WNIT Championship Central >>>
The impressive season for UC Riverside came to a close at the hands of host South Dakota in the first round of the WNIT from the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion, SD. The Highlanders fell to the Coyotes, 72-57, on Friday night.
With the loss, UC Riverside closes the year with an overall record of 18-14, while South Dakota moves to 22-12 and advances to take on Northern Arizona in the tournament’s second round.
UC Riverside (18-14) far exceeded expectations on the year, earning the third seed in the Big West Women’s Basketball Championship bracket after being picked 10th in the league’s preseason coaches’ poll. Winning 13 of its final 17 regular-season contests, UCR’s 12-game turnaround from last season is the largest in program history.
The Highlanders were paced by a 19-point outing from Big West scoring leader Jordan Webster. The league’s Best Hustle Player Mateyha Bryant added 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
Bryant got UCR on the board first in the fast-paced first quarter. The Highlanders held the 19-16 lead after six unanswered points from the duo of Webster and Jordyn Marshall with just one minute to play in the period. The scoring wasn’t over, however, and Webster’s triple as time expired set the score at 24-20 after the first.
The second quarter saw a 10-0 run for the Coyotes with two three-pointers from Morgan Hansen as the hosts pulled out to the 27-24 halftime lead.
In the third, scoring was at a premium for the Highlanders, who were just 3-for-21 from the floor. However, the feisty defense kept the score close, with USD up five heading into the final 10 minutes.
The final frame favored the Coyotes as seven of UCR’s 15 points in the period came at the free throw line, while South Dakota was able to connect on 50 percent of their shots in the quarter. Tori DePerry scored eight in the quarter with Carley Duffney adding seven to stretch the final score to 72-57.
Despite the second half shooting woes, the Highlanders forced the Coyotes into 22 turnovers throughout the game, scoring 19 points off the miscues. However, the UCR defensive efforts couldn’t overcome four South Dakota players posting double-figure scoring, paced by 15 from Duffney and 42.4 percent team shooting in the game.