SIOUX FALLS – Defense won the day and made the Coyotes champions again.
South Dakota used strong defense and the strong play of their sixth-year seniors to defeat South Dakota State Tuesday 56-45 to win the Summit League Women’s Tournament championship for the third straight year.
Hannah Sjerven led the Coyotes (27-5) with her 28th career double-double, scoring 19 points with 10 rebounds. Sully Buttes alum Chloe Lamb, who was named the tournament MVP for the second straight year, scored 17 and hit two big three-pointers in the second half. Liv Korngable scored 11.
USD limited SDSU to 25 percent shooting. The Jackrabbits, who shot 49 percent from the floor going into the game, the third-best percentage in the country, made just three of 22 fourth-quarter field goals.
Tylee Irwin scored 15 to lead South Dakota State (23-9), hitting three three-pointers. Paiton Burckhard scored 14 and hit four three-pointers.
USD will learn its first-round NCAA Tournament opponent on Sunday. SDSU will wait to learn whether it will gain an at-large bid. At the least, the Jackrabbits would be in the WNIT after having been the top seed in the conference tournament.
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