One game short of WNIT title

The Coyote women’s basketball team extended their season with a bid to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. South Dakota, which won the WNIT title in 2016, fell just short of capturing the same title 10 years later.

The Coyotes earned a first round bye in the WNIT before defeating Northern Colorado 80-60 in the second round. South Dakota then advanced to the Super 16, where they beat Pepperdine 73-57 to move on to the Great 8 in a matchup with Montana State.

“What’s interesting about the WNIT games is you’re playing teams that are decently unfamiliar,” Head Coach Carrie Eighmey said. “In the Montana State game, they played such a unique style that I felt like in the first quarter, our team really took some time to figure out how to attack their defense.”

The Coyotes struggled offensively in the opening quarter, but their defense kept them in the game as the teams were tied 8-8 at the end of the first.South Dakota found their rhythm in the second quarter, scoring 20 points to build a 10-point lead heading into halftime.

The Bobcats responded in the third, outscoring the Coyotes by seven to cut the deficit to 45-42 entering the final quarter. Montana State continued to apply pressure, trimming the lead to 57-55 after a three-pointer with 2:38 remaining.

South Dakota closed the game on a 7-0 run to secure a 65-56 victory and punch their ticket to the Fab Four of the WNIT.

“They had the ball one possession and it was just like blaring loud,” forward Elise Turrubated said. “I was like, you know, what if that was me bringing down the floor and there’s all these fans screaming. I’d be a little discombobulated.”

The WNIT uses a bid based system to determine host sites for each game, leaving the Coyotes waiting to find out whether they would be on the road or at home for their next matchup.

“Our team was actually having dinner over at our house and watching the game and it was about halftime and a message came over from me and social media kind of at the same time,” Eighmey said. “Our team was just super excited to know that they were going to have the opportunity to host another game.”

Illinois State secured a win of their own to advance to the Fab 4 and traveled to Vermillion to face the Coyotes on Wednesday April 1st. 

The Coyotes used an 8-0 run midway through the first quarter to build a 17-12 lead by the end of the     quarter.The Redbirds responded in the second quarter with a 7-0 run of their own, taking a 33-31 lead into halftime.

The Redbirds carried that momentum into the     second half, scoring the first six points of the third    quarter and stretching their advantage to 50 -41 heading into the fourth.

Illinois State extended their lead to as many as 15 with 6:16 remaining. South Dakota fought down the stretch, scoring 10 straight points to cut the deficit to 60-55 with 2:45 to play. Illinois State closed out the game to secure a 67–60 victory, ending South Dakota’s time in the WNIT.

Photo Credit: Sydney Kolln