LARAMIE, Wyo. – The South Dakota women's basketball team is off to its best start in its Division I era at 7-0 and will look to complete the month of November with an eighth win Saturday against Wyoming.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
• South Dakota women's basketball against Wyoming will be available to watch on the Mountain West Network.
• Due to scheduled football and men's basketball games, fans can listen to Coyote women's basketball on the Coyotes Sports Network powered by Learfield via audio stream on the Varsity Network App and on GoYotes.com with the voice South Dakota women's basketball Jerry Palleschi.
 
KEY STORYLINES
• South Dakota women's basketball looks to close out the month of November undefeated Saturday in Laramie and is looking to snap a losing streak against the Cowgirls in the process.
• The Coyotes are currently on their best start during the Division I era, starting 7-0 for the first time since 2002-03 season.
• USD is 2-0 on the road so far this season, picking up last second wins over Kansas State and Idaho State earlier this season.
• Senior transfers Angelina Robles and Patience Williams had ice in their veins on USD's last road trip, hitting three-pointers in the final two seconds of each game to give USD one-point victories.
• Ten different Coyotes have scored in double figures so far this season despite using the same starting five in every game.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The Coyotes earned a fifth straight home victory of over 20 points Tuesday night, defeating Arkansas-Pine Bluff 73-41.
• Five Coyotes scored in double figures in the win for USD: Angelina Robles (21 points), Patience Williams (11), Elise Turrubiates (11), Molly Joyce (10), and Josie Hill (10).
• The Coyotes were efficient offensively, shooting 51% from the field and converted over 80% of their free throw attempts.
• The South Dakota defense held UAPB to 26.9% shooting in the game, a fourth time this season USD has held their opponent under 30% shooting from the field.

INSIDE THE WYOMING SERIES
• The Coyotes and Cowgirls meet for the 8th time in series history.
• South Dakota and Wyoming are meeting for an 8th time, and for a third straight season, Saturday afternoon.
• Wyoming has won the last three meetings between these two programs, including two in Laramie where USD is 0-3.
• Last season, the Cowgirls picked up a 79-45 win in Vermillion.
• USD's last win against Wyoming was an 82-78 result in Vermillion during the 2013-14 season.
 
SCOUTING THE COWGIRLS
• Wyoming is off to a slow start to the 2025-26 campaign, sitting at 2-4.
• Wyoming's two wins have been by wide margins, defeating Long Beach State 72-39 on Nov. 7 and Chadron State (D-II) 75-38 on Tuesday.
• The Cowgirls have struggled offensively this season, but have held opponents below 60-points on average.
• One Cowgirl averages more than eight points per game as Malene Pedersen is averaging 16.8 through six games.
 
RECORD VS THE MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE
• South Dakota is playing their second Mountain West opponent of the season Saturday after taking on the Air Force Falcons earlier this season.
• South Dakota is 8-6 all-time against the MWC.
• USD is 1-0 against the conference this season, beating Air Force 75-50 earlier this season.
• The Coyotes went 0-2 last season against the conference.
• A win Saturday would put USD at 3-2 against Wyoming with the Cowgirls being a MWC member.
 
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.
• The Coyotes moved up to No. 16 in this week's poll.
• South Dakota was ranked No. 23 in the Nov. 18 Mid Major Top 25 poll.
• The Coyotes have gone from not receiving a vote two weeks ago to No. 16 now.
• Last week was 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 22nd nationally and is atop the Summit League in rebounding at 45.7 rebounds per game.
• The Coyotes are getting it done on both ends of the floor, ranking 89th in the country and leading the conference offensive rebounds at 14.1 per game, while ranking 15th nationally (third in the SL) in defensive rebounds at 31.6 per game.
• Friday, the Coyotes set an SCSC record with 62 rebounds against Valparaiso.
• One of the best rebounders in the country through the first three weeks of the year is Patience Williams, who ranks 13th in the NCAA in total rebounds (68) and 44th in rebounds per game (9.7).
 
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 50.9 points per game.
• The Coyotes lead the Summit League in scoring defense (50.9), field goal percentage defense (29.5%), and three point percentage defense (23.0).
• The Coyotes also rank inside the top 30 nationally in all of those category: 4th in FG% defense, 27th in 3PT% defense, and 18th in scoring defense.
• The Coyotes have yet to allow a team to shoot over 40% from the field and 35% from three.
• South Dakota has held opponents under 30% shooting in four of their seven games this season.
• 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 31.6 points per game (17th 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.
• 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.
 
MILESTONE CHASING
• A handful of Coyotes are looking to reach some career milestones this season.
• Josie Hill is nearing 1,000 career points, currently at 885 (55 as a Yote).
• Hill is also nearing another two milestones. She needs three blocks to get to 150 in her career and needs eight more rebounds for 600.
• Molly Joyce could also reach 1,000 career points in just her third collegiate season. She has 838  points between her time at Truman State and USD.
• Elise Turrubiates needs just seven rebounds for 500 in her NCAA career.
• Turrubiates also reached 100 career steals Tuesday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
 
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 112-24 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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