Lady Griz fall to Coyotes

Sunday, December 15

Vermillion, S.D.

Noon (MT)

Montana

4-4

South Dakota

11-1

Montana

South Dakota

12/15/2019 3:20:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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By: Montana Sports Information

South Dakota made 15 3-pointers and shot 58.5 percent overall as the No. 21 Coyotes improved to 11-1 on the season with a 96-64 victory over Montana on Sunday afternoon at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion.

South Dakota went 15 for 26 from the arc and put up 26 points in the first quarter, 26 in the second and 26 more in the third to post their highest point total in a regulation game against a Division I opponent this season.

Seven players made at least one triple for the Coyotes, who get the chance to face No. 5/6 South Carolina on the road next Sunday.

"They are so balanced. Going 15 for 26 from three is going to hurt you, no doubt about it," said Lady Griz coach Shannon Schweyen, whose team dropped to 4-4.

"We couldn't find an answer for them, man, zone, whatever. It was a variety of kids knocking them down, which makes it hard to guard them. You're in for a long game when they're making all those."

South Dakota wasted little time taking control, knocking down three 3-pointers in the opening three minutes and never looking back. The Coyotes led 52-32 at the half, 78-48 through three quarters.

Ciara Duffy, the Summit League preseason player of the year, scored 23 points, going 9 for 12 overall, 5 of 6 from the 3-point line. On top of that she added nine assists and three steals.

Hannah Sjerven, USD's 6-foot-3 center, hit a pair of 3-pointers in the opening minutes and added 18 points, seven rebounds and five blocks.

South Dakota, which scored 45 points from the arc, 44 in the paint, also got 36 points from its bench.

"They are one of the better teams I've seen," said Schweyen. "They are fundamental. Those girls know what they are doing. It's a talented group. They are fun to watch."

Montana actually shot 50 percent in the first quarter, but the Lady Griz also turned the ball over six times in the opening 10 minutes. Those loss of possessions made it hard to keep up with the Coyotes.

One of the nation's best teams at protecting the ball had nine turnovers at the half and finished with 15 for the game.

"The first half we had too many unforced turnovers, too many uncharacteristic turnovers. We had trouble passing and catching," said Schweyen.

"We only had six turnovers in the second half, so I felt like we cleaned that up a little bit."

Trailing big at the half, Montana scored seven of the first nine points to open the third quarter to pull within 15, 54-39, but South Dakota answered with a 10-0 run to up its lead back to 25.

The Coyotes would build their lead to 34 points in the fourth quarter.

"Everybody played hard. That's one thing I have to credit our ladies is that they played hard until the end," said Schweyen.

Emma Stockholm led Montana with a dozen, scoring most of her points on moves a few feet from the basket. Jamie Pickens added 10 points and a team-high five rebounds.

"Emma had a good one tonight," said Schweyen. "They were giving our inside kids the ball by playing behind them in the post. Both Emma and Jamie had some good moves down there."

Montana also got to the line 19 times and made 16, which followed a 14-for-16 performance in a road win at Utah Valley last weekend.

"Credit our ladies for working hard to get to the line," said Schweyen. "Getting to the line and knocking them down helped give us a little extra punch."

McKenzie Johnston had eight points and four assists, three of her points coming on a shot from beyond half court to end the third quarter.

And Madi Schoening played for the first time since the Fresno State game on Nov. 15, which allowed Montana to go nine deep. She finished with six points in 16 minutes.

"Getting Madi back is going to be big for us," said Schweyen. "She went in and played fearlessly, like she does, and made some stuff happen. That was a bright spot."

But on this day, most of the bright spots belonged to South Dakota.

"We did our best to guard some of their stuff. They execute things well. When they got them, they knocked them down," said Schweyen, whose team hosts MSU Billings on Friday night.

"We can learn something from this. We're excited to get one more before Christmas and get started with conference."