ST. PAUL, MINN. – South Dakota women's basketball is set to take on St. Thomas Saturday at 4 p.m. in St. Paul.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
• South Dakota women's basketball against St. Thomas 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 has started conference play 1-1 for the second straight season under head coach Carrie Eighmey.
• South Dakota has matched its win total from last season with the win at Kansas City, reaching 11 wins at the halfway point in its season.
• Jenna Hopp returned to the starting line up Thursday against Oral Roberts, filling in for Elise Turrubiates.
• 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 11 wins so far this season, they've won by 20+ points nine times, meanwhile USD's first loss by double digits came Thursday to Oral Roberts.
• 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.
• Molly Joyce has scored 20+ points in each of the last two games, totaling 21 at Kansas City and 24 Thursday against Oral Roberts.
• South Dakota and St. Thomas split their season series last year, but the Coyotes swept the Tommies in three meetings during the 2023-24 season.
 
INSIDE THE ST. THOMAS SERIES
• The Coyotes and Golden Eagles meet for the 10th time in series history.
• South Dakota's newest conference rival is the Tommies, and USD has had the upper hand in the first four years of the series.
• The Coyotes are 7-2 against the Tommies all-time, and are 3-1 at home, 3-1 in St. Paul, and 1-0 at the Summit League Tournament in Sioux Falls.
• The two programs won at home against each other last season, a 77-60 win in Vermillion for USD and a 66-57 St. Thomas win in St. Paul.
• Prior to last season's loss in St. Paul, USD had won four straight, including going 3-0 against St. Thomas in the 2023-24 season.
• Both of USD's losses are by less than 10 points, while their seven wins are by an average of 11.7 points.
 
SCOUTING THE TOMMIES
• St. Thomas got off to a slow start to the season at 0-4 but have rallied together to get to .500 at 8-8, including a 1-1 start to conference play.
• St. Thomas was picked fifth in the Summit League Preseason Poll after a fourth place finish last season with a 9-7 conference record.
• The Tommies got hot at the end of non-conference play, winning six of their final seven games before Summit League play started last week.
• The Tommies are 1-1 in Summit League play this season, dropping a road contest to SDSU 67-49 and defeating Denver at home in overtime Thursday, 74-65.
• St. Thomas only averages 64.1 points per game and have one player scoring in double figures this season as Alyssa Sand scores 13.8 and adds 7.4. Faith Feuerbach adds 9.9 points.
• Jada Hood is a do-it-all point guard for the Tommies, totaling 9.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game.

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 189-72 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 113-26 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 58-14 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 Oral Roberts Thursday.
• Alex Flattery set two career highs, totaling 11 rebounds and four blocks.
• Tori Schlagel tied or set two career highs, recording three assists (tying a career high) and three steals.
 
SEASON HIGHS LAST TIME OUT
• Season highs set Thursday against Oral Roberts:
• Molly Joyce tallied 24 points, including a pair of three-pointers and eight free throws.
 
MILESTONE CHASING
• A handful of Coyotes are looking to reach some career milestones this season.
• Molly Joyce could reach 1,000 career points in just her third collegiate season. She passed 900 points against College of Saint Mary, currently sitting at 946 (172 as a Yote).
• Josie Hill is nearing 1,000 career points, currently at 925 (95 as a Yotes).
• Angelina Robles is closing in on 900 points in her career at 888 points.
• She's also closing in on 200 career assists, currently at 189.
• Robles is two steals away from 100 in her career.
• Tori Schlagel took 16 collegiate games to reach 100 career points, passing that total against Oral Roberts Thursday.
 
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 44.4 rebounds per game.
• The Coyotes are getting it done on both ends of the floor, leading the conference in offensive rebounds at 13.8 per game, and ranking 11th nationally (second in the SL) in defensive rebounds at 30.6 per game.
• USD has outrebounded its opponents in 11 games this season.
• 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.
• Patience Williams is 5th in the Summit League (90th in the NCAA) in total rebounds with 125. Her 7.8 rebounds per game is fifth in the Summit League and 121st in the NCAA.
 
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 55.9 points per game.
• The Coyotes lead the Summit League in scoring defense (55.9), field goal percentage defense (32.4%), and three-point percentage defense (28.7%).
• The Coyotes also rank inside the top 40 nationally in three categories: 5th in FG% defense, 11th in defensive rebounds, and 27th in scoring defense.
• South Dakota has held opponents under 30% shooting in 7 of its 16 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 18.8 points per game (35th in Division I).  
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