By Britni Smith, USD Sports Information

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas—South Dakota junior Grace Larkins recorded her 10th career 20-point game as the Coyotes knocked off the Big East’s DePaul 83-71 on Saturday night in Imperial Arena inside the Atlantis Resort.
 
South Dakota (3-1) put together its best shooting performance of the season. The Coyotes made 54.4 percent (31-for-57) from the floor, 38.1 percent (8-of-21) from behind the arc, and 86.7 percent (13-of-15) from the stripe.
 
Larkins dropped 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting, also dishing out eight assists and pulling down six boards.
 
Junior Kendall Holmes, who transferred from DePaul during the offseason, dropped 14 points against her former school. It tied her season high for scoring. She grabbed four rebounds and had the Coyotes’ lone steal of the game.
 
DePaul (2-2) scored 25 points off turnovers and capitalized on 18 second-chance points, but the Blue Demons shot 3-of-26 (11.5 percent) behind the arc.
 
South Dakota played nine deep with each player seeing 14 or more minutes on the floor and seven players scoring seven or more points. Junior guard Nicole Avila-Ambrosi knocked down a pair of triples and had an old-fashioned 3-point play for nine points. Sophomore forward Carley Duffney tallied eight points and three assists and senior Tori DePerry added eight points with five boards. Junior Alexi Hempe recorded seven points and six rebounds in 15 minutes. Redshirt sophomore Natalie Mazurek added seven points off the bench.
 
DePaul was led by guard Anaya Peoples’ 22 points on 8-of-18 shooting. Forward Jorie Allen added 14 points and guard Katlyn Gilbert had 14 points with four steals.
 
The Coyotes jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first quarter, 21-11, as Duffney knocked down a triple. DePaul responded in the second quarter, but the Coyotes held onto a 38-33 lead at the break.
 
South Dakota went 9-of-10 from the floor in the third quarter with Holmes scoring eight of her 14 points in the period. The Coyotes knocked down seven unanswered points to start the fourth quarter, giving the Coyotes their largest lead of the game at 69-46. Peoples helped DePaul close the difference, scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter, as USD held on for an 83-71 win.
 
South Dakota was the only mid-major to win on the first day of the Battle 4 Atlantis. The Coyotes advanced to the winners’ bracket, facing a receiving votes Michigan squad at 1:30 p.m. (Central) Sunday.

Hot shooting Wolverines and turnovers put a stop to Coyote women on Sunday

Michigan forward Taylor Williams recorded a double-double of 19 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Wolverines to a 70-52 victory over South Dakota on Sunday afternoon in Imperial Arena inside the Atlantis Resort.
 
Michigan (4-0) had 31 more shot attempts than South Dakota (3-2) in the game, capitalizing off Coyote turnovers and attacking the offensive glass.
 
Williams pulled in 12 of the Wolverines’ 20 offensive rebounds. Michigan guards Lauren Hansen and Laila Phelia joined her in double-figure scoring with 13 points apiece. Pheila, the Wolverines’ leading scorer, was 5-of-21 from the floor. Jordan Hobbs added 11 points.
 
The Coyotes shot the ball well for the second-straight game, making 18-of-41 (43.9 percent) from the field and 7-of-16 (43.8 percent) from outside the arc. The Wolverines made 29-of-72 from the field (40.3 percent) but were held to 3-of-18 (16.7 percent) outside.
 
Senior forward Tori DePerry provided the Coyotes a spark off the bench with 16 points. She made her first six shots of the game without a miss, including three triples.
 
The Coyotes face receiving votes Arizona at 1:30 p.m. (Central) Monday to wrap up the Battle 4 Atlantis. The game will be televised on ESPNU.