The South Dakota Coyote Women's Basketball team was a fun watch this season.

A team that was completely reshaped last offseason made a nearly instant bond with the fanbase, and the success was immediate.

Coach Carrie Eighmey's team finished the regular season with a 22-8 mark, and a third-place finish within the Summit League.

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After a Saturday exit from the Summit League Tournament, the team accepted a bid to the WNIT and ran with it.

The Yotes picked up wins over Northern Colorado, Pepperdine, and Montana State before playing host to Illinois State Wednesday Night in the Fab Four:

VERMILLION, S.D. – South Dakota women's basketball battled to the final buzzer, but it ultimately wasn't enough as the Coyotes fell to Illinois State 67-60 in the WNIT Fab Four in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center Wednesday night.

The Coyotes didn't give up in Wednesday's semifinal, trailing by 15 with 6:16 to go. South Dakota went on a 10-0 run, started with a three-pointer from senior Josie Hill and ending with a triple from junior Molly Joyce. The crowd of 3,002 mostly Coyote fans made the final 2:45 difficult, but ultimately the Coyotes couldn't overcome the deficit.

South Dakota jumped out to the early lead in the first half, using an 8-0 run to go up 10-6 before the first media timeout. The Redbirds weren't going to retire easily, holding steady for the remainder of the quarter as USD led 17-12 after one.

Joyce buried a triple to give USD a 20-12 lead, their largest of the game, but Illinois State responded with a 7-0 run to make it a one point game. The Coyotes lost the lead for the first time in over a quarter at the 3:44 mark of the second, and a basket with three seconds before halftime gave Illinois State the 33-31 halftime advantage.

South Dakota outscored Illinois State in the first and fourth quarters, but the Redbirds' advantage in the middle two quarters were too much. Illinois State outscored the Coyotes by seven in each quarter. After a quarter that saw the Redbirds control for much of the time, a Molly Joyce layup at the buzzer made it 50-41 in favor of Illinois State after three.

The Coyotes' comeback efforts in the fourth quarter were led by Joyce's seven points and Robles' five. For the game, Joyce led the squad with 16 points and Robles added 14. Patience Williams capped her collegiate career with 10 points and seven rebounds. Josie Hill added nine points and six boards. Jenna Hopp dished out a career best five assists.

South Dakota ends its season short of the WNIT Championship, but the run to the Fab Four is the second best finish in seven trips to the WNIT in program history. The 26 wins is one of nine 25-plus win seasons in program history and the 15 win improvement from last season is tied for the second best turnaround in Division I.

For seniors see their collegiate careers wrap up with Wednesday's result. Josie Hill, Angelina Robles, Elise Turrubiates and Patience Williams all conclude their time as Coyotes with a 26-10 senior season, the best season for a Coyote team since 2021-22.

It marks the end of a tremendous season of growth for USD. Now, the Coyotes face an offseason of change ahead with the graduation of Hill, Robles, Turrubiates, and Williams, as well as possible transfer portal additions and departures.

Stay up to date on all things USD Coyote Athletics at the official site here.

Source: University of South Dakota Athletics