Coyotes Fall to Fifth in Summit League Rankings

The Coyotes women’s basketball team faced off against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks in Grand Forks on Feb. 1. 

After the first quarter, the Coyotes held a 13-7 advantage. They then extended their lead 26-13 through the second quarter after redshirt sophomore Natalie Mazurek made her second of three 3-point buckets. 

To end the first half, the Fighting Hawks went on a 12-2 run, closing the Coyotes’ lead to two. 

In the third quarter, junior guard Kendall Holmes and junior forward Alexi Hempe made back to back three pointers, giving USD a 43-34 lead. 

The gap would close to 55-50 in the fourth quarter until the Coyotes secured the win with a 14-3 run to end the game 69-53. 

In the game, three USD players scored in the double-figures and six of ten players contributed six or more points.

Holmes led the Coyotes with 15 points and six rebounds. Junior guard Grace Larkins scored 13 points, six rebounds as well as six assists. Mazurek added 11 points and six rebounds for the team. 

Following their win against North Dakota, the women headed home to face off against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits on Feb. 3. This marked the 100th time that USD and SDSU have faced off in women’s basketball. 

Leading the Coyotes was Mazurek with 17 points and six rebounds. She was just one point shy of her career high. Mazurek has also scored in double-figures for six of the last eight games. 

Larkins scored 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Sophomore forward Carley Duffney added 12 points and four rebounds.

Leading the Jackrabbits was sophomore forward Brooklyn Meyer with 22 points and nine boards. Junior guard Paige Meyer added 15 points and five assists. Sophomore guard Ellie Colbeck made five 3-pointers, giving her a career high of 15 points.

In the end, the Coyotes would fall 55-70 against the Jackrabbits. This drops South Dakota to fifth in Summit League standings. 

The Coyotes go on to play Denver in Colorado on Feb. 8 at 7 p.m central time.