Coyote women revenge past loss against Denver, defeat the Pioneers 88-67

The University of South Dakota women’s basketball team got the revenge they were looking for Friday night against the Denver Pioneers.

A strong, defensive second half led to more points for the Coyotes, allowing them to take the 88-67 win and move to a 12-11 record and 3-5 in the Summit League.

“I am very satisfied,” head coach Amy Williams said following the Coyotes’ win. “Our girls really took some ownership and pride in trying to shut down the girls who took us down the first time.”

The Coyotes jumped to an early lead 8-5 against the Pioneers, but then quickly fell behind as Denver led 12-8. USD managed to come back on a two-point shot from Tia Hemiller, assisted by Kelly Stewart.

With just over four minutes remaining in the first, the Coyotes led Denver 28-23. USD ended the first half ahead of the Pioneers 33-30, now 5-18 and 3-5 in the Summit League.

Hemiller led the Coyotes at the half with 12 points, with Nicole Seekamp putting up eight points. Polly Harrington had five rebounds. USD out-rebounded the Pioneers 21-13.

Alison Janecek led the Pioneers with 12 points at the half.

“We really focused on the defensive side, and that was a big emphasis in practice,” Hemiller said. “We were one of the few teams to hold them down in the 60s. We made a big emphasis on their three-point shooters. We did a great job – 10 times better than we did in Denver.”

Six points from Harrington and four points from Lisa Loeffer put the Coyotes ahead 46-36 less than five minutes into the second period. With 11:37 left, USD continued to widen the gap, jumping ahead 54-39.

Two points from Nicole Seekamp and a three-point shot from Stewart put the Coyotes up 70-49 with 6:15 remaining in the game. USD finished the night with the 88-67 win.

“As a group, everybody got on the offensive board the second half, and that really helped us a lot,” Harrington said. “Everybody stepped up and played like the team we know we are — we stepped up and made plays.”

Harrington finished the night with 18 points and nine rebounds, with Seekamp adding 17 points. Raeshel Contreras had a total of 15 points,and Hamiller put up 14 points and five rebounds.

Denver’s Janecek had a total of 17 points and five rebounds, while Kailey Edwards put up 11 points.

“Now, we’ve got a couple of days here where we have off to be able to heal our bodies as much as we can before two great teams come back into the Dome next week,” Williams said.