The Basics
Score: No. 4 South Dakota 70, No. 5 St. Thomas 57
Records: South Dakota (21-11, 9-7 SL), St. Thomas (15-16, 7-9 SL)
Location: Denny Sanford PREMIER Center - Sioux Falls, S.D



SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – No. 4 South Dakota used a game-opening 11-0 run to help defeat No. 5 St. Thomas 70-57 in Sunday's opening quarterfinal at the Summit League Women's Basketball Tournament. Junior Grace Larkins finished with a season-high 29 points and game-high four assists to pace the Coyotes, who are now 9-0 all-time in the tournament's semifinals.

Larkins contributed nine of those points as the Coyotes built an early double-digit lead and never looked back.

The Tommies did not get on the board until the 4:11 mark of the opening quarter and missed their first eight field goal attempts before Jordyn Glynn connected on a corner triple.   

The teams traded just one basket in the closing four minutes of the opening stanza as USD took a 13-5 lead into the quarter break.

Larkins nearly outscored UST by herself in the opening half as she finished with 13 to push USD's advantage to 24-15 at halftime. The Coyotes' defense was also key in those first 20 minutes, limiting the Tommies to just 22 percent shooting from the floor.  

Natalie Mazurek and Carley Duffney would hit back-to-back three pointers to spark a 10-0 run for the Coyotes midway through the third quarter that saw their lead grow to its peak at 20.

USD held a 48-32 advantage entering the fourth quarter, but the Tommies would not go away easy. Amber Scalia, who missed much of the first half after being injured following a collision with a Coyote, scored 20 of her 22 points in the fourth quarter as she made all eight of her field goal attempts.

Scalia had personal 8-0 run in the closing minutes that drew UST within eight at 54-46 but that would be as close as the Tommies would come down the stretch. 

The Coyotes will play top-seeded South Dakota State in Monday's first semifinal at 12:30 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network.
 
Turning Point 
South Dakota opened the game on an 11-0 run and never led by less than eight for the remainder of the game.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Larkins scored nine points during USD's 11-0 opening-run and finished with a season-high 29 points. 
• Scalia, who went scoreless in a first half that saw her only play six minutes after leaving with an injury midway through the first quarter, led the Tommies with 22 points. The sophomore had 19 total points in two regular season meetings with the Coyotes but had 20 in the fourth quarter of this contest.
• Mazurek corralled a career-high 12 rebounds as South Dakota outrebounded St. Thomas 51-27, including a 15-6 edge on the offensive glass.

News & Notes 

• South Dakota has won three of the last four tournaments and return to the semifinals after failing to do that last season for the first time since 2017. The Coyotes are now 23-7 all-time in Summit League postseason play with four titles.
• South Dakota played without its second-leading scorer Kendall Holmes (11.5 ppg), who was absent due to personal reasons.
• This will be just the second time in nine tournament matchups that South Dakota and South Dakota State will meet in the semifinals. The Coyotes won that semifinal in 2014, defeating the Jackrabbits 72-58. The other seven have all taken place in the title game. 
• St. Thomas is now 1-2 in all-time tournament play since making its debut a season ago.