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South Dakota wins WNIT championship

Picture
Photo Credit: Aaron Packard
​

South Dakota 71, Florida Gulf Coast 65
VERMILLION, SD — Tia Hemiller tied her career-high in scoring with 22 points, and South Dakota protected its fourth-quarter lead through a couple of tense moments Saturday as the Coyotes claimed the 2016 Postseason WNIT Championship by beating Florida Gulf Coast, 71-65.

In front of 7,415 fans in the final women’s game at the DakotaDome (a record turnout for a women’s game at USD), the Coyotes (32-6) got a foothold by keeping the Eagles (33-6) scoreless for the first four minutes of the third quarter. Entering the final 10 minutes, South Dakota had a 45-38 lead, but had led by as much as 12 (41-29) when Caitlin Duffy hit a 3-pointer with 4:15 remaining in the third.

Eagles center Whitney Knight, who had a career-high nine blocked shots (one off the WNIT single-game record), hit a free throw with 8:24 left in the fourth quarter to cut the Eagles’ deficit to 45-43; she was whistled for her fourth foul 7 seconds later and had to come out of the game. Sensing the need for some offense, Hemiller converted a three-point play at 8:14, then hit three free throws after being fouled, which pushed the Coyotes up, 51-43 with 6:43 remaining.

Kaneisha Atwater nearly brought the Eagles all the way back, scoring eight straight points for her team and bringing the deficit back to two, 53-51, with 5:11 remaining. With the tension building, Kelly Stewart nailed a 3-pointer with 4:31 left to send South Dakota up, 56-51; a key offensive rebound by Abigail Fogg at 3:00 allowed the Coyotes to keep the ball away from Atwater, and Stewart hit another 3 at 2:11 to build the lead to 61-53.

Hemiller sank the dagger at 1:34, taking a pass from Nicole Seekamp and draining a 3 to make it 64-55. Stewart finished with 12 points for the Coyotes; Fogg had 10 points, nine bounds and three blocked shots, and Seekamp worked around a cold afternoon of shooting to chip in seven points, nine rebounds and eight assists. The Coyotes shot 39 percent from 3-point range and worked around their 14 turnovers.

“There’s a toughness and a grit about us, and we certainly played that way today,” said South Dakota coach Amy Williams. “I’m going to remember what a great team win that was. Abigail Fogg had to step in and step up, and Tia Hemiller played of her best games. Our team stayed committed to the team effort, and we were able to lean on a lot of different people.”
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Atwater closed with 25 points for the Eagles; Taylor Gradinjan had 12 points, and Stephanie Haas added 11 points and six rebounds. Florida Gulf Coast shot 37 percent from the field and was out-rebounded, 48-31.

Defense dominated the mood in the first half, with South Dakota taking a 31-27 lead at the break. The Eagles shot just 31 percent from the field, but got a major lift from Haas, who scored 10 points in the first 20 minutes.

South Dakota shot a decent 45 percent in the first half as nine different players scored. The Coyotes were hampered by 10 turnovers, but were able to hold firm thanks to a 25-16 edge in rebounds. Stewart came through with a big 3-pointer with about 3:30 to go in the second quarter that broke a scoring drought of 2:30 for the home team.
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Seekamp was named the MVP of the Postseason WNIT; the other players on the all-tourney team were Maite Cazorla of Oregon, Madison Ristovski of Michigan, Knight and Atwater from Florida Gulf Coast, and Hemiller from South Dakota.
2016 Tournament Bracket
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Headlines
South Dakota wins WNIT championship
Championship Preview and Notes
Semifinal Recap
Semifinal Preview - Michigan at FGCU
Semifinal Recap
Semifinal Preview - Oregon at South Dakota
Quarterfinal Recaps - March 28
Quarterfinal Previews - March 28
Quarterfinal Recap - March 27
​Round Three Recap - March 25
Round Three Recaps - March 24
Round Three Previews - March 24-25
​Round Three Recap - March 23
Round Three Recaps - March 22
Round of 16 Previews - March 22-23
Round Two Recaps - March 21
Round Two Recaps - March 20

Round Two Recaps - March 19
Round One Recaps - March 18
Round One Recaps - March 17
Round One Recaps - March 16
Abilene Christian up to speed in transition
How the Selection Committee approaches bracketing
Postseason WNIT field announced
Saint Louis wisely sticks with Stone's vision 
Santa Clara shakes off past disappointments

2016 Postseason WNIT Teams

AQ Teams
Abilene Christian (26-3), Southland
Arkansas State (26-5), Sun Belt
Bethune-Cookman (18-12), MEAC
Bucknell (24-7), Patriot
Drexel (19-13), Colonial
Florida Gulf Coast (28-5), Atlantic Sun
Fresno State (21-11), MWC
Harvard (14-13), Ivy
Liberty (20-12), Big South
Maine (26-8, America East
Mercer (24-8), Southern
Milwaukee (19-12), Horizon
Minnesota (19-11), Big Ten
Montana State (21-9), Big Sky
Northern Iowa (22-10), Missouri Valley
Ohio (24-6), Mid-American
Oregon (20-10), Pac-12
Quinnipiac (24-8), MAAC
Sacred Heart (20-12), Northeast
Saint Louis (24-7), Atlantic 10
Saint Mary’s (24-7), WCC
South Dakota (26-6), Summit
Southern (19-11), SWAC
TCU (16-14), Big 12
Temple (20-11), American
UC Riverside (23-8), Big West
UT Martin (21-9), Ohio Valley
UTEP (26-4), C-USA
UT Rio Grande Valley (19-13), WAC
Villanova (19-11), Big East
 
At-Large Teams
Akron (19-13), Mid-American
Alabama (15-15), SEC
Ball State (21-9), Mid-American
Central Michigan (22-10), Mid-American
Charlotte (19-11), C-USA
Creighton (17-17), Big East
Dayton (14-14), Atlantic 10
Drake (22-9), Missouri Valley
Eastern Michigan (21-11), Mid-American
Elon (18-12), Colonial
Georgetown (16-13), Big East
Georgia Tech (19-12), ACC
Gonzaga (18-13), West Coast
Hofstra (22-8), Colonial
Iowa (19-13), Big Ten
IUPUI (20-10), Summit
Little Rock (20-12), Sun Belt
Long Beach State (24-8), Big West
Marshall (21-11), C-USA
Memphis (18-12), American
Michigan (17-13), Big Ten
Nebraska (18-12), Big Ten
Northwestern (18-16), Big Ten
Rutgers (18-14), Big Ten
San Diego (23-7), West Coast
Santa Clara (23-8), West Coast
Tulane (21-11), American
Utah (16-14), Pac-12
VCU (23-9), Atlantic 10
Virginia (16-15), ACC
Virginia Tech (17-13), ACC
Wake Forest (16-15), ACC
Western Kentucky (24-6), C-USA
Wright State (24-10), Horizon
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