South Dakota sophomore guard Allison Arens recorded her 13th 20-point game this season to lead the Coyotes past North Dakota 78-55 in the opening round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center on Thursday.
South Dakota (23-8, 11-5 Summit League) travels to Iowa (18-13) for the second round of the WNIT. The game is slated for 3 p.m. Saturday in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes are one of four Big Ten programs in the WNIT this season.
“We did a great job of competing in this game,” said USD head coach Dawn Plitzuweit. “Our team was hungry, got after it and set the tempo early on by the way we defended and attacked in transition. When you play with great energy, it’s a lot easier to play with confidence. We started out the game that way and it is how we played all game long. North Dakota’s a talented and well-coached basketball team. We were fortunate to come out and play well tonight to move on to the next round.”
An all-Summit League first team pick, Arens was nearly perfect in shooting 11-of-13 from the field to reach 24 points. The effort moved her to eighth on South Dakota’s single-season charts with 524 points this season. Arens also swiped away a career high seven steals and handed out four assists in the game.
