VERMILLION, S.D. – South Dakota women's basketball battled to the final buzzer, but it ultimately wasn't enough as the Coyotes fell to Illinois State 67-60 in the WNIT Fab Four in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center Wednesday night.
 
The Coyotes didn't give up in Wednesday's semifinal, trailing by 15 with 6:16 to go. South Dakota went on a 10-0 run, started with a three-pointer from senior Josie Hill and ending with a triple from junior Molly Joyce. The crowd of 3,002 mostly Coyote fans made the final 2:45 difficult, but ultimately the Coyotes couldn't overcome the deficit.
 
South Dakota jumped out to the early lead in the first half, using an 8-0 run to go up 10-6 before the first media timeout. The Redbirds weren't going to retire easily, holding steady for the remainder of the quarter as USD led 17-12 after one.
 
Joyce buried a triple to give USD a 20-12 lead, their largest of the game, but Illinois State responded with a 7-0 run to make it a one point game. The Coyotes lost the lead for the first time in over a quarter at the 3:44 mark of the second, and a basket with three seconds before halftime gave Illinois State the 33-31 halftime advantage.

South Dakota outscored Illinois State in the first and fourth quarters, but the Redbirds' advantage in the middle two quarters were too much. Illinois State outscored the Coyotes by seven in each quarter. After a quarter that saw the Redbirds control for much of the time, a Molly Joyce layup at the buzzer made it 50-41 in favor of Illinois State after three.
 
The Coyotes' comeback efforts in the fourth quarter were led by Joyce's seven points and Robles' five. For the game, Joyce led the squad with 16 points and Robles added 14. Patience Williams capped her collegiate career with 10 points and seven rebounds. Josie Hill added nine points and six boards. Jenna Hopp dished out a career best five assists.
 
South Dakota ends its season short of the WNIT Championship, but the run to the Fab Four is the second best finish in seven trips to the WNIT in program history. The 26 wins is one of nine 25-plus win seasons in program history and the 15 win improvement from last season is tied for the second best turnaround in Division I.
 
For seniors see their collegiate careers wrap up with Wednesday's result. Josie Hill, Angelina Robles, Elise Turrubiates and Patience Williams all conclude their time as Coyotes with a 26-10 senior season, the best season for a Coyote team since 2021-22.
 
Notables
• South Dakota is 26-10 on the season and 15-4 inside the SCSC.
• The 26 wins are tied for eighth most in a season in program history.
• The 15 wins in the SCSC are the second most in a season since the building opened for the 2016-17 season.
• South Dakota is now 17-6 in the WNIT and is 9-2 in WNIT games inside the SCSC.
• Joyce led the Coyotes in scoring with 16 points, joined in double figures by Angelina Robles with 14.
• Robles finishes the season ninth on the single season scoring list at USD with 568 points.
   
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