VERMILLION, S.D. – South Dakota women's basketball is set to take on the College of Saint Mary for its 14^th and final non-conference game Tuesday at 2 p.m. inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
• South Dakota women's basketball against College of Saint Mary will be available to watch on the Summit League Network.
• Fans can listen to the Coyotes on KVHT 106.3 FM on the Coyote Sports Network with the voice of the Coyotes Jerry Palleschi on the broadcast.
 
KEY STORYLINES
• South Dakota concludes its non-conference schedule with a home game against College of Saint Mary Tuesday afternoon.
• USD is playing just its second home game of the month of the December on Tuesday while playing four games away from the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
• The Coyotes switched up the starting lineup at Bradley, moving Division II transfers Molly Joyce and Alex Flattery into the lineup. Joyce started 44 of her 59 games over two seasons at Truman State, while Flattery earned one start in 27 games in her previous stop, a single season at Nebraska-Kearney.
• In USD's nine wins so far this season, they've won by 20+ points seven times, meanwhile when USD comes up short in a game, they've yet to lose by double digits, with their largest losing margin being eight (at Pepperdine).
• The Coyotes have distributed the wealth on the scoring front this season, with 11 of their 14 players who have played scoring in double figures at least once.
• The Coyotes have two players in the starting lineup averaging same number of points and rebounds. Patience Williams averaged 8.3 points and rebounds and Flattery 3.5 points and rebounds.
 
INSIDE THE COLLEGE OF SAINT MARY SERIES
• The Coyotes and Flames meet for the 15th time in series history.
• South Dakota and College of Saint Mary have met 14 times prior to Tuesday, and the series has been predominantly controlled by the Yotes.
• The Coyotes are 13-1 against CSM, including a 112-52 win in Vermillion during the 2018-19 season, the last meeting between the two.
• USD's lone loss to the Flames was during the 1986-87 season, a 67-65 result to open the season at the Augustana Invitational, the only neutral site meeting between the two programs.
• This is the fourth meeting of the two schools since USD moved to Division I, with the Coyotes winning the three previous meetings by an average of 36.7 points.
 
 
SCOUTING THE FLAMES
• College of Saint Mary has made improvements under second year head coach Natalie Miller, already surpassing last season's win total.
• After a one win season a year ago, the Flames are 3-12 and have earned two conference wins after not winning a Great Plains Athletic Conference game last season.
• The Flames and Coyotes have a mutual victory on their schedules, as both teams defeated York in late October/early November.
• This is College of Saint Mary's second Division I game of the season, having lost to Omaha 88-47 on Nov. 6. The Flames hung around in the first quarter, only trailing by three after the first.
• Two College of Saint Mary players score in double figures: Madelyn Gaughen (16.8) and Jai'La Porter (13.1).

RECORD VS THE NAIA
• South Dakota is familiar with the NAIA and with the Great Plains Athletic Conference, having played over 200 games in program history against the NAIA.
• South Dakota is 179-32 against the NAIA in program history.
• College of Saint Mary will become the fifth NAIA opponent South Dakota has faced at least 15 times, joining Mount Marty (45 games), Northwestern College (21), Sioux Falls (20), Dakota State (15).
• The Coyotes have also faced their fair share of current and former GPAC schools. USD has faced 11 of the 12 current GPAC members (College of Saint Mary, Briar Cliff, Concordia, Dakota Wesleyan, Doane, Dordt, Hastings, Midland, Morningside, Mount Marty, and Northwestern) at some point in program history.
• South Dakota has won 61 consecutive games against NAIA opponents after defeating York earlier this season. USD's last loss to an NAIA was to Dakota Wesleyan in the 2001-02 season.
 
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 112-25 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).
 
CAREER MARKS
• A pair of career bests were set at the Malibu Classic
• Alex Flattery snatched a career-high nine rebounds against UTRGV.
• Elise Turrubiates converted a career most four three-pointers in the loss to Pepperdine.
 
SEASON HIGHS LAST TIME OUT
• Angelina Robles recorded a season-high 24 points in the win over UTRGV. She also matched a season's best in steals (3).
• Elise Turrubiates converted a career most four three-pointers to score a season-high 19 points in the loss to Pepperdine.
• Alex Flattery snatched a season and career best nine rebounds against UTRGV. Flattery also had a season's best three steals in the win.
• Josie Hill tied season highs in rebounds (10) and assists (3) against the Vaqueros.
• Molly Joyce tied a season high with five assists in the win over UTRGV.
 
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 913 (83 as a Yotes).
• Molly Joyce could also reach 1,000 career points in just her third collegiate season. She has 896 points between her time at Truman State and USD.
 
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 one month of the season.
• USD is ranked 21st nationally and is atop the Summit League in rebounding at 44.0 rebounds per game.
• The Coyotes are getting it done on both ends of the floor, ranking second in the conference in offensive rebounds at 13.4 per game, and ranking 17th nationally (second in the SL) in defensive rebounds at 30.6 per game.
• The Coyotes set an SCSC record with 62 rebounds against Valparaiso.
 
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 55.0 points per game.
• The Coyotes lead the Summit League in scoring defense (55.5), field goal percentage defense (31.6%), and three-point percentage defense (27.1%).
• The Coyotes also rank inside the top 75 nationally in all of those categories: 5th in FG% defense, 66th in 3PT% defense, and 40th in scoring defense.
• South Dakota has held opponents under 30% shooting in six of their 13 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 19.2 points per game (38th in Division I).
   
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