The Game

South Dakota hosts Northern Iowa for a game at 6 p.m. Wednesday night inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion, South Dakota. The game will be a "White Out" theme night.
 
The game will be streamed on the Summit League Network, available on the Midco Sports Plus app. A radio broadcast from the Coyote Sports Network with Jerry Palleschi will also be available on KVHT 106.3.
 

The Coyotes

South Dakota (4-3) returns to the friendly confines of the Sanford Coyote Sports Center for the first time in more than two weeks after four-straight neutral court games. The Coyotes were picked third in the Summit League preseason poll with junior Grace Larkins and sophomore Carley Duffney named to the preseason all-Summit teams. Larkins was also named to the preseason watch list for the Becky Hammon Award.
 
Larkins was back to chasing triple-doubles on Saturday, finishing with 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the Coyotes' 72-52 win over South Carolina State. In the Coyotes' four wins this season, South Dakota has averaged nearly 19 assists per game. Whether it's dump passes in the post, baseball out-of-bounds throws down court, or kicks out to a shooter, the Coyotes' ability to share the ball has helped them shoot 49.6 percent in games won. USD also ranks at the top of the Summit League for assists per game (15.0) overall this season.
 

The Panthers

Fans will have to look beyond UNI's 1-4 record as the Panthers' schedule has featured a tough slate that includes three games against Power 5 foes. The Panthers hosted Caitlin Clark's Iowa squad at home, then lost a pair of Thanksgiving tournament games in Las Vegas to Syracuse and Vanderbilt. The Panthers were tabbed as the Valley preseason favorite.
 
Grace Boffeli, the Valley's Preseason Player of the Year, leads the squad with 16.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Boffeli was also named to the South Point Shootout All-Tournament team after her weekend performance in Las Vegas. Maya McDermott was named to the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year preseason watch list. She leads the team with 3.6 assists per game.
 

The Series

South Dakota leads the all-time series 7-6, holding a 4-0 edge in Vermillion. This marks the first meeting between the two squads since the 2016 Women's National Invitation Tournament. The Coyotes gritted out a 51-50 win on the DakotaDome floor to continue on towards the WNIT title that year.
 

Up Next

South Dakota hits the road to face LMU Sunday at 4 p.m. (Central) in Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles, California.