VERMILLION, S.D. – The South Dakota women's basketball team is off to its best start in its Division I era at 6-0, and will look to improve to 7-0 Tuesday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Vermillion
 
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
• South Dakota women's basketball against Arkansas-Pine Bluff 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 South Dakota women's basketball Jerry Palleschi.
 
KEY STORYLINES
• South Dakota will look to go 5-0 at home to start a season for the first time since the 2020-21 season Tuesday night when the Yotes take the court to face Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
• The Coyotes are currently on their best start during the Division I era, starting 6-0 for the first time since 2002-03 season.
• USD is 4-0 inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center for the first time since going 8-0 at home during the 2020-21 season.
• South Dakota's margin of victory at home is 46.8 points per game through four games, compared to just 1 point per game on the road.
• Ten different Coyotes have scored in double figures so far this season.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The Coyotes earned a fourth home victory of over 20 points Friday night, defeating Valparaiso 85-44.
• Four Coyotes scored in double figures in the win for USD: Patience Williams (13 points), Elise Turrubiates (13), Angelina Robles (11), and Molly Joyce (11).
• Two players recorded double-doubles in the game: Williams (13 points, 16 rebounds) and Turrubiates (13 points, 10 rebounds). It was Williams' first career double-double and Turrubiates second career double-double.
• The Coyotes totaled 62 rebounds, the most by a women's basketball team in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
• All 13 Coyotes who appeared in Friday's game scored, and all 13 grabbed at least one rebound. It's the third time this season that USD has had every player who appeared in a game score.


INSIDE THE ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF SERIES
• The Coyotes and Lions meet for the 1st time in series history.
• South Dakota and Arkansas-Pine Bluff haven't faced off on the hardwood before, and do not have a common opponent during the 2025-26.
 
SCOUTING THE LIONS
• UAPB is 1-4 to start the season, and is coming to Vermillion off a 73-49 loss at Louisiana Tech.
• The Lions' season started out with a road win at Memphis, 69-64, on opening night.
• UAPB is averaging 48 points per game in its losses.
• Jailah Pelly has two double-doubles this season and is averaging 14 points and 7.4 rebounds.
• In the win over Memphis, Indiya Bowen totaled 29 points and Pelly added 23 points and 10 rebounds.
 
RECORD VS THE SOUTHWESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
• South Dakota has just one previous game against the SWAC.
• South Dakota is 1-0 all-time against the SWAC.
• USD's lone game against the conference was a 67-53 win over Grambling State in a neutral site game.
• The Coyotes took down Grambling State as a part of the Puerto Rico Classic on Dec. 19, 2018.
 
AP TOP 25
• For the first time since the 2021-22 season, South Dakota women's basketball has received national attention for its hot start to the season.
• South Dakota is receiving votes in the latest Associated Press Top 25, receiving three points in the poll.
• The last poll South Dakota appeared in was in week 10 of the 21-22 season, where they received votes.
• The Coyotes have been ranked in the AP Top 25 a total of 14 weeks in the program's Division I history, 12 of which were during the 2019-20 season where USD ranked as high as No. 17.
• USD is one of two Summit League programs receiving votes in this week's poll (South Dakota State).

MID-MAJOR TOP 25
• South Dakota women's basketball has been ranked No. 1 in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 ten times since joining the Division I ranks, and after a pair of road wins last week, the Coyotes have joined the rankings again after their longest stretch not receiving votes in a decade.
• South Dakota is ranked No. 23 in the Nov. 18 Mid Major Top 25 poll.
• The Coyotes jumped from not receiving a vote in the Nov. 11 poll to ranked No. 23.
• It's South Dakota's first ranking in the poll since week 8 of the 2023-24 season (23rd).
• USD is one of two Summit League schools ranked in the Top 25 (SDSU at No. 1). One other conference foe is receiving votes (NDSU).
 
CRASH THE GLASS
• The Coyotes have placed an emphasis on rebounding this season, and it has paid off so far as USD is one of the top rebounding teams in the country through nearly one month of the season.
• USD is ranked 17th nationally and is atop the Summit League in rebounding at 46.8 rebounds per game.
• The Coyotes are getting it done on both ends of the floor, ranking 57th in the country and leading the conference offensive rebounds at 15.2 per game, while ranking 16th nationally (third in the SL) in defensive rebounds at 31.7 per game.
• Friday, the Coyotes set an SCSC record with 62 rebounds against Valparaiso.
• One of the rebounders in the country through the first three weeks of the year is Patience Williams, who ranks 15th in the NCAA in total rebounds (62) and 28th in rebounds per game (10.3).
• Williams is one of five players in NCAA Division I with two games of 15+ rebounds.
 
DEFENSE WINS
• Through the first three weeks of the season, South Dakota has been one of the best defensive teams in the country, holding opponents to 52.5 points per game.
• The Coyotes lead the Summit League in scoring defense (52.5), field goal percentage defense (29.9%), three point percentage defense (21.2), and blocks per game (5.7).
• The Coyotes also rank inside the top 30 nationally in all of those category: 5th in FG% defense, 15th in 3PT% defense, 21st in blocks per game, and 29th in scoring defense.
• The Coyotes have yet to allow a team to shoot over 40% from the field and 35% from three.
• USD's strong defense has allowed for them to have one of the nation's best scoring margins as the Coyotes outscore their opponents by an average of 31.5 poitns per game (19th in Division I).
 
BUZZER-BEATER MAGIC
• In both South Dakota road games this season, the Coyotes hit three-pointers in the final seconds of the game to pick up one-point victories.
• At Kansas State, The Coyotes used a three-pointer from Patience Williams with just over one second left to take down the Wildcats 72-71.
• It was USD's first win over a Power 4 Conference school since the Coyotes defeated Baylor in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2022.
• Sunday, the magic carried over to Pocatello, Idaho, where USD's Angelina Robles buried a game-winning three-pointer to give the Coyotes a 64-63 win.
• Robles led the Coyotes with 14 points in the game, and she went 4-for-6 from three, including two triples in the closing minutes to give the Yotes a win.
 
10 YEARS OF SCSC SUCCESS
• South Dakota women's basketball is in its 10th season of calling the Sanford Coyote Sports Center, a building that has treated the Yotes well, home.
• USD is 111-24 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 in the building: 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 Sanford Coyote Sports Center (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).
   
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