South Dakota senior guard Nicole Seekamp recorded her ninth collegiate double-double as the Coyotes topped the Jackrabbits 80-75 in front of a DakotaDome crowd of 3,612 on Saturday afternoon.
With its 12th consecutive win, South Dakota (22-5, 13-1) takes sole possession of the top spot in Summit League standings. South Dakota head coach Amy Williams also became the second-winningest coach in program history with her 86th Coyote victory.
“What an incredible win for our program,” said Williams. “I’m really proud of this team and we leaned very heavily on the experience that we have on our roster today to pull out a win. We really wanted to find a way to close out the Dome with a win. To do that for our alumni, to do that for our seniors and I’m just proud of how we found a way to close it out.”
With the first sweep since the 1989-90 season, the Coyotes hold the tie-breaker over South Dakota State (22-5, 12-2) for the regular season title and tournament seeding.
Seekamp scored 21 points and dished out 10 assists. She also grabbed five rebounds and stole the ball four times. The senior made seven free throws within the final minute to help the Coyotes pull away.
Senior guard Kelly Stewart and junior center Abigail Fogg each added 13 points. The pair combined for the Coyotes’ three blocks. Fogg made the first 3-pointer of her career in the second quarter.fter South Dakota State had taken the lead two minutes into the third quarter, Seekamp created three plays for sophomore center Kate Liveringhouse. Liveringhouse made three shots in the paint within a minute’s span to help the Coyotes pull away for the final time. Liveringhouse finished with 12 points in six minutes on 6-of-7 shooting.
South Dakota State used a 15-3 run, with nine points from forward Ellie Thomposon, to wrap up the first quarter with a lead. Thompson ended with 21 points on the night, two shy of her career high. Guard Madison Guebert chipped in 18. Guard Gabrielle Boever added 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Jackrabbit leading scorer Macy Miller finished 4-of-15 from the field with three made free throws for 11 points. She also handed out five assists. The Jackrabbits finished 26-of-62 from the field as a team.
The Coyotes outrebounded the Jackrabbits 37-32. McCloud led the Coyotes off the glass with eight. Junior guard Caitlin Duffy added six defensive boards.
