Summit League Preview: South Dakota Women at Denver, Host South Dakota State
It'll be back-to-back match-ups with some top offensive talent for South Dakota in week two of the 2018-19 Summit League schedule.
The Coyotes (13-2/1-0 Summit League) start things at Denver tonight (January 3).
The Pioneers (8-7/1-1 Summit League) are the top scoring team in the league, thanks to juniors Lauren Lovren and Madison Nelson, who each average better than 15 points per game. Lovern leads the NCAA with 60 three-pointers in 15 games.
But DU is coming in off of their worst shooting performance of the season, hitting just 34 percent from the floor in a loss to Western Illinois last week.
Nelson and center Courtney Smith lead a Pioneer inside attack that leads the Summit in rebounding and blocked shots.
Tipoff is 8:00 PM (Central) tonight in Denver.
Sunday (January 6), the Coyotes welcome South Dakota State for their Summit League home opener in Vermillion.
The Jackrabbits (9-5/1-0 Summit League) are the top shooting and top assist team in the conference and feature a talented senior backcourt with Macy Miller and Madison Guebert. Miller is second in the league with 17 points per game, Guebert is one of the best three-point shooters in the country.
The Coyotes swept the regular season meetings with the Jackrabbits a year ago en route to a perfect run thru the conference schedule. SDSU got their revenge with a win over their in-state rivals in the Summit League Tournament Championship game.
Tipoff is 1:00 PM in Vermilion Sunday.
USD opened conference play with a 67-41 win at North Dakota State last week.
The Bison opened the game with a 7-0 run, but that lead was short lived as the Coyotes ran off the next 15 points, keyed by Madison McKeever who scored eight of her 13 points during that stretch.
USD outscored NDSU 42-17 in the second and third quarters. The Bison hit just two of their first 18 shots to start the second half.
New Mexico transfer Hannah Sjerven led the Coyotes with 15 points off the bench as South Dakota won for the 15th straight in Summit League regular season play.
I talked with USD head coach Dawn Plitzuweit about the North Dakota State win and this week's match-ups with Denver and South Dakota State: