ST. PAUL, Minn.—It appeared as if the Coyotes would be headed into the team's fourth overtime road game of the season, but South Dakota senior forward
Tori DePerry made a layup at the buzzer to give the Coyotes a 63-61 win Thursday night inside Schoenecker Arena.
South Dakota (13-6, 2-2 Summit) climbed back from a 13-point deficit midway through the third quarter, scoring 28 points in the fourth quarter to secure the road victory.
Junior
Kendall Holmes scored a game-high 19 points, knocking down five 3-pointers for the second-straight game and third time of the season. She was 5-of-8 from behind the arc.
Fourth-year sophomore
Natalie Mazurek recorded her third-straight double-figure game with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting. She also pulled down a team-best seven rebounds. Junior
Grace Larkins finished with 10 points, six rebounds and four assists. Larkins scored six of her 10 points in the fourth.
St. Thomas (11-8, 3-2) was led by guard Jade Hill and center Jo Langbehn's 17 points each. The Tommies' leading scorer, sophomore guard Amber Scalia, finished with 11 points on 3-of-9 shooting. Scalia scored five quick points in the final minute of the first half that started the momentum for the Tommies' third-quarter run.
The Tommies led 39-26 with 4:31 to play in the third quarter after Hill knocked down her only 3-pointer of the game.
South Dakota trailed 45-35 after the opening possession of the fourth quarter when the Coyotes went on a 21-6 run. Sophomore
Carley Duffney, who finished with seven points and five assists, knocked down a corner three and a baseline 15-foot jumper during the stretch. Larkins got a steal and score off the press to give the Coyotes a 53-51 advantage with 4:38 remaining, the team's first lead since the second quarter.
The game featured 11 lead changes and four tie-ups in all, with four of those lead changes and two tie-ups in the final four-and-a-half minutes.
Langbehn tied up the game at 61 with 44 seconds to go. Neither team scored on their ensuing possession. Larkins locked up the defensive rebound with 0.4 seconds remaining and the Coyotes advanced the ball with a timeout. Head coach
Kayla Karius and her staff drew up an inbounds play with fifth-year junior
Alexi Hempe sending a cross-court pass to a cutting DePerry for a layup at the buzzer.
Both South Dakota and St. Thomas made 24-of-57 (.421) from the floor and eight free throws. The Coyotes had seven 3-pointers to the Tommies' five.
USD outrebounded St. Thomas 43 to 26 with four players grabbing five or more boards. The Coyotes pulled down 15 offensive rebounds and scored 17 second-chance points in the game.
The Coyotes travel to South Dakota State for the interstate rivalry series. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. Saturday at Frost Arena in Brookings, South Dakota.
