Women beat NDSU Bison 80-54 at home

Saturday evening’s game in the DakotaDome against North Dakota State was a far cry from the close 96-94 USD overtime victory in Fargo two weeks ago, as the Coyotes jumped out to a quick lead that only grew larger throughout the game.

NDSU, who’s nine-player roster has been limited to seven or eight active players over the course of the season, was unable to field an effective defense. The Coyotes took advantage of 15 forced turnovers in the first two periods, going into halftime with a 42-17 lead over the Bison.

Senior guards Tia Hemiller and Nicole Seekamp led the USD charge, scoring 10 points and nine points respectively in the first half.

After the half the Coyotes got off to a quick start with a three pointer by senior guard Kelly Stewart and a follow-up series of scores by Seekamp, who first drained a three before stealing the ball back for a quick layup. USD would maintain that momentum all the way to the finish, stomping the Bison 80-54.

“I thought we were more on the same page with our switching and we kind of knew what to expect,” said Hemiller, who had a total of 11 points and two assists.

Junior guard Caitlin Duffy said the team is continuing to grow and the USD roster depth makes the Coyotes a hard team to scout with multiple players on the bench being able to deliver points.

“It’s that iron sharpens iron type of thing and we all make each other better every day,” Duffy said.

Head coach Amy Williams said players are starting to commit to being the best team they can be. All of the players on the roster were able to play for nine or more minutes in the game.

“A game like this can give confidence to players like this. That lets them know they can come in and bring something to the table,” she said.

The Coyotes improve to 18-5 on the season and will take on Denver Thursday at 8:00 p.m. in Colorado.