SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – South Dakota women's basketball is back in the Summit League Tournament semifinals and the Coyotes get a rematch with South Dakota State Saturday afternoon at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
• South Dakota's semifinal with South Dakota State will start 25 minutes after the first semifnal of Saturday's session between North Dakota State and St. Thomas concludes.
• South Dakota women's basketball against South Dakota 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.
 
FAN INFORMATION
• Tickets are still available for Saturday's game at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls.
• USD students can claim free tickets courtesy of President Gestring. Show your student ID at the USD table in the lobby of the PREMIER Center to claim your ticket.
• Fans are also encouraged to join in the Coyote Walk at 1 p.m. Friday outside of the USD Hospitality Room in the in the convention center connected to the PREMIER Center.

THE BRACKET
• South Dakota and South Dakota State meet in the semifinals, with the winner facing the winner of North Dakota State and St. Thomas in the Summit League Championship.
 
SUMMIT LEAGUE TOURNEY TIME
• South Dakota defeated Denver 61-50 in the Summit League Tournament Quarterfinals Friday afternoon at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, setting up a grudge match with South Dakota State Saturday.
• The Coyotes have had plenty of postseason success at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, winning four Summit League crowns and making it to the championship game an additional five times.
• South Dakota is a top-three seed in the Summit League Tournament for a ninth time, but the first time since the 2021-22 season.
• South Dakota has finished 3rd in the regular season standings two previous times, but wasn't eligible for the conference tournament the first time (2011-12). In their lone trip to Sioux Falls as a three-seed, USD made a run to the championship game, where they lost to SDSU 56-53 in the title game.
• South Dakota has one loss in semifinal games at the Summit League Tournament (9-1).
• South Dakota has beaten South Dakota State more times in the Summit League Tournament (3) than any other Summit League program.
• South Dakota has a winning record against every opponent it has faced in the Summit League tournament but one. The Coyotes are also undefeated in Sioux Falls against five current conference foes.
 
INSIDE THE SOUTH DAKOTA STATE SERIES
• The Coyotes and Jackrabbits meet for the 106th time in series history.
• South Dakota and South Dakota State are meeting for a 10th time in the Summit League Tournament, but just the third time in the semifinals.
• USD and SDSU are 1-1 in semifinal games against each other at the Summit League Tournament, USD won in 2014 en route to their first Summit League Championship.  SDSU won the second meeting in 2024.
• USD and SDSU have combined to win the last eight Summit League Championship titles.

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 201-75 against the Summit League (previously Mid-Continent Conference) in program history.
• USD is 24-9 in the Summit League Tournament.
• 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 (26), Denver (25), North Dakota State (22), and Oral Roberts (22).
 
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 43rd nationally and is atop the Summit League in rebounding at 40.6 rebounds per game.
• The Coyotes are getting it done on both ends of the floor, ranking second in the conference in offensive rebounds at 11.8 per game, and ranking 19th nationally (second in the SL) in defensive rebounds at 28.8 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 (58.4), field goal percentage defense (35.6%), and three-point percentage defense (28.5%).
• The Coyotes also rank inside the top 50 nationally in three categories: 12th in FG% defense, 19th in defensive rebounds, 39th in scoring defense.
• South Dakota has held opponents under 30% shooting in eight games this season.  
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