Press Conference: South Dakota | Oral Roberts
The Basics
Score: No. 2 South Dakota 89, No. 7 Oral Roberts 66
Records: South Dakota (17-5), Oral Roberts (6-15)
Location: The Sanford Pentagon - Sioux Falls, S.D.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – No. 2 South Dakota advanced to the semifinals of the 2021 Summit League Women's Basketball Championship thanks to a 89-66 victory over No. 7 seed Oral Roberts in Saturday's second quarterfinal at the Sanford Pentagon. It is the fourth straight year the Coyotes have moved on to that stage of the postseason event.
Senior Chloe Lamb led all scorers with 22 points and the all-league first teamer had five points in a pivotal stretch to close the third quarter that quelled a rally by the Golden Eagles that had seen them trim a 12-point deficit down to five. The Coyotes put the clamps down defensively in the fourth quarter, however, as they limited the Golden Eagles to a 2-for-12 clip from the floor and outscored them 21-7 in the final 10 minutes.
That effort came on the heels of a third quarter that saw the teams combine for 49 points and Oral Roberts make six consecutive 3-pointers during one stretch of the stanza. ORU's Freshman of the Year Tierney Coleman hit two of those triples and finished with a team-high 21 points, but the Golden Eagles' hot shooting did not carry over into the fourth quarter.
With the scored tied 9-9, USD took control of the game midway through the first quarter thanks to a 9-0 run and never relinquished the lead again. The lead would hover around that margin for the entire second quarter before reserve guard Macy Guebert drained a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to make it a 43-31 contest and match USD's largest lead of the opening 20 minutes.
Coyote seniors Liv Korngable and Hannah Sjerven both added 19 points and Maddie Krull added 12 to give USD four double-digit scorers. Korngable also added six assists and a career-high six steals in the victory. The Coyotes held a 19:5 assist-to-turnover ratio while forcing the Golden Eagles into 17 turnovers that they turned into 22 points.
The Coyotes will take on the winner of the No. 3 North Dakota State/No. 6 Denver tilt in Monday's second semifinal at 2:45 p.m. CT.
Turning Point
The Coyotes survived a 26-point outburst by the Golden Eagles in the third quarter by dropping 23 points of their own.
Inside the Box Score
- Oral Roberts went 11-for-20 from beyond the arc, but only 7-for-30 inside of it
- South Dakota went 7-for-20 from beyond the arc and were 26-for-47 inside of it
- South Dakota scored 22 points off 17 turnovers, while the Golden Eagles failed to turn any of the Coyotes five turnovers into points
- The Coyotes owned a 44-12 advantage on points in the paint
- USD's Hannah Sjerven recorded her 10 double-double of the season with 19 points and a game-high 10 rebounds
News & Notes
- South Dakota, who is the No. 2 seed for just the second time in program history, improved to 8-1 in tournament quarterfinal matchups. The Coyotes made the 2019 title game the only other time they were seeded on the two-line.
- This will be the first time since 2017 that the Coyotes and South Dakota State will not meet in the finale. The Jackrabbits fell 52-40 in the opening quarterfinal to No. 8 seed Omaha.
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