So close and yet so far in the University of South Dakota’s bid to move on in the WNIT.

USD’s Nicole Seekamp hit a desperation shot with less than a second remaining but was ruled to be inside the 3-point arc, leading Northern Colorado to a 59-58 win over the South Dakota women’s basketball team in the second round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

The loss concludes South Dakota’s season with a 26-8 record.

After Northern Colorado’s D’Shara Strange hit a pair of free throws with two seconds remaining, Seekamp caught a long inbounds pass from Margaret McCloud and hit the shot while running away from the basket. The officials ruled Seekamp was inside the arc when she shot the ball and upheld it following a review.

Seekamp’s basket was the only field goal for the Coyotes in the last 7:37 of the game and the only shot USD had in the final 4:18. Prior to that basket, USD turned the ball over in each of their previous six possessions.

Seekamp, who played her final game in a Coyote uniform, scored 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting to lead the Coyotes.  Raeshel Contreras, who also played in her final game at South Dakota, added eight points and McCloud finished with seven points and 10 rebounds.

Northern Colorado (22-12) trailed 56-52 with 5:08 remaining, but got a 3-pointer from Savannah Scott and a jumper from Rebecca Howell on back-to-back possessions to take a 57-56 lead with 3:43 left. The Bears later drew a charge on a drive to the basket by Seekamp with seven seconds remaining, which forced USD to foul Strange with two seconds left in the game.

Strange led a trio of Bears to double-digit point totals, finishing the game with 14. Stephanie Lee added 11 points while Kyleigh Hiser finished with 10. Northern Colorado will move on to play at UCLA on Thursday.

The game featured 10 lead changes and 10 ties. Both teams never had a lead larger than eight points and were tied 32-32 at halftime.