USD Women Defeat St. Thomas, Advance to Semi’s
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 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.
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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 PM on CBS Sports Network.
Source: Summit League
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