Coyotes steady at No. 18 in USA Today Coaches Poll

VERMILLION, S.D. (GoYotes.com) —South Dakota women’s basketball is ranked No. 18 in the USA Today Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll for the second-straight week.

No. 18 South Dakota (19-2, 8-0) remains undefeated at the midway point of Summit action. The Coyotes have won their first eight league games by an average margin of 35.5 points per game.

The Coyotes have been ranked in the USA Today Coaches Poll for nine-straight weeks this season. It marks the second-longest streak in the USA Today Coaches Poll by a Summit team (South Dakota State, 14-straight weeks in 2008-09).

Senior guard Ciara Duffy, the Summit League Preseason Player of the Year, leads the team with 17 points, six rebounds and five assists per game. She’s joined in double-figures by junior center Hannah Sjerven (12.4), junior guard Chloe Lamb (10.2) and junior guard Monica Arens (10.0). South Dakota’s averaging 81.4 points per game for the ninth-best scoring offense in the nation.

South Dakota moved to No. 21 in the Associated Press Top 25 yesterday, the highest USD has ever been ranked in that poll. The Coyotes have been in the AP Top 25 for five weeks this season.

No. 21/18 South Dakota tips off at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Omaha inside Baxter Arena in Omaha, Nebraska.