It was a historical day inside the DakotaDome Saturday as the South Dakota women’s basketball team downed Florida Gulf Coast 71-65 to win the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.
It was the final basketball game in DakotaDome history and was played in front of a sold out crowd of 7.415 fans.
South Dakota (32-6) ends its season on a win for the first time in program history. Senior guard Nicole Seekamp was named tournament MVP and joined senior teammate Tia Hemiller on the WNIT All-Tournament Team. South Dakota becomes the seventh mid-major to win the WNIT in tournament history.
The Coyotes are the first Summit League team in any sport, men’s or women’s, to win a national postseason title.
Hemiller tied her career high of 22 points to lead the Coyotes, while also grabbing nine rebounds and handing out six assists. Seekamp had seven points, eight assists and nine rebounds in the game.
Seekamp, the Summit League Player of the Year, ends her Coyote career as the program’s second-leading scorer, second in assists and second in steals. She’s also the Summit League’s all-time leader for career assists.
