The University
of
South Dakota women
extended their winning
streak to eight games
with a 71-52 victory
over Dakota State
Thursday afternoon in
the Sioux Valley Clinic
Classic at the Elmen
Center.
It wasn't an easy
win for the Coyotes
(12-1), but a 16-point
run after the first
minute put DSU (7-7) in
a deep hole from which
it couldn't dig out.The early run, fueled by eight points from Bridget Yoerger, put the Coyotes up 16-4. Yoerger finished with 18 points - her 10th double-digit scoring game of the season and fifth straight. She also led the team in rebounds with nine.
"We watched them (Wednesday in an 81-67 loss to Augustana) and we knew they executed well, and we just wanted to pressure them full court and do what we had to do," Yoerger said.
After the quick Viking start, DSU wouldn't go away. They chipped away at the lead to crawl back to a 37-30 deficit early in the second half. That was a close as the T's would get in a game that featured the best and worst of shooting by both teams - especially the Coyotes.
"We didn't execute
our halfcourt offense
well enough to win
today," said Lady T's
Coach Jeff Dittman.
"Our transition game
looked pretty good but
when we had to slow it
down, we weren't able to
generate enough points
to stay with a team like USD."
"I
was pleased with our
defensive execution
after the first ten
minutes," stated
Dittman.
In their initial
surge, the Coyotes sank
9 of 11 field goals by
the 10-minute mark, when
their lead was 26-9.
That's when the
lid went over the USD
basket. They made only 2
of 18 the rest of the
half - and continued
their dismal shooting to
4 of 30 into the first
five minutes of the
second half.
It wasn't just bad
shooting on the Coyotes'
part - the Lady T's had
a strong defensive
effort.
But DSU had its own
misfortunes from the
field and in the
turnover department,
where they totaled 28
for the game - nine more
than the Coyotes.
With turnovers
taking their toll, the
Coyotes started to
regain their shooting
eye.
Ashley Robinette, Ashley
Bjorkman, Maggie
Youngberg and Joerger
led another Coyote surge
to give USD a 23-point
lead, 63-40 with 6:02
left in the game.
"Their (DSU's) match-up
caused us some
problems," noted Coyote
coach Chad Lavin, "but
our defense was
outstanding - we forced
28 turnovers. Defense
definitely won the game
for us."
This was the seventh
game in the last eight
that USD has held
opponents to 55 points
or less.
Leading DSU was Laura Tewes and Sara Nelson with 13 and 10 points. Tewes also led the T's with six rebounds.
