VIDEO: USD downs IPFW, advances in Summit League Tournament
They knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but the University of South Dakota Coyote women fought for a 78-70 win against Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne Saturday afternoon at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls in the quarterfinals.
“This time of year never is easy,” head coach Amy Williams said. “Fort Wayne is an extremely scrappy team, and we knew they were going to fight for 40 minutes. It was good for our team to find a way to be able to execute and come through with a win in a hard fought ball game.”
The game started out with a 3-pointer by senior guard Raeshel Contreras. After that, IPFW took control and lead most of the half.
“We don’t panic when we are down, and we know we are a good shooting team,” Contreras said.
IPFW tried to keep the game at a fast pace, pushing the ball down the court, leading at most by eight points. But as the half came to an end, USD closed the gap with defensive stops, ending the half down by one, 34-33.
“We knew IPFW wasn’t going to let us win by 20 points. They were going to keep fighting, and we had to handle their pressure,” senior guard Nicole Seekamp said.
Seekamp led the team with 11 point and three assists, while McCloud added six points. Junior guard Kelly Stewart led the team with eight rebounds.
Meanwhile, Haley Seibert led IPFW with 13 points and four assists. Kamilah Carter followed with nine points and Keanna Gary added eight.
“Generally, we have been a great second-half team, so we had confidence in each other. We have great senior leadership and we came out and made big plays,” Stewart said.
Contreras opened up the second half with another 3-pointer. Seekamp then stole the ball and scored off a layup to put the Coyotes up 38-34, only 40 seconds into the half. The Coyotes’ three-point game heated up in the second half, making 4-5 shots in the first five minutes.
“The difference is the experienced group came out of the locker room and knocked down four of five threes and stretched out. What you saw with the young group and this team never quits,” IFPW’s head coach Jon Coffman said.
IPFW’s three-pointers also kept them in the game by cutting down the 12-point lead. But the Coyotes held on strong 78-70 win over IPFW.
“That 12-point lead was great for us and they caught up, so we had to push out a few more points,” Seekamp said. “That’s just a credit to our team that we were able to handle that pressure and we kept fighting to the end.”
Seekamp led the team with 25 points and eight assists.
“She is a really special player that we lean on when we need big plays,” Williams said. “It doesn’t matter if it is scoring, assisting or a defensive stop. I’ve just been fortunate enough to coach her the last three years.”
Contreras added another 12 points, and Stewart pulled off her first double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
“We have been talking all week about rebounding — it was going to be the key for us in the tournament,” Williams said. “We needed to improve in that area and she came in on a mission. (It was) a pretty special performance out of her.”
For IPFW, Haley Seibert had 21 points and five assists. Kamilah Carter added 20 and Keanna Gary added 14 and five rebounds.
“She is a great player,” Seekamp said. “She can do it all. It’s pretty much a team defense when defending her because you have to know where she is all the time.”
With the win, No. 1 seed USD has a day off in the Summit League Tournament and will play Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Monday at 12 p.m.
“We played them both last week, but either way it is going to be a tough ball game,” Williams said. “Both games will have matchup problems and strategies. It will be interesting to see who our opponent is.”
(Photo: Senior guard Raeshel Contreras drives into the lane during the second half of USD’s 78-70 win over Fort Wayne in the first round of the 2015 Summit League Championships March 7 at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls. Austin Ashlock / The Volante)
Story by Alanna Schmeichel, photos and video by Austin Ashlock, blog by Nathan Ellenbecker.
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