The USD women’s basketball team continued its remarkable hot streak Monday night, with a 61-49 win over MSU-Mankato in the championship game of the North Central Region Tournament.
With the win, USD advances to its first-ever Elite Eight Tournament, which will be held in Kearney, Neb., from March 26-29.
It’s a remarkable feat for a Coyote team that wasn’t ranked to start the season and was picked to finish second in the North Central Conference.
“This team is a special group,” USD coach Chad Lavin said at his post-game press conference. “I get a little emotional when I think about what they mean to me.”
All season, the Coyotes have known it would be a year of lasts. It is Lavin’s last go-round, the final year for the NCC and USD’s last year at the Division II level. Those three factors have served as the ultimate motivating factor for this team, players say.
“We want to go out with a bigger bang than we have already,” said senior point guard Shannon Daly, who scored 21 points Monday and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
The Coyotes were down 28-27 at halftime to the Mavericks, but came out in the second half with a completely different intensity. During USD’s second-half comeback, they once led 61-41 — a dominating edge that many probably wouldn’t have expected.
Nevertheless, USD moves on. The storybook season continues. It’s on to Kearney.
And who knows, the Coyotes could be bringing home some hardware.
USD headed to Elite Eight!
Wow. What a scene.
The USD women’s basketball team continued its remarkable hot streak Monday night, with a 61-49 win over MSU-Mankato in the championship game of the North Central Region Tournament.
With the win, USD advances to its first-ever Elite Eight Tournament, which will be held in Kearney, Neb., from March 26-29.
It’s a remarkable feat for a Coyote team that wasn’t ranked to start the season and was picked to finish second in the North Central Conference.
“This team is a special group,” USD coach Chad Lavin said at his post-game press conference. “I get a little emotional when I think about what they mean to me.”
All season, the Coyotes have known it would be a year of lasts. It is Lavin’s last go-round, the final year for the NCC and USD’s last year at the Division II level. Those three factors have served as the ultimate motivating factor for this team, players say.
“We want to go out with a bigger bang than we have already,” said senior point guard Shannon Daly, who scored 21 points Monday and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
The Coyotes were down 28-27 at halftime to the Mavericks, but came out in the second half with a completely different intensity. During USD’s second-half comeback, they once led 61-41 — a dominating edge that many probably wouldn’t have expected.
Nevertheless, USD moves on. The storybook season continues. It’s on to Kearney.
And who knows, the Coyotes could be bringing home some hardware.
— Jeremy Hoeck