VERMILLION, S.D. – South Dakota women's basketball will get a chance to avenge an early season loss to Pepperdine Thursday night inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center as the Coyotes and Waves are scheduled for a 7 p.m. game in the WNIT's Super 16.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
• South Dakota women's basketball against Pepperdine 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 John Thayer on the broadcast.

THE BRACKET
• South Dakota and Pepperdine meet in the Super 16 of the WNIT after Pepperdine earned a second round victory over Southern Utah Sunday night at home.
• The winner of Thursday's game will face the winner of Montana State and Portland, also scheduled for Thursday night. The date, time, and location for the Great 8 game will be announced following the games Thursday.
 
SUPER 16 TIME IN VERMILLION
• South Dakota's seventh WNIT run continues Thursday inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center against Pepperdine, a team who defeated South Dakota in December in Malibu, Calif.
• USD is 15-5 all-time in the WNIT, including back-to-back Super 16 appearances (last 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 7-1 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 and Pepperdine have had two of the nation's best turnarounds from last season, both winning 13 more games this year than they did in 2024-25. They're tied for fourth in Division I in win improvement.
• The 24 wins this season from South Dakota is the 18th time the Coyotes have passed the 20-win threshold in program history.
• The Coyotes have been led by their guard combo of first-team all-Summit League honoree Angelina Robles and Newcomer of the Year and second team all-Summit League honoree Molly Joyce.
 
INSIDE THE PEPPERDINE SERIES
• The Coyotes and Waves meet for the 3rd time in series history and second time during the 2025-26 season.
• South Dakota and Pepperdine will play each other more times this season (2), than they had in series history before this season (1).
• This is the first meeting between the Coyotes and Waves to not take place at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.
• USD is still looking for its first win over Pepperdine in program history.
• In the meeting in December in Malibu, the Waves led 35-29 at the half, and held on to win 73-65, giving USD its third straight loss. The Coyotes snapped the losing streak the next day against UTRGV.
• In the 73-65 win, Pepperdine had three in double figures, led by Meghan Fiso's 19 points and Elli Guiney's 16. Those two combined to go 4-for-4 from three.
• The Waves converted 53.8% of their three-pointers in the game, the best 3pt% allowed by the Coyotes all season.
• For USD in the game, Elise Turrubiates tallied 19 points, joined in double figures by Angelina Robles (13) and Patience Williams (11).

RECORD VS THE WEST COAST CONFERENCE
• The Coyotes have faced five WCC opponents all-time, but the Waves are the only WCC team USD faced this season.
• South Dakota is 5-5 all-time against the West Coast Conference
• Of USD's five wins, two are against LMU and two are against Santa Clara.
• Meanwhile, the Yotes are winless against Pepperdine (0-2) and Gonzaga (0-1).
• Facing a WCC opponent in postseason play Thursday is a first for the Coyotes.

WNIT LAST GAME OUT
• South Dakota opened its WNIT run with an 80-60 victory over Northern Colorado Sunday afternoon inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
• The Coyotes started out with a 9-0 deficit to the Bears, but used a 21-4 run to end the first quarter and build a lead.
• Four Coyotes scored in double figures in the win, led by Angelina Robles' 21 points and five assists.
• Josie Hill (11 points) and Tori Schlagel (10 points) made impacts off the bench for USD.
• The Coyotes matched a season's best in three-point shooting, converting 9-of-19 for a 47.4% clip.
 
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.
   
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