USD Womens Basketball Loses on the Road

DES MOINES, Iowa – Drake shot 52.8 percent from the floor and knocked down 10 3-pointers to defeat South Dakota 76-64 in its home opener Thursday night in front of 5,511 fans inside the Knapp Center. The game was a battle between two of the nation’s top mid-majors. Drake (3-0) is the Missouri Valley Conference defending champion with the Bulldogs running through the league undefeated for the second-straight season. South Dakota (2-1) is the Summit League defending regular season champion and became the first Summit team to finish undefeated in 24 years. Five Bulldogs reached double figures led by junior guard Becca Hittner’s 17 points. The Coyotes were led in scoring by junior forward Taylor Frederick and redshirt-sophomore Hannah Sjerven with 15 and 12 points, respectively. Junior guard Madison McKeever also reached double figures with 10 points for the third-straight game. Frederick also led the Coyotes in rebounding with eight boards. Onida native Sophomore Chloe Lamb finished with nine points for USD. The Coyotes return to the Sanford Coyote Sports Center for a game at 1 p.m. Sunday with the College of St. Mary.