VERMILLION, S.D. – The 55^th season of South Dakota Women's Basketball begins Monday night, as the Coyotes open their 10^th season in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center (SCSC) against York (Neb.) University.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
• South Dakota women's basketball will be available to watch on the Summit League Network powered by Midco Sports Plus.
• Fans can listen to Coyote women's basketball on the Coyotes Sports Network powered by Learfield on KVHT 106.3 FM with the voice of the Coyotes, Jerry Palleschi.
 
PROMOTIONS
• Monday's doubleheader with the Coyote men's basketball program is a Wear White Game. Wear white and support Coyote basketball!
• Monday's game against York, the Coyote women are welcoming their Carrie's Coyotes campers back to Vermillion for Carrie's Coyotes Night.
 
KEY STORYLINES
• South Dakota women's basketball is set to begin it's 55th season Monday night against York (Neb.) University.
• This is the 14th season of NCAA Division I eligibility for the Coyotes, and the second season under head coach Carrie Eighmey.
• The Coyotes are 37-17 in season openers in program history, including an overtime loss last season to St. Louis in the SCSC on opening night.
• South Dakota returns two players from last season's roster (Olivia Kieffer, Coral Mason), leading to 13 new faces in Coyote Red this season (9 transfers, 4 freshmen).
• Of South Dakota's nine transfers, two of them should be familiar to Coyote fans, as Angelina Robles (Denver) and Jenna Hopp (SDSU)  come from Summit League foes. A third, Josie Hill (Chicago State), is a South Dakota native, hailing from Rapid City.
• Two of South Dakota's four freshmen are from the Rushmore State, including one from Vermillion. Brooke Jensen (Vermillion) and Grace Peterson (Sioux Falls) join Josie Hill (Rapid City), Olivia Kieffer (Rapid City), and Coral Mason (Hurley) to give the Yotes five South Dakota athletes on the roster.
• For the fifth consecutive season, USD is opening the season with a matchup in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
• USD is 7-2 in home openers in the SCSC and 44-10 in home openers in program history.
 
INSIDE THE YORK (NEB.) SERIES
• The Coyotes and Panthers meet for the 2nd time in series history.
• The Yotes are 1-0 against York in program history.
• The previous meeting was a 71-56 win for the Yotes inside the DakotaDome.
• Coyote Hall of Famer Bridget Yoerger played in her second career game as a Yote the last time these two programs met, totaling 7 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals in 24 minutes.
 
RECORD VS THE NAIA
• The Coyotes went 2-0 against the NAIA last season and look to extend their winning streak over NAIA opponents Monday night.
• South Dakota is 178-32 all-time against NAIA opponents.
• South Dakota has won their last 60 games against NAIA opponents, last losing to Dakota Wesleyan during the 2001-02 season.
• Last season, the Yotes earned wins over Bellevue (Neb.) and Mount Marty (S.D.) to keep the winning streak versus NAIA opponents alive.
 
SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON HONORS
• South Dakota women's basketball was picked fourth in the conference's preseason poll after earning the  seven seed in the conference tournament last season.
• Defending regular season and tournament champion South Dakota State was picked to win the conference again, followed by North Dakota State and Oral Roberts.
• With conference Player of the Year, USD's own Grace Larkins, graduating, SDSU's Brooklyn Meyer is the conference's preseason Player of the Year.
• South Dakota's Angelina Robles was named second team preseason all-Summit League.


10 YEARS OF SCSC SUCCESS
• South Dakota women's basketball kicks off it's 10th season in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center Monday night.
• USD is 107-24 inside the SCSC since the building opened in 2016.
• The Coyotes have had a winning record in the SCSC in 8 of the 9 seasons played in the SCSC.
• South Dakota has a record of 58-13 against Summit League foes in the SCSC, including a winning record against all eight current foes.
• USD is undefeated against two Summit League opponents: North Dakota (8-0) and Kansas City (4-0)
South Dakota has had two undefeated seasons at home during the SCSC era: 2018-19 and 2020-21.
USD's first win against a Top 25 opponent during the Div. I era came in the SCSC (No. 23/22 Iowa State on Nov. 28, 2018).
 
THE TRANSFER PORTAL ERA
• Over 1,500 women's basketball players entered the transfer portal following the 2024-25 season. USD is one of at least six programs with 13+ newcomers.
• USD is one of at least seven programs with 13+ newcomers.
• USD is one of at least 7 programs with at least 9 transfers.
• Seven of USD's nine transfers come from Div. I programs, including two from Summit League foes.
• South Dakota's transfers hail from 6 states: California (1), Iowa (4), Minnesota (1), New Mexico (1), South Dakota (1), and Washington (1).
 
NEW FACES ON THE BENCH
• Not only did the Coyotes bring in new players, but two new coaches will join Eighmey's staff in year two.
• Paul Fessler comes to USD as an assistant coach after one season at Georgia Southern, but also has strong ties to the Summit League, the Midwest, and to success.
• Fessler was a 16-year head coach of Concordia-St. Paul, where he racked up 326 wins and 10 NCAA Championship bids.
• After moving to the Division I ranks, Fessler coached at Bradley, making the NCAA Tournament in 2021, and at Kansas City before heading south.
• The second assistant coach to join the Yotes is Dalton Smith, a former student assistant for Eighmey's Nebraska-Kearney squads.
• Most recently, Smith was a director of video operations and analytics for Kansas State for the last three seasons.
• Smith was a student assistant for Eighmey and the Lopers, where UNK racked up 62 wins in three seasons.
• He then completed his Master's and was a GA for Wayne State, where he worked with two NSIC South Division Player of the Year athletes.
   
Stay up to date with all things Coyote Women's Basketball by following South Dakota Women's Basketball on Facebook /SDCoyotesWBB, X (Twitter) @SDCoyotesWBB, and Instagram @sdcoyotesWBB! #GoYotes