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VERMILLION, S.D. \u2013 South Dakota women’s basketball is set to take on the College of Saint Mary for its 14th and final non-conference game Tuesday at 2 p.m. inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. RECORD VS THE NAIA \u00a0
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\nHOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
\n\u2022 South Dakota women’s basketball against College of Saint Mary will be available to watch on the Summit League Network.
\n\u2022 Fans can listen to the Coyotes on KVHT 106.3 FM on the Coyote Sports Network with the voice of the Coyotes Jerry Palleschi on the broadcast.
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\nKEY STORYLINES
\n\u2022 South Dakota concludes its non-conference schedule with a home game against College of Saint Mary Tuesday afternoon.
\n\u2022 USD is playing just its second home game of the month of the December on Tuesday while playing four games away from the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
\n\u2022 The Coyotes switched up the starting lineup at Bradley, moving Division II transfers Molly Joyce<\/a> and Alex Flattery<\/a> into the lineup. Joyce started 44 of her 59 games over two seasons at Truman State, while Flattery earned one start in 27 games in her previous stop, a single season at Nebraska-Kearney.
\n\u2022 In USD’s nine wins so far this season, they’ve won by 20+ points seven times, meanwhile when USD comes up short in a game, they’ve yet to lose by double digits, with their largest losing margin being eight (at Pepperdine).
\n\u2022 The Coyotes have distributed the wealth on the scoring front this season, with 11 of their 14 players who have played scoring in double figures at least once.
\n\u2022 The Coyotes have two players in the starting lineup averaging same number of points and rebounds. Patience Williams<\/a> averaged 8.3 points and rebounds and Flattery 3.5 points and rebounds.
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\nINSIDE THE COLLEGE OF SAINT MARY SERIES
\n\u2022 The Coyotes and Flames meet for the 15th time in series history.
\n\u2022 South Dakota and College of Saint Mary have met 14 times prior to Tuesday, and the series has been predominantly controlled by the Yotes.
\n\u2022 The Coyotes are 13-1 against CSM, including a 112-52 win in Vermillion during the 2018-19 season, the last meeting between the two.
\n\u2022 USD’s lone loss to the Flames was during the 1986-87 season, a 67-65 result to open the season at the Augustana Invitational, the only neutral site meeting between the two programs.
\n\u2022 This is the fourth meeting of the two schools since USD moved to Division I, with the Coyotes winning the three previous meetings by an average of 36.7 points.
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\nSCOUTING THE FLAMES
\n\u2022 College of Saint Mary has made improvements under second year head coach Natalie Miller, already surpassing last season’s win total.
\n\u2022 After a one win season a year ago, the Flames are 3-12 and have earned two conference wins after not winning a Great Plains Athletic Conference game last season.
\n\u2022 The Flames and Coyotes have a mutual victory on their schedules, as both teams defeated York in late October\/early November.
\n\u2022 This is College of Saint Mary’s second Division I game of the season, having lost to Omaha 88-47 on Nov. 6. The Flames hung around in the first quarter, only trailing by three after the first.
\n\u2022\u00a0Two College of Saint Mary players score in double figures: Madelyn Gaughen (16.8) and Jai’La Porter (13.1).<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 South Dakota is familiar with the NAIA and with the Great Plains Athletic Conference, having played over 200 games in program history against the NAIA.
\n\u2022 South Dakota is 179-32 against the NAIA in program history.
\n\u2022 College of Saint Mary will become the fifth NAIA opponent South Dakota has faced at least 15 times, joining Mount Marty (45 games), Northwestern College (21), Sioux Falls (20), Dakota State (15).
\n\u2022 The Coyotes have also faced their fair share of current and former GPAC schools. USD has faced 11 of the 12 current GPAC members (College of Saint Mary, Briar Cliff, Concordia, Dakota Wesleyan, Doane, Dordt, Hastings, Midland, Morningside, Mount Marty, and Northwestern) at some point in program history.
\n\u2022 South Dakota has won 61 consecutive games against NAIA opponents after defeating York earlier this season. USD’s last loss to an NAIA was to Dakota Wesleyan in the 2001-02 season.
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\n10 YEARS OF SCSC SUCCESS
\n\u2022 South Dakota women’s basketball is in its 10th season of calling the Sanford Coyote Sports Center, a building that has treated the Yotes well, home.
