NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The South Dakota women's basketball program made it three straight wins Tuesday, taking down Dayton 79-69 at Trojan Fieldhouse on the campus of Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tenn.
 
The Coyotes jumped ahead early and scored 18 or more points in each quarter leading to their highest scoring output in regulation this season. Two Coyotes tied or set career highs in points in the victory and a third finished two points shy of their best. Grace Larkins poured in 32 points on 12-of-24 shooting. Alexi Hempe eclipsed 20 points for the first time as a Coyotes, pouring in 23 points 9-of-19 shooting. Gabby Wilke is the third Coyote to match a career best, scoring five points off the bench.

"(Larkins and Hempe) both did a great job finding opportunities to score within our offense," head coach Carrie Eighmey said. "Grace, especially in the first half, was getting to the rim whenever she wanted. Alexi did a great job finding opportunities to score, which we needed with other players in foul trouble. Those two really stepped up for us!"
 
Grace Larkins scored 11 points in her first 11 minutes of action. USD had a double-digit lead after one quarter, 19-9, and grew that lead by two to hold a 41-29 advantage at the half. The Coyotes hit 15-of-32 shots in the first half compared to just 10-of-33 for the Flyers.
 
Larkins scored 19 points in the first half in total, putting her past 1,500 points in her career. She is the eighth player in USD history with 1,500 career points and 500 career rebounds.
 
The Coyotes started the third quarter quiet as the Flyers mounted their comeback. Dayton made as many field goals in the third quarter as it did in the first two combined, but the Coyotes held strong as Alexi Hempe scored seven points in the final four minutes of the quarter after Dayton cut the lead to one.

"We had a great first half, built a good lead, then right away in the second half we knew (Dayton) would go zone," Eighmey said. "We were able to withstand the adversity a little bit and find a way to finish. We made some big plays down the stretch."
 
Hempe stayed hot in the fourth, as did Larkins. The duo combined for 13 of the Coyotes 20 points in the fourth quarter as South Dakota sealed its third straight win.
 
South Dakota is back at Trojan Fieldhouse Tuesday at 11 a.m. as the Coyotes take on Arizona State.
 
NOTABLES
• South Dakota improves to 3-4 on the season and 1-1 in neutral site games.
• The Coyotes have won three in a row for the first time since the middle of last season (Jan. 25-Feb. 1 vs Denver, Kansas City, North Dakota).
• South Dakota is now 1-1 against Dayton all-time and 2-3 against the A10 Conference.
• The 79 points as a team is the second highest scoring output of the season (83 vs Saint Louis) and the most in regulation.
• Grace Larkins nearly tied her career-high of 34 points, scoring 32 points on 12-24 shooting.
• Larkins is the eighth player in USD history with 1,500 points and 500 rebounds in a career.
• Tuesday's 34 points is Larkins' fifth 30-point game, tying her with Shelby Petersen for second in USD history.
• Alexi Hempe scored a career-high 23 points, her first 20+ point performance as a Coyote.
• Hempe has scored in double figures in four straight and five of seven games this season.
• She also grabbed a season-best eight rebounds.
• Carley Duffney tied her career-high with six assists to go with eight points and four rebounds.
• Gabby Wilke scored five points off the bench to match her season and career best.