VERMILLION, S.D. – South Dakota women's basketball is set to start its WNIT journey Sunday against Northern Colorado inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center at 1 p.m.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
• South Dakota women's basketball against Northern Colorado will be available to watch Midco Sports and on the Summit League Network powered by Midco Sports Plus.
• 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.

THE BRACKET
• South Dakota and Northern Colorado meet in the second round of the WNIT after Northern Colorado earned a 79-72 first round victory over Air Force Thursday night at Air Force.
• The winner of Sunday's game will face the winner of Southern Utah and Pepperdine in the Super 16. Location, date, and time will be determined following the conclusion of both second round games.
 
POSTSEASON HOOPS IN VERMILLION!
• South Dakota is set to compete in its seventh WNIT starting Sunday against Northern Colorado in the SCSC.
• USD is 14-5 all-time in the WNIT, including advancing to the Super 16 round during its last appearance in 2023-24.
• The Coyotes have won the WNIT, doing so in 2016 inside the DakotaDome. The last basketball game played in the DakotaDome was the 2016 championships game where South Dakota defeated Florida Gulf Coast.
• South Dakota is 6-1 in the WNIT inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
• This is USD's second appearance since the WNIT field went to 48-teams from 64, and earned a first round bye for the first time in the 48-team field era.
• South Dakota has had one of the nation's best turnarounds from last season, winning 12 more games than last year, ranking fourth in the NCAA in win improvement.
• The 23 wins this season from South Dakota is the 18th time the Coyotes have passed the 20-win threshold in program history.
• The Coyotes have balance with first-team all-Summit League honoree Angelina Robles and Newcomer of the Year and second team all-Summit League honoree Molly Joyce at the guard positions and all-Newcomer and honorable mention all-Summit League honoree Elise Turrubiates and Patience Williams locking down the post.
INSIDE THE NORTHERN COLORADO SERIES
• The Coyotes and Bears meet for the 36th time in series history.
• South Dakota and Northern Colorado are meeting for the 36th time, and the second time in the WNIT.
• The first time these two programs met in postseason play (2015 WNIT), the Bears came away with a 59-58 win.
• Nicole Seekamp led the Coyotes with 19 points in that meeting. The two sides were tied at halftime, but a pair of free throws with two seconds left gave the Bears the win.
• South Dakota has found success in Vermillion against the Bears, going 13-4, including winning all six meetings since 2000 played in Vermillion.

RECORD VS THE BIG SKY
• The Coyotes have faced eight Big Sky opponents all-time including three already this season.
• South Dakota is 19-8 all-time against the Big Sky Conference.
• USD is 2-1 against the conference this season with wins over Idaho State and Portland State, but a loss to Eastern Washington.
• The Coyotes are 3-2 against the Bears since Northern Colorado joined the Big Sky.
• South Dakota has faced a Big Sky opponent in the postseason three times, and are 2-1 in those games.
 
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).
 
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
• The Summit League announced their postseason awards Tuesday, prior to the start of the conference tournament. Molly Joyce was named the Newcomer of the Year.
• Joyce was also named second team all-Summit League and to the all-Newcomer Team.
• She averaged 15.8 points while shooting .396/.393/.864 during league play. She added 2.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists.
• Her 86.4% from the free throw line was third in the league.
• She scored over 20-plus points in the first four games of conference play, and six times total, and scored 10-plus in 14 of the 16 conference games, ranking sixth in the conference in scoring.
• She is the third Coyote to win this award, joining Caitlin Duffy (2015-16) and Hannah Sjerven (2018-19).
 
FIRST TEAM ALL-SUMMIT
• After receiving preseason second team all-conference honors this season, Angelina Robles showed out, and earned herself a first team all-Summit League honor as a senior.
• Robles shined as the Yote point guard, totaling 16.4 points and 3.6 assists during league play. Both numbers were best on the team and top five in the league.
• She ranked fifth in scoring and second in assists during league play, shooting .394/.375/.853.
• Ranks fourth in the league in free throw percentage.
• She also tallied 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.
 
ALL-NEWCOMER & HONORABLE MENTION
• Elise Turrubiates made her impact on South Dakota women's basketball this season, and received all-Newcomer and all-Summit League honorable mention honors for her performance.
• Turrubiates totaled 7.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game during conference play. She also averaged 1.6 steals.
• Her 7.9 rebounds are tied for fifth in the league during conference play and her 1.6 steals is tied for fourth.
 
CRASH THE GLASS
• The Coyotes have placed an emphasis on rebounding this season, and it has paid off as USD is one of the top rebounding teams in the country entering the Summit League Tournament.
• USD is ranked 55th nationally and is atop the Summit League in rebounding at 40.1 rebounds per game.
• The Coyotes are getting it done on both ends of the floor, ranking second in the conference in offensive rebounds at 11.5 per game, and ranking 23rd nationally (second in the SL) in defensive rebounds at 28.5 per game.
• USD has outrebounded its opponents in 20 games this season, going 19-1 in those games.
• South Dakota broke the SCSC record for rebounds in a game for a second time this season against College of Saint Mary, totaling 63.
• The Coyotes previously set an SCSC record with 62 rebounds against Valparaiso.

DEFENSE WINS
• South Dakota has been the best defensive team in the Summit League this season, holding opponents to 58.4 points per game entering the conference tournament.
• The Coyotes lead the Summit League in scoring defense (58.6), field goal percentage defense (35.7%), and three-point percentage defense (28.1%).
• The Coyotes also rank inside the top 50 nationally in three categories: 10th in FG% defense, 23rd in defensive rebounds, 45th in scoring defense.
• South Dakota has held opponents under 30% shooting in eight games this season.  
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