The Game

South Dakota faces a receiving votes Arizona team in the 2023 Battle 4 Atlantis consolation game presented by Bad Boy Mowers. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. (Central) Monday in the Atlantis Resort's Imperial Arena in the Bahamas.
 
The game will be televised by ESPNU with play-by-play from Kevin Fitzsgerald and analysis by Andraya Carter. A radio broadcast from the Coyote Sports Network with Jerry Palleschi will also be available on KVHT 106.3.
 

The Coyotes

South Dakota (3-2) finds itself in the third-place game of the Battle 4 Atlantis after a win over DePaul and a loss to Michigan. Monday will be the third-straight game against a high major opponent. Graduate transfer Tori DePerry was the lone Coyote to score in double-figures in Sunday's semifinal game with 16 points. She knocked down her first six shots of the game without a miss, including three from behind the arc.
 
The Coyotes were picked third in the preseason Summit League poll with junior Grace Larkins and sophomore Carley Duffney named to the preseason all-league teams. Larkins was also named to the preseason watch list for the Becky Hammon Award. One of the key talking points this offseason has been adding depth behind Larkins. The Coyotes had seven players contribute seven or more points on Saturday.
 

The Wildcats

Arizona (5-1) picked up a win over Memphis in game one before falling to Ole Miss 56-47 in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis. The Wildcats, picked seventh in the preseason Pac 12 polls, are receiving votes in both the Associated Press and coaches' polls. Head coach Adia Barnes turned the program into a national name with the postseason run to the national title game in 2021. Arizona finished as the national runners-up that season and have been to the round of 32 each year since.
 
Sophomore guard Kailyn Gilbert leads a balanced scoring team with 13.8 points per game. She's joined in double-figure averages by Esmery Martinez, Maya Nnaji and Sali Kourouma. Nnaji was the only Wildcat to score in double-figures Sunday with 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting.
 

The Series

This is the third time in three seasons that South Dakota and Arizona have been at the same tournament, but Monday will be the first meeting in program history. Arizona played Louisville as a part of "The Invitational" at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls in 2021, with South Dakota facing South Carolina in game two. Both teams also participated in the 2021 Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Arizona won the Island division and South Dakota tied for second in the Reef division.
 

Up Next

Monday is the final game in the Bahamas. South Dakota returns home to face South Carolina State in the Sanford Pentagon at 1 p.m. Saturday in Sioux Falls.