South Dakota senior guard Kelly Stewart scored a career high 19 points with four teammates in double figures as the Coyotes defeated Western Illinois 103-77 Wednesday night inside Western Hall.

 

South Dakota (16-5, 7-1 Summit) reached triple-digits inside Western Hall for the second consecutive season. With Oral Roberts’ loss to South Dakota State in Tulsa tonight, the Coyotes and the Jackrabbits are the two remaining teams tied for first in Summit League standings.

 

“One reason why Western Illinois is tough to guard and why they have a high-powered offense is how their tremendous shooters on the floor truly space out the defense,” head coach Amy Williams commented. “They have great penetration that defenders have to contain on their own because the usual help defense is locked up to shooters.”

 

Western Illinois (11-10, 4-4 Summit) had four players reach double digits in the high-scoring contest. The Leathernecks were paced by guard Michelle Maher’s 18 points and seven assists. Maher scored nine on Western Illinois’ 16-5 run closing the Coyotes’ lead to one at the beginning of the second quarter.