VERMILLION, S.D. – The Coyotes are set for their first of three regular season neutral site games Saturday as they take on No. 21/20 Nebraska at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls.
 
Tickets for the game are sold out, as the 3-0 Huskers and 0-3 Coyotes will meet for the first time since the 2013-14 season. USD is coming into the game off a 71-67 overtime loss to LMU Wednesday at home. Nebraska is coming into the Pentagon off an 84-58 home win over Southern.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
The game is available to watch on Big Ten Network Plus with David Brown and Shimmy Gray-Miller on the call. You can also listen to the game on KVHT 106.3 FM or the Varsity Network with the voice of South Dakota women's basketball Jerry Palleschi. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Heritage Court inside the Sanford Pentagon.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• South Dakota fell to LMU, 71-67 in OT, Wednesday night inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
• Grace Larkins poured in 29 points on a career-high 14 made baskets and added nine rebounds and six assists.
• Larkins also set the program record for attempts in a game with 31, 16 of which were attempted in a 22-point first half.
• Carley Duffney (12 points) and Olivia Kieffer (11) also scored in double figures for the Yotes.
• For the second straight game, USD led by 10+ points at the halftime break.
 
INSIDE THE NEBRASKA SERIES
• The Coyotes and Huskers meet for the 12th time in series history.
• Nebraska and South Dakota have played 11 times, with the most recent matchup being in Dec. 2013.
• Nebraska won that meeting 87-53. USD was led by Raeshel Contreras' 17 points. Nicole Seekamp and Tia Hemiller added 11 points each.
• USD's lone win came in Feb. 1981, an 87-85 overtime thriller.
 
FAMILIAR FACES
• Saturday's matchup against Nebraska features former USD head coach Amy Williams, and a Nebraska native in current USD head coach Carrie Eighmey.
• A majority of Eighmey's time as a coach has been in Nebraska, spending three years at Hastings (NAIA) and Nebraska-Kearney (D-II).
• Prior to coaching at Nebraska, Williams spent four years at South Dakota, going 96-44 (.686) and winning the 2016 WNIT Championship.
 
PLAYING AT THE PENTAGON
• South Dakota has played at the Pentagon in four of the last six seasons.
• The Coyotes are 5-3 in the last six seasons at the Pentagon, including winning the 2021 Summit League Tournament in the building.
• Overall, the Coyotes are 6-4 at the Pentagon since it opened in 2013.
• Last season, South Dakota defeated South Carolina State 72-52 on Heritage Court.
 
SEEING DOUBLE
• Through three games, Grace Larkins is averaging a double-double and has 15 career double-doubles.
• She scored a season-high 29 points and added nine rebounds in Wednesday's loss to LMU.
• Larkins recorded a 27-point, 13-rebound performance in the season opener.
• Entering Wednesday, she is averaging 23.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.
 
KEY CONTRIBUTORS
• The Coyotes haven't dug deep into the bench this season with a total of nine players seeing the court, but just eight in the last two games.
• Off the bench, Coral Mason and Gabby Wilke are the only two Coyotes to have played in a game without recording a start.
• Mason (So., Hurley, S.D.) has gone from seeing 4.3 minutes per game as a freshman to 21.7 so far this season, averaging five points and 3.7 rebounds per game.
• The lone true freshman to see the court for the Coyotes has been Gabby Wilke (Fr., Beaver Dam, Wis.), who scored her first points as a Coyote Friday at Air Force
• She has totaled 10 points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes of playing time so far.
 
SOPHOMORE SHINE
• Olivia Kieffer (So., Rapid City, S.D.) was the lone USD freshman to play in all 36 games last season, and she has only seen that role grow in the early parts of the season.
• After scoring in double figures once her freshman season, Kieffer has done it twice in three games, pouring in 10 against Saint Louis and 11 against LMU, already this season.
• Kieffer also made her first start in a Coyote uniform Wednesday against the Lions, playing a career-high 34 minutes.
• She also made a career-high five shots in the game, including her first three of the 24-25 campaign.
• Kieffer is averaging 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists per game.