South Dakota women's basketball rolls past WIU in Summit League Tournament opener: Four takeaways

South Dakota dominated Western Illinois 75-49 after a slow first-quarter start in the first round of the Summit League Tournament on Saturday at the Denny Sanford Premier Center.

True freshman guard Grace Larkins gave the Coyotes a spark, scoring 17 first-half points to break USD (25-5, 17-1 Summit) out of its poor shooting and develop a comfortable lead over the Leathernecks (14-15, 5-12). Larkins had a career-high 23 points in the game. Liv Korngable added 10 points and four assists and center Hannah Sjerven had 11 points and eight rebounds. USD's super seniors combined for just 27 points in the win.

"I think it definitely shows the depth that we have on this team," senior center Hannah Sjerven said. "And they had their opportunities today."

USD advances to play the winner of Kansas City versus North Dakota State in the semifinals Monday. Here are a few takeaways from the game.

The Grace Larkins experience: career high 23 points

South Dakota had the same strategy at the end of each of the first two quarters of their win over Western Illinois: Get the ball in the hands of Grace Larkins, and let her work.

Each time, Larkins danced near the free-throw line, created space and scooped the ball into the hoop with her left hand. Larkins has had strong scoring performances all season long, but in this case, she was the scorer that the Coyotes needed to go to.

More: Inside the rise of South Dakota's 'Big 3' and their quest for an NCAA Tournament win

"She's used to making some reads," South Dakota head coach Dawn Plitzuweit said. "Some late-quarter scenarios. I think Grace does a great job of understanding when she's in attack mode and kind of understanding what her options are."

Amid a difficult offensive stretch for the Coyotes, the South Dakota true freshman guard Larkins was playing some of her best basketball of the season. She scored 17 first-half points to contribute to her eventual career-high total of 23. The Summit League’s Sixth Woman of the Year was her usual self, not afraid to shoot and hitting all sorts of difficult layups with a few strong dribbles to the hoop.

"It wasn't really me, it was just everyone working together," Larkins said. "And everyone has their days where the gaps are open for them."

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South Dakota forces 24 turnovers on normally clean Western Illinois

Before the Western Illinois post could complete her turn towards the hoop, South Dakota senior center Hannah Sjerven wrapped her hands around the ball and ripped it from her hands.

That set the tone early for the Coyotes, who held opponents to 51.1 points per game in regular-season conference play, to force turnovers in a frenzy. Western Illinois has some of the best ball security in the Summit League, turning it over just 14.4 times per game this season. But not against USD. South Dakota forced 24 turnovers, making plays like Sjerven did in the post in addition to causing panic with their rotations.

"I don't know if it was anything different than what we tried to do against them (Monday)," Plitzuweit said. "I thought our awareness was probably a bit better."

Slow starts an issue for the Coyotes with stronger competition ahead

Early in the first quarter, South Dakota had effectively shut down every single player on the court for Western Illinois. Except for one.

It looked like South Dakota, fresh off one of their more difficult starts in conference play in a regular-season finale against Western Illinois, looked like it was past that, jumping to a 9-0 lead in the first 2:22 of the game. Then Leathernecks guard Danni Nichols started Western Illinois with a 3. Then a pull-up jumper. Then a layup. She scored the first nine points for Western Illinois.

No one else could make a shot, but they didn’t have to. South Dakota’s own cold-shooting (6-25 overall from 3) allowed Nichols to lead Western Illinois back into the game and tie it twice.

"I don't know," Plitzuweit said of the 3-pointers. "I think a lot of them were really good shots."

Performances like this have been a rarity for the Coyotes, but they have happened on occasion. The Leathernecks are the far inferior team in the matchup with USD (as evidenced by a 26-point differential in the final score), yet South Dakota still let them hang around for a little bit.

This USD team can still play a little bit more cleanly, and for its NCAA Tournament hopes to stay alive, the Coyotes should hope to figure it out by the time they advance to face stiffer competition in the conference tournament.

"The reality is: We defended at a really high level," Plitzuweit said. "I thought we scored it actually pretty efficiently. And I thought we got good looks. And that's what we can control."

Chloe Lamb tied for 3rd on USD's all-time scoring list

South Dakota senior guard Chloe Lamb had a quiet game with six points, but that's all she needed to tie former South Dakota guard Ciara Duffy for third on USD's all-time scoring list. Lamb also is tied for 13th on the Summit League's all-time scoring list.

Follow Sioux Falls Argus Leader reporter Michael McCleary on Twitter @mikejmccleary.

Women's Summit League pairings

Saturday

No. 1 SDSU 86, No. 8 Denver 59

No. 2 USD 75, No. 7 Western Illinois 49

Sunday

No. 4 Oral Roberts vs. No. 5 North Dakota, 12:30 p.m.

No. 3 Kansas City vs. No. 6 North Dakota State, 3 p.m.

Semifinals

South Dakota State vs. TBD, 12:30 p.m. Monday

South Dakota vs. TBD, 3 p.m. Monday

Championship

Tuesday, 1 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Summit League tourney: South Dakota women's basketball rolls past WIU