VERMILLION, S.D.—Tulsa guard Rebecca Lescay's steal and score with less than 30 seconds on the clock sealed a Hurricane victory, 64-61, over the Coyotes inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center on Saturday.
Tulsa (5-6) handed South Dakota (6-5) its first nonconference loss inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
The contest featured eight ties and 15 lead changes. Eight of those lead changes came in the fourth quarter as the teams traded baskets.
"Tulsa played well today and shot the ball at a nice clip," said Plitzuweit. "I thought we lacked the zip and pop that we normally have at the start of the game. We battled back nicely at times, but in the end we did not make enough plays to come away with the win.
"We do not have time to dwell on this game. We have to quickly learn from this, improve and get ready for a pair of games in the next five days."
In the final quarter, freshman guard
Chloe Lamb scored seven of her eight points for the Coyotes. She hit a 3-pointer early in the fourth to give USD a two-point lead. Her layup with 3:28 to play gave the Coyotes their final lead of the game at 61-60. Neither team scored for the next three minutes until Lescay's coast-to-coast layup. Tulsa guard Erika Wakefield scored both free throws with eight seconds remaining to increase Tulsa's lead to 64-61.
Sophomore guard
Madison McKeever led the Coyotes in scoring for the second-straight game with 15 points. McKeever added five rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists without committing a turnover in 38 minutes. She continues to pace the Coyotes defensively with 32 steals on the season.
Tulsa guard Tatyana Perez paced the Hurricane with a game-high 17 points, one shy of her career best. Wakefield pitched in 12 points. The Hurricane made 10-of-20 3-point attempts in spite of entering the game shooting 28.6 percent from outside the arc.
The 2016-17 American all-freshmen duo of guard Shug Dickson and forward Kendrian Elliott combined for just two points on Saturday. Elliott grabbed 14 boards and blocked four shots inside.
Sophomore guard
Ciara Duffy returned to the starting lineup this afternoon and knocked down a 3-pointer seven seconds into the game. She scored 14 points, grabbed eight boards and dished out a pair of assists in 35 minutes of action.
Junior guard
Allison Arens added nine points, eight rebounds and three assists.
South Dakota continues its five-game homestand with UC Riverside at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
