ST. PAUL, Minn. — The University of South Dakota women’s basketball team fell in its penultimate game of the season 66-57 against St. Thomas in St. Paul on Saturday afternoon.
It was a game of two halves for the Coyotes. USD controlled most of the first half, taking a 10-point 41-31 advantage into the halftime break. However, the Tommies completely took over the second half, holding the Coyotes to only a 20.6% shooting mark from the field in the second half.
The fourth quarter was especially sluggish for USD offensively. The Coyotes finished the final 10 minutes shooting less than 12% from the field, only hitting two shots in the entire quarter. St. Thomas also held USD to only seven points in the final quarter, eventually handing USD its second-straight loss.
The Tommies also took their shooting up a level in the fourth quarter. St. Thomas finished the final 10 minutes shooting 54.5% from the field after not eclipsing 46% through the first three quarters. Overall, St. Thomas finished the day with a 47.2% mark from the field compared to USD’s 35% mark.
The Tommies held Grace Larkins in check for the most part, as she finished the day with only 21 points on 9-of-21 shooting. That included a 1-of-4 mark from 3-point range. Gabby Wilke was the only other Coyote scorer to finish the day in double-figures with 14 points to go along with five rebounds. Alexi Hempe finished with six points and eight rebounds.
For St. Thomas (15-12, 7-7 Summit), three players finished with double-figure point totals. Jade Hill finished with a game-high 22 points and four rebounds. Jo Langbehn finished with 18 points on 75% shooting from the field. Amber Scalia finished with a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double.
USD (11-18, 5-10 Summit) will finish up its regular-season slate on Senior Night against Denver on Saturday, March 1.
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