A challenging schedule awaits the University of South Dakota women’s basketball team.
Road games against Kansas, Washington and Marquette over a two-week period and home dates against regional rivals Northern Iowa and North Dakota highlight the 2014-15 l schedule released by head coach Amy Williams on Thursday.
“We’re excited for the challenges that this year’s schedule presents,” Williams said. “We’ll play all but one game on the road during November and almost all of our games in December at home, but those early road trips will help us prepare for the rigors of Summit League play.”
South Dakota will attempt to return to the NCAA Tournament by opening the season with a pair of road trips. USD will play at Drake on Nov. 14, followed by a matchup with Kansas on Nov. 16. It’ll be the second time in five seasons the Coyotes will meet the Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse.
The ‘Yotes will make another road trip less than a week later, traveling to Portland State on Nov. 19 and to Washington, a WNIT Tournament team last season, on Nov. 20. USD will have its home opener on Nov. 24 against UC Irvine before traveling to Marquette, another WNIT qualifier last season, on Nov. 30.
The Coyotes will have a five-game home stand starting on Dec. 4 with a game against Northern Iowa. They’ll end that stretch by hosting border rival and 2014 NCAA Tournament qualifier North Dakota on Dec. 21, before ending non-conference play at a tournament hosted by Texas-San Antonio. The Coyotes will face UTSA on Dec. 28 and Chattanooga, an NCAA Tournament qualifier last season, on Dec. 29.
USD will play its first three Summit League games on the road, starting with a trip to Omaha on Jan. 2. The Coyotes will have their first league home games on Jan. 15 against North Dakota State and on Jan. 17 against South Dakota State. South Dakota makes the return trip to SDSU on Feb. 21.
USD will attempt to defend its Summit League Tournament title on March 7-10 at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls.