\n\u2022 USD is 112-25 inside the SCSC since the building opened in 2016.*
\n\u2022 The Coyotes have had a winning record in the SCSC in 8 of the 9 seasons played in the SCSC.
\n\u2022 South Dakota has a record of 58-13 against Summit League foes in the SCSC, including a winning record against all eight current foes.
\n\u2022 USD is undefeated against two Summit League opponents in the building: North Dakota (8-0) and Kansas City (4-0)
\n\u2022 South Dakota has had two undefeated seasons at home during the SCSC era: 2018-19 and 2020-21.
\n\u2022 USD’s first win against a Top 25 opponent during the Div. I era came in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center (No. 23\/22 Iowa State on Nov. 28, 2018).
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\nTHE TRANSFER PORTAL ERA
\n\u2022 Over 1,500 women’s basketball players entered the transfer portal following the 2024-25 season. USD is one of at least six programs with 13+ newcomers.
\n\u2022 USD is one of at least seven programs with 13+ newcomers.
\n\u2022 USD is one of at least 7 programs with at least 9 transfers.
\n\u2022 Seven of USD’s nine transfers come from Div. I programs, including two from Summit League foes.
\n\u2022 South Dakota’s transfers hail from 6 states: California (1), Iowa (4), Minnesota (1), New Mexico (1), South Dakota (1), and Washington (1).
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\nCAREER MARKS
\n\u2022 A pair of career bests were set at the Malibu Classic
\n\u2022 Alex Flattery<\/a> snatched a career-high nine rebounds against UTRGV.
\n\u2022 Elise Turrubiates<\/a> converted a career most four three-pointers in the loss to Pepperdine.
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\nSEASON HIGHS LAST TIME OUT
\n\u2022 Angelina Robles<\/a> recorded a season-high 24 points in the win over UTRGV. She also matched a season’s best in steals (3).
\n\u2022 Elise Turrubiates<\/a> converted a career most four three-pointers to score a season-high 19 points in the loss to Pepperdine.
\n\u2022 Alex Flattery<\/a> snatched a season and career best nine rebounds against UTRGV. Flattery also had a season’s best three steals in the win.
\n\u2022 Josie Hill<\/a> tied season highs in rebounds (10) and assists (3) against the Vaqueros.
\n\u2022 Molly Joyce<\/a> tied a season high with five assists in the win over UTRGV.
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\nMILESTONE CHASING
\n\u2022 A handful of Coyotes are looking to reach some career milestones this season.
\n\u2022 Josie Hill<\/a> is nearing 1,000 career points, currently at 913 (83 as a Yotes).
\n\u2022 Molly Joyce<\/a> could also reach 1,000 career points in just her third collegiate season. She has 896 points between her time at Truman State and USD.
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\nCRASH THE GLASS
\n\u2022 The Coyotes have placed an emphasis on rebounding this season, and it has paid off so far as USD is one of the top rebounding teams in the country through one month of the season.
\n\u2022 USD is ranked 21st nationally and is atop the Summit League in rebounding at 44.0 rebounds per game.
\n\u2022 The Coyotes are getting it done on both ends of the floor, ranking second in the conference in offensive rebounds at 13.4 per game, and ranking 17th nationally (second in the SL) in defensive rebounds at 30.6 per game.
\n\u2022 The Coyotes set an SCSC record with 62 rebounds against Valparaiso.
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\nDEFENSE WINS
\n\u2022 Through the first three weeks of the season, South Dakota has been one of the best defensive teams in the country, holding opponents to 55.0 points per game.
\n\u2022 The Coyotes lead the Summit League in scoring defense (55.5), field goal percentage defense (31.6%), and three-point percentage defense (27.1%).
\n\u2022 The Coyotes also rank inside the top 75 nationally in all of those categories: 5th in FG% defense, 66th in 3PT% defense, and 40th in scoring defense.
\n\u2022 South Dakota has held opponents under 30% shooting in six of their 13 games this season.
\n\u2022 USD’s strong defense has allowed for them to have one of the nation’s best scoring margins as the Coyotes outscore their opponents by an average of 19.2 points per game (38th in Division I).
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\nStay up to date with all things Coyote Women’s Basketball by following South Dakota Women’s Basketball on\u00a0Facebook\u00a0\/SDCoyotesWBB<\/a>, X (Twitter)\u00a0@<\/a>SDCoyotes<\/a>WBB, and Instagram\u00a0@sdcoyotesWBB<\/a>!\u00a0#GoYotes
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