VERMILLION, S.D. – South Dakota women's basketball continues its run in the WNIT Wednesday night as the Coyotes host Illinois State at 7 p.m. in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center for a trip to the WNIT Championship game.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
• South Dakota women's basketball against Illinois State 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 Illinois State meet in the Fab Four after home wins over Montana State and George Washington respectively in the Great Eight round. Illinois State is playing in its second straight Fab Four.
• The winner of Wednesday's semifinal will face the winner of the Arkansas State, Marshall semifinal, also Wednesday night, in the championship game Saturday at 2 p.m. Location is to be determined.
 
APRIL HOOPS IN THE SCSC
• South Dakota's seventh WNIT run has reached the Fab 4, and for just the second time in program history, the Coyotes are playing a women's basketball game in the month of April.
• The first ever April USD women's basketball game was the April 2, 2016 WNIT Championship game against Florida Gulf Coast, played in the DakotaDome. It was also the last basketball game played in the Dome.
• USD is 17-5 all-time in the WNIT, and is playing in their second semifinal/Fab 4 in the WNIT.
• South Dakota is 9-1 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 continues to have one of the nation's best turnaround this season, going from 11 wins to 26, tied for the second best win improvement in Division I. McNeese State is first with a 19-win improvement.
• The 26 wins this season from South Dakota is the 18th time the Coyotes have passed the 20-win threshold in program history.
• South Dakota's 26 wins are the most in a season since the 2021-22 season when South Dakota made their Sweet 16 run.
• South Dakota's 15 wins in the SCSC are the second most in a single season in the building since it opened in 2016.
 
INSIDE THE ILLINOIS STATE SERIES
• The Coyotes and Redbirds meet for the 1st time in series history.
• While South Dakota and Illinois State may be Missouri Valley Football Conference rivals on the gridiron, the USD-ISU rivalry is hitting the hardwood for the first time in women's basketball.

RECORD VS THE MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE
• The Coyotes took on two Missouri Valley conference foes this season in Valparaiso and Bradley, and are closing in on 60 games played against the conference as a whole.
• South Dakota is 29-29 against the conference all-time, including 1-1 this season.
• The Coyotes defeated Valpo at home, but lost to Bradley on the Braves' elementary school day in December.
• The Coyotes are undefeated against Indiana State (1-0), Southern Illinois (1-0), and Valpo (2-0), and have beaten every MVC opponent they've seen at least once.
• Former MVC member Creighton is USD's most common opponent in the league's history with 19 games. Drake is the most common current MVC opponent with 13 matchups.
• USD is 2-0 against MVC opponents in the WNIT, defeating Drake (2011-12) and Northern Iowa (2015-16).
 
WNIT SUMMARY
• South Dakota has taken down Northern Colorado, Pepperdine, and Montana State in this year's WNIT, all inside the SCSC.
• Sunday's win over Montana State came on the back of a career-defining performance from Molly Joyce, who tallied 31 points in a nine-point, 65-56, win over the Bobcats.
• Joyce made 10 field goals, 10 free throws, and her lone three-pointer doubled the USD lead from three to six with a minute left to seal a USD win.
• Jenna Hopp tied a career-high with 13 points in the win.
• Thursday against Pepperdine, Patience Williams scored the game's first 14 points and the Coyotes raced out to a 32-9 lead after one quarter.
• Williams and Angelina Robles tallied 20 points apiece in the win with both players making four three-pointers.
• USD shot a season's best 11-23 (47.8%) from three in the win over the Waves.
• 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.
• The Coyotes matched a season's best in three-point shooting, converting 9-of-19 for a 47.4% clip.
• USD has shot over 45% from the floor and 47% from three in their first two WNIT games. They've also won the rebounding battle in all three 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.
   
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