South Dakota, Ole Miss square off in Big Dance

The Game

South Dakota women's basketball faces Ole Miss at 12:30 p.m. Friday in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament held at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.

The game will be broadcast by ESPN2 with play-by-play from Elise Woodward and analysis from Andrea Lloyd. That broadcast will be available for streaming on WatchESPN. Fans can tune into the Coyote Sports Network with Carter Woodiel on KVHT 106.3 in Yankton/Vermillion or by using the Varsity Network app.

The Coyotes

South Dakota (27-5, 17-1 Summit) is making its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in 10 seasons of Division I eligibility. The Coyotes are led by Summit League Player of the Year Chloe Lamb, Summit Defensive Player of the Year Hannah Sjerven and all-Summit pick Liv Korngable. The trio account for nearly two-thirds of USD's scoring this season. Second-year freshmen Maddie Krull and Kyah Watson join them in the starting line-up. Freshman Grace Larkins was named the Summit League Sixth Woman of the Year, moving to fourth on the squad in scoring. This is the Coyotes' fourth-straight tournament appearance, with USD winning three-straight Summit League Tournament titles.

The Rebels

Ole Miss (23-8, 10-6 SEC) makes its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007 and the program's 18th overall. The Rebels are one of 37 programs in the country with 18 or more NCAA Tournament appearances. Ole Miss is led by 6-foot-5 senior center Shakira Austin, a two-time first-team all-SEC honoree who leads her team with 15.4 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. Senior Angel Baker, the SEC Sixth Woman of the Year, is the team's second-leading scorer at 10 points per game. The Rebels advanced to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament where they fell to South Carolina. Six of their eight losses were to nationally-ranked teams including three losses to No. 1 overall seed South Carolina.

The Series

This is the first meeting between South Dakota and Ole Miss in program history. The Rebels are the third SEC program the Coyotes have faced this season.

One Last Thing

South Dakota's super seniors were on fire in the Summit League Tournament, shooting 53.9 percent from the field and 61.5 percent from 3 through the three games.