KANSAS CITY, Mo. – South Dakota women's basketball is set to take on Kansas City in USD's Summit League opener Saturday at 2 p.m. inside the Swinney Center in Kansas City.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
• South Dakota women's basketball against Kansas City 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
• The Coyotes switched up the starting lineup at Bradley in the second week of December, 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 10 wins so far this season, they've won by 20+ points eight 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 12 of their 14 players who have played scoring in double figures at least once.
• The Coyotes are looking to start the conference season strong for a second consecutive season after starting Summit League play 3-1 last season.
 
INSIDE THE KANSAS CITY SERIES
• The Coyotes and Roos meet for the 18th time in series history and the 16th time as conference foes
• Kansas City won four of the first five matchups between these two programs, but it has been nearly all Yotes since KC rejoined the Summit League in 2020.
• Since the Roos returned to the conference, USD is 10-1 against KC.
• USD's lone loss to Kansas City since the 2020-21 season came at the Swinney Center last season, a 77-54 win.
• While the Coyotes are strong at home against the Roos, being 6-0, they struggle in Kansas City, being 5-4.
 
SCOUTING THE ROOS
• Kansas City opened conference play Wednesday against Omaha, earning a 61-59 win at home, its first Division I win of the season.
• The Roos were picked 6th in the Summit League Preseason Poll after finishing 6-10 and earning the six seed in the Summit League Tournament last season.
• The Roos are one of the country's most efficient three-point shooting teams, converting 37.3% of their triples to rank inside the top 25.
• Preseason first team all-conference honoree Emani Bennett is leading the team with 16.5 points. Elauni Bennett is averaging 16.0 points and 7.6 rebounds.

RECORD VS THE SUMMIT LEAGUE
• The Coyotes have five Summit League regular season titles and four tournament championships since joining the conference in 2011 and have finished in the top four in the conference every season except one.
• South Dakota is 188-71 against the Summit League (previously Mid-Continent Conference) in program history.
• USD has winning records against seven of the eight current conference foes as members of the Summit League
• South Dakota has 20 or more Summit League wins against four current members in Summit League play history: Omaha (24), Denver (22), North Dakota State (22), and Oral Roberts (21).
 
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 113-25 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 seven programs with at least nine 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
• Career bests set against College of Saint Mary Tuesday.
• Olivia Kieffer set a career-high in rebounds with her first double digit rebounding game, totaling 11.
• Olivia Moore (7) and Molly Joyce (6) tied career-highs in assists in the win.
• Grace Peterson had her best game as a Coyote Tuesday, totaling nine points, five rebounds, one assist, and one steal, all setting or tying career bests.
 
SEASON HIGHS LAST TIME OUT
• Season highs set Tuesday against College of Saint Mary:
• Olivia Moore totaled 15 points, including three three-pointers, in Tuesday's win.
• Alex Flattery managed to tie her season high with 11 points.
• Coral Mason scored a season-high six points and added a season's best eight rebounds.
• Angelina Robles had a third straight game with three steals, and a fourth time overall.
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 919 (89 as a Yotes).
• Molly Joyce could also reach 1,000 career points in just her third collegiate season. She passed 900 points against College of Saint Mary, currently sitting at 901 (127 as a Yote).
• Angelina Robles is closing in on 900 points in her career at 870 points.
 
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.
• USD is ranked 13th nationally and is atop the Summit League in rebounding at 45.4 rebounds per game.
• The Coyotes are getting it done on both ends of the floor, ranking second in the conference in offensive rebounds at 13.6 per game, and ranking 7th nationally (second in the SL) in defensive rebounds at 31.7 per game.
• South Dakota broke the SCSC record for rebounds in a game for a second time this season Tuesday, totaling 63 against College of Saint Mary.
• The Coyotes previously set an SCSC record with 62 rebounds against Valparaiso.
• Two Coyotes rank inside the top 10 in the conference in rebounds per game.
• Patience Williams is 6th in the Summit League (91st in the NCAA) in total rebounds with 110. Her 7.9 rebounds per game is fifth in the Summit League and 120th in the NCAA.
• Elise Turrubiates is 9th in rebounds per game (7.0).
 
DEFENSE WINS
• Through the first half of the season, South Dakota has been one of the best defensive teams in the country, holding opponents to 54.6 points per game.
• The Coyotes lead the Summit League in scoring defense (54.6), field goal percentage defense (31.1%), and three-point percentage defense (27.7%).
• The Coyotes also rank inside the top 40 nationally in three categories: 3rd in FG% defense, 7th in defensive rebounds, and 27th in scoring defense.
• South Dakota has held opponents under 30% shooting in half (7 of 14) its 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 21.6 points per game (29th in Division I).  
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