South Dakota did what good teams do in February: win when it’s not pretty.

The Coyotes held off a game Omaha bunch 69–66 Thursday night at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center, improving to 21–6 overall and 11–2 in Summit League play. 

USD led by three after one (15–12) and by three at halftime (35–30), but the Mavericks kept answering every run and had it down to a one-possession game late before the Yotes closed it out at the free-throw line. 

Robles sets the tone, free throws finish the job

Angelina Robles was the steadying force all night, posting 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting, hitting 2-of-3 from three, and going 7-of-7 at the stripe. 

USD got balanced scoring behind her:

Molly Joyce: 12 points  Jenna Hopp: 12 points (and a perfect 6-for-6 at the line)  The Coyotes as a team: 24-of-29 on free throws 

And that last number mattered, because Omaha simply wouldn’t go away.

Omaha came in hot from deep and made USD earn it

The Mavericks drilled 9 threes and shot 34.6% from deep, led by Sarai Estupiñan’s 24 and Regan Juenemann’s 16 off the bench. 

Ali Stephens added 15 and did a little bit of everything (8 boards, 5 assists), helping Omaha hang around into the final minute. 

For USD, it was one of those nights where the shooting numbers don’t scream “comfortable”: 38.8% from the field and 33.3% from three. But the Yotes won the possession-and-patience game late, and the free throws did the rest. 

Next up: NDSU — and why it matters

Now the calendar flips to the one everyone’s already circling: North Dakota State.

With USD sitting at 11–2 in league play, the NDSU game is a direct swing game in the Summit standings race — the kind that impacts:

regular-season title positioning Summit League Tournament seeding (and the path you get in Sioux Falls) tiebreaker math if the top of the table stays crowded

In other words: Thursday’s win keeps USD firmly in the hunt, but the next one can change what “the hunt” looks like — chasing, leading, or locked into a seed line heading into the final stretch.