Senior Ashley Brown (Kirkland, Wash.) kicked off action with a two-point jumper, which was quickly countered by a three from Kara Iverson. SU responded with a pair of points from Tatiana Heck (Mountlake Terrace, Wash.) and Maggie McCarthy (Burlingame, Calif.) to take a slight advantage, 6-5. Following nearly a minute-and-a-half of scoreless play, the Coyotes took off on what would turn out to be a 16-2 run during an almost nine minute span.
During the Redhawks scoring drought, they looked to be dazed by the fluidity of the USD offense, who went 7-for-12 during their scoring streak. Sophomore Elle Kerfoot (Surrey, B.C.) broke down South Dakota's sizeable lead to 14 with 5:20 left in the half, but it was not until USD took a 17 point lead off a layup from Jasmine Mosely that SeattleU began to kick it into gear.
With 1:56 left in the first, SU went on a 5-0 run to chop South Dakota's formerly substantial lead to 10 heading into halftime. Orchestrating the scoring run were three team veterans, Brown, Heck and Cassidy Murillo (Yakima, Wash.).
It became a tale of two halves, as time in the locker room did SeattleU good. Following the intermission, SU burst out onto the court and battled relentlessly to breakdown the Coyotes lead and momentum. By 14:03 left in regulation, the Redhawks efforts brought them within seven, as they were down 39-32 following a McCarthy jumper.
South Dakota hung on to their slowly diminishing lead, but it was the fighting Redhawks who began to garner rhythm on all ends of the ball. The Heck-McCarthy tandem worked tirelessly to bring SeattleU back into the game and with 8:54 left in the contest, SU cut South Dakota's advantage down to 45-41.
After working so hard to come back SU was only down two possessions. Following a strong run, where they prevented USD from having any solid scoring chances, the home squad ignited a 22-13 run to close out the game.
Three Redhawk players scored in double-digits in the effort, led by Brown who had 12 points. Heck, who went 4-for-9 from the field and 3-for-6 from the charity stripe scored a second-best 11 points. Rounding out SU's top scorers was McCarthy, who had 10 points, including going a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
Despite three player's scoring in double-digits, SU only managed to shoot 37.3 percent (19-for-51) from the field, while South Dakota shot over 50 percent in both halves, to tally a field percentage of 52.2 (24-for-46).
"We are struggling because we haven't won and we aren't playing with a great deal of confidence," said head coach Joan Bonvicini. "We have had so many road games, which is tough, but it is the hand we were dealt. I am the leader of this team and I am going to work to right it. I am glad we have a week of practice to prepare for our next road game."
Bonvicini and the Redhawks will return to the West Coast for a solo contest in California on Saturday, Jan. 16. SeattleU will square off with Cal State Bakersfield in a 7 p.m. game in Bakersfield, Calif.