VERMILLION, S.D.— Junior guard Kendall Holmes scored a season-best 22 points in leading the Coyotes to a 78-70 win over Denver on Thursday night inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center.
South Dakota (14-7, 3-3 Summit) moves to 5-1 on the season in games decided by 10 points or less.
Holmes reached 22 points, one shy of her career high, on 7-of-12 shooting from the floor. She added five assists without a turnover in 32 minutes. Fourth-year sophomore center Natalie Mazurek reached double-figures for the fourth time in the last five games. She finished with 16 points, two away from matching her career best, on 7-of-11 shooting. She also had four rebounds and an assist.
Denver (4-15, 1-5 Summit) was led by sophomore guard Jordan Jones’ double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds to go with six assists. Sophomore guard Emma Smith added 14 points while knocking down 4-of-5 from deep. Senior guard Emily Counsel added 11 points.
For the second-straight game, the Coyotes jumped out to a hot start by scoring 11 of the first 14 points. USD led 23-8 at the end of the first quarter while shooting 60 percent from the floor with three 3s. Holmes and Mazurek both had eight points at the end of the first frame.
Denver answered in the second period, shooting 64.3 percent from the floor and outscoring the Coyotes 24-10 in the frame. After trailing by as many as 18, the Pioneers had cut the Coyote lead to one at the intermission.
The start of the second half got interesting as the Summit League preseason pick Grace Larkins, who sat out much of the second quarter in foul trouble, picked up her third foul on the opening possession. She was subbed out as the game was tied up at 35-all. Neither team went on a much of a run with back-and-forth possessions throughout the quarter. The Coyotes again held a one-point advantage, 48-47, to start the final quarter.
Holmes knocked down an alley-oop off an in-bounds play from Larkins, followed by a steal and score from Larkins on the ensuing possession put the Coyotes up 54-50 early in the fourth. Denver answered again to take the lead back 55-54.
It was an old-fashioned three-point play by Coyote sophomore Walker Demers that spurned a 12-4 run for USD to push it out to a seven-point lead. USD’s final field goal was a Holmes 3-pointer with 1:31 remaining that put the Coyotes up 71-63. The Coyotes made 7-of-8 from the line down the stretch to finish it off.
South Dakota shot 52.7 percent (29-of-55) from the floor in the game, including a fourth quarter with the Coyotes making 9 of their 11 attempts. Denver shot 46.7 percent (28-of-60) from the field.
The Coyotes dished out 21 assists on those 29 made field goals. Sophomore forward Carley Duffney dished out a career-high six to lead the team. She’s had 15 assists in the last three games. Holmes and Larkins added five and four assists, respectively.
USD finished with 10 turnovers in the game, the fewest given up against a Division I opponent this season. The Coyotes had just one turnover in the second half, which came on an offensive charge call in the fourth quarter.
South Dakota returns to Abbott Court on Saturday, hosting Kansas City for a 2 p.m. tip-off.