Team play gives Coyotes home win
It was all about team effort as the University of South Dakota women’s basketball team defeated IUPUI Thursday night at the DakotaDome, breaking their two-game losing streak.
The Coyotes were able to put two halves together against the Jaguars, defeating them by a score of 56-39. The team completed their first season sweep of a team, previously beating the Jaguars on their home turf in January.
USD head coach Amy Williams said sticking to the game plan worked out for the Coyotes.
“It was a great team win for us,” she said. “We stuck to our game plan and it worked well for us.”
The team is now 13-14 overall and 8-6 in the Summit League Conference, with just two games remaining in the regular season.
Despite struggling the last few games, Junior Polly Harrington said the Coyotes were able to execute a team win.
“We’ve been struggling a lot. There’s nothing to hide about that,” she said. “But, it was a great team win today and I’m really proud of my teammates.”
The Coyotes started off the game with a three pointer from sophomore Nicole Seekamp, but then quickly fell behind. However, a timeout stopped IUPUI’s momentum and sent USD on an 8-0 run. It was a close half, but with 13 seconds remaining in the first half USD called a timeout, which sparked a bucket for the Coyotes and tied the game at 20.
Harrington scored seven points and had four rebounds in the first half for the Coyotes, while Seekamp added five points for the team and also had four assists. Senior Sam Mehr and freshman Heidi Hoff each had two steals.
Redshirt junior DeAirra Goss scored seven first-half points for the Jaguars and also grabbed four rebounds. Senior Clara Mitchell pulled down five boards and sophomore Nevena Markovic had four rebounds for IUPUI.
The Coyotes came out hot in the second half, going on a 17-2 run in the middle of the half. However, the team never let off the gas even when they were being pressured full court by IUPUI. This allowed the team to finish out the game with a 56-39 victory.
Senior Tempestt Wilson scored 15 second-half points, giving her a total of 17 game points. Harrington added nine second-half points, giving her 16 total points and also had 10 rebounds, her sixth double-double of the season. Alexis Yackley recorded her 400th career assist during the game, which still leaves her fifth in all-time steals at USD.
Junior Dee-Dee Bellamy scored 10 points for IUPUI and Goss added nine points and five rebounds.
Wilson said she and her teammates will now focus on their next match.
“We just have to take it day by day,” said Wilson. “We have to focus on our upcoming opponent and focus on our game plan and hopefully we can bring it all together again.”
The Coyotes will stay at home for their final home game of the season Saturday at 2 p.m.
