VERMILLION, S.D.–South Dakota junior guard
Allison Arens scored 18 points to pace the Coyotes in a 70-46 victory over Omaha at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center on Saturday afternoon.
South Dakota (15-5, 6-0 Summit) rallied off its ninth-straight victory dating back to mid-December. The battle of the undefeated Summit League teams takes place Thursday in Brookings as the Coyotes face off against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits (16-4, 5-0).
Arens led four Coyotes in double figures on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. She also grabbed eight rebounds and had three steals in the game.
Sophomore guard
Madison McKeever added 15 points, four steals and a pair of assists. Sophomore guard
Ciara Duffy pitched in 12 points, five assists, five rebounds and a pair of steals.
The Coyotes jumped out to a 15-2 lead in the first four minutes behind eight points from senior guard
Jasmine Trimboli. Trimboli was the fourth Coyote in double figures, totaling 10 in the game. South Dakota knocked down five 3s in the first quarter against Omaha's zone defense. In addition, the Coyotes ball movement led to eight assists on 10 made baskets in the first quarter.
A low-scoring second period with both teams shooting below 30 percent sent the Coyotes to the locker room with a 34-16 lead. Omaha joins Tennessee as one of two teams this season to hold the Coyote offense to less than 10 points in a quarter.
The Coyotes edged the Mavericks in both the third and fourth quarter as well to hold on to their early lead.
Freshman guard Claire Killian came off the bench and scored 12 second-half points to pace the Mavericks (8-10, 0-6) in the game. Omaha junior guard Ellie Brecht also reached double figures with 10 points and grabbed eight boards. Junior center Courtney Vaccher dominated the boards, grabbing 13 rebounds with seven on the offensive glass.
South Dakota shot 44.1 percent (26-59 FGs) from the field with 10 made threes. Omaha made 30.6 percent (15-49 FGs) in the game.
The Mavericks edged the Coyotes on the glass, 36-35 with 17 offensive boards.
South Dakota finishes off the first half of the conference season at South Dakota State next Thursday at 7 p.m.
