The four Dakota schools stand atop the Summit League standings through two weeks and South Dakota takes on all three in a 10-day span starting Thursday with North Dakota. Tip inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center is 7 p.m.
 
It's a matchup featuring two of the top players in the conference in South Dakota's Grace Larkins and North Dakota's Kacie Borowicz. Larkins leads the Coyotes in points, rebounds, assists and steals. Borowicz is the Summit's top scorer and averaged 24 points per game in December.
 
How to Watch
The game is being televised on Midco Sports 2. That broadcast can be found on ESPN+ and the Midco Sports Plus app. A free broadcast can be found on GoYotes.com/watch.
 
How to Listen
Carter Woodiel from the Coyote Sports Network is providing a radio broadcast on KVTK 101.5 FM and 1570 AM in Yankton/Vermillion. A link to that broadcast is here.
 
The Coyotes
South Dakota (7-8, 3-1 Summit) split with St. Thomas and Western Illinois on its first road trip inside Summit play. The Coyotes cooled a bit from behind the arc in those two games after making 19-of-42 triples in a pair of impressive home wins against Kansas City and Oral Roberts to start conference season.
 
Three-point shooting is likely to play a key role in this. The Coyotes shoot 36 percent from there, one of the top numbers in the nation. North Dakota, which averages just five 3-pointers a game, is holding foes to 28 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
 
South Dakota has been balanced behind Larkins all season, but has gotten a lift from freshman Walker Demers to start Summit play. She offered a season-high 14 points off the bench last time out and is averaging 11 points and seven boards thru four Summit contests.
 
The Hawks
Mallory Bernhard has made North Dakota a contender in just her third season as head coach. The former UND star and long-time assistant was 15-15 last year after starting 2-19 during the COVID-shortened spring season. She features a roster in which six of her top seven players are seniors or graduate students.
 
Borowicz is among the veteran crew. She draws fouls, gets to the line and makes free throws at a 93 percent clip. Claire Orth adds 10 points and five boards on average. The Fighting Hawks also have a freshman making an impact in Nakiyah Hurst who has averaged 13 points thru three Summit games.
 
North Dakota scored a quality win against Wyoming in non-conference play. The Hawks had a seven-game win streak end last time out in an 81-76 road loss at North Dakota State.
 
One Last Thing
South Dakota puts two remarkable streaks on the line against North Dakota. The Coyotes have won 42 consecutive home games against Summit League opponents dating back to Jan. 28, 2017. The Coyotes have also won 13 consecutive games against North Dakota dating back to the 2013-14 season when the Fighting Hawks were members of the Big Sky Conference.