathernecks (6-9, 1-3) led throughout and by as many as 20 at 53-33 midway through the third quarter. South Dakota rallied to score the final 11 points of the third and got within six points on back-to-back 3-pointers from Nicole Avila-Ambrosi and Demers midway through the fourth. But Western Illinois held serve from there and closed it out at the free-throw line. The Leathernecks were 18-of-21 from the stripe and South Dakota was 23-of-29.
 
South Dakota returns home to face North Dakota Thursday and North Dakota State Saturday.