VERMILLION, S.D. – South Dakota women's basketball has its first two games of the 2025-26 season on the books, as Summit League and Big Sky Conference announce the matchups for the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge Wednesday morning.
 
South Dakota will travel to Portland State for a battle with the Vikings on December 3 and return home to host Eastern Washington on December 6.
 
The Coyotes are 3-0 all-time against Portland State, and have not seen Eastern Washington in program history. South Dakota and Portland State have played twice in USD's Division I era, with the Yotes sweeping a home-and-home series during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons. USD's lone trip to Portland State resulted in an 86-57 win.
 
The Coyotes are 2-2 in the Big Sky-Summit Challenge, splitting their two games each of the last two seasons. The Coyotes haven't had a repeat opponent during the three years of the challenge, playing Montana and Idaho State during the 2023-24 season and Montana State and Northern Arizona last season. USD is 2-0 at home during the history of the challenge, while being 0-2 in the road.
 
The Summit League is 2-0 over the Big Sky Conference in the two years of the Big Sky-Summit Challenge. Teams earn one home for a home win and one-and-a-half points for a road win. The conference with the most points between the men's and women's games combined is the winner.
 
In the event of a tie, like in the first year of the challenge in 2023-24, the first tiebreaker is total margin of victory. The second tiebreaker, if the margin of victory is tied, is an arm-wrestling contest between the commissioners of the two conferences at the Final Four. The Summit League won the first trophy on the margin of victory tiebreaker.
 
Start times for both games are to be announced at a later date. Seasons tickets for the 2025-26 basketball season are available. For more information, visit GoYotes.com/Tickets or call the ticket office at (605)677-5959.