VERMILLION – In a thrilling season-opener, South Dakota Women’s Basketball narrowly lost to Saint Louis 85-83 in overtime on Monday night.

The Coyotes trailed by double-digits in the second half, but a furious comeback kept the two teams tight to end the game. Grace Larkins hit a game-tying shot near the end of regulation to send the game to overtime, however, Saint Louis prevailed with a go-ahead basket with 6 seconds left in overtime. It ended up being the difference as USD couldn’t find the game-tying or winning shot.

The offense for both teams stalled to begin the second quarter. Neither team scored for over three minutes until the Billikens broke that streak with a field goal with 6:44 left to go in the first half. The shooting continued for the Coyotes for most of the second quarter, but a few late shots improved the shooting percentage to 23.5 percent.

The overall first-half shooting percentage was worse as the Coyotes finished the half with a 22.6 shooting percentage on 7-for-31 attempts and the Billikens went into the locker room with a 36-25 lead. The 3-point shooting was a huge struggle in the first half with only a 1-for-13 mark from behind the arc. Olivia Kieffer led USD with 10 points at the half.

Out of the half, Saint Louis extended its lead with an immediate 7-0 run to go up 42-25 within the opening two minutes. Despite the early run, USD responded with a 12-2 run to bring the lead back down to single digits at 44-37 with four minutes left in the third quarter. The Coyote comeback continued as the lead continued to shrink and suddenly the lead was down to only three points at 50-47, but Saint Louis held a 52-47 lead at the end of the quarter.

The Coyotes stuck around in the fourth quarter and reduced the Billiken lead to one possession multiple times in the fourth quarter and were only down 60-59 with five minutes left in the game. Just a bit later, USD took a 62-60 lead with four minutes to go.

The two went back and forth in the final four minutes, but it was Saint Louis who held a 70-69 lead with under 30 seconds to go. Kieffer missed a potential go-ahead jumper with 19 seconds to go, but USD was able to get the ball back with 17 seconds left. However, a missed shot led to a Saint Louis free throw on the other end to make it 71-69. But Larkins came up clutch with a game-tying layup right before time expired.

Saint Louis raced out to a 79-73 lead in the overtime period, but USD wouldn’t go away with multiple 3s to make it 81-79 with a minute and a half to go. With 24 seconds left, the Coyotes trailed 83-81. Larkins did here thing once again with a game-tying basket with 18 seconds to go. However, the Billikens scored with six seconds left to make it 85-83 and the Coyotes were unable to find the tying shot.

For USD, Larkins finished the day with a team-high 27 points and also nabbed 13 rebounds for the double-double. Carley Duffney has a big night as well with 18 points and seven rebounds. For Saint Louis, Peyton Kennedy scored a team-high 25 points while Kennedy Calhoun scored 21 points.

USD (0-1) will hit the road to play at Air Force on Friday, Nov. 8, while Saint Louis (1-0) will also be on the road at Drake on Thursday, Nov. 7.

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MADISON, Wis. – Forced to overhaul a roster pillaged by the transfer portal, Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard felt good about the additions, the developments, and the chemistry cultivated over the weeks of conditioning and practices. He was also blunt leading into college basketball’s opening night in that he was still learning about the group’s makeup.

He learned a big lesson in game number one: his group is resilient.

On a night where plenty of things were askew on both ends of the floor, the Badgers managed to erase an early 16-point deficit and find their gear in the second half to earn a runaway 85-61 victory over Holy Cross.

Senior John Tonje impressed in his Wisconsin debut, scoring 23 points to lead the program to a ninth straight win in the home opener. John Blackwell added 16 points, five coming on a 15-0 run that gave UW the lead for good early in the second half. Nolan Winter scored 15 points in the second half in his first collegiate start.

Guard Gabe Warren had 23 for Holy Cross, 13 of which came in the opening 5:39 when he and his teammates made nine of 10 shots and smacked Wisconsin with a 21-3 run.

The fact the Badgers wiped the shock off their faces to trail by one at halftime was a testament to shunning the perimeter and attacking the post. After the opening eight minutes, UW had only attempted two shots inside the arc before running off a string of seven shots around the rim.

The results provided expected results against an undersized team. Multiple players found production at the rim, which generated more open looks on the perimeter. Tonje’s two open three-pointers punctuated an 18-2 run, broke a string of nine perimeter misses, and knotted the game at 25.

UW didn’t let the Crusaders hang around for long. The Badgers made seven of their first nine shots out of the locker room and tightened things up defensively, outshooting the Crusaders 56.7 percent to 33.3 in the second half.

The Badgers also got some bounces going their way, like Carter Gilmore turning a bobbled layup into a three-point play or Winter’s three-pointer that deadened off the back iron before falling in to push the lead to 18.

What it means: In one of the more sparsely attended home openers in the Kohl Center history, the lack of fan support was almost as jarring as the Badgers falling behind by 16 to the projected ninth-place team in the Patriot League. UW was able to get things corrected on the court but needs to find a way to get the fans back and engaged.

Star of the game: Tonje was active on all three levels, going 3-for-5 from two, 3-for-6 from three, and 8-for-8 from the line. The graduate senior also helped erase his mistakes. After committing a turnover on a poor post-entry pass, Tonje hustled back and drew the charge.

Stat of the game: After going 3-for-15 from the perimeter in the first half, Wisconsin went 8-for-16 in the second half from six different players scoring points.

Reason to be Concerned: Steven Crowl made his first shot of the game and then disappeared offensively for most of the game. He finished with seven points and a game-high eight rebounds but was just 2-for-5 in the low post. With the amount of scoring UW needs to replace, having Crowl fade into the background in games where he has a decisive size advantage is concerning.

Don’t overlook: Kamari McGee showed his value to the roster won’t always be in scoring. Joining Gilmore as the first substitutes off the bench, McGee had seven points on six shots, four assists and a steal to one turnover and saw UW outscored Holy Cross by 35 points when he was on the floor.

What’s next: Choosing not to play on college basketball’s opening night, Montana State will begin its 2024-25 season in Madison on Thursday night. The three-time defending Big Sky champion, the Bobcats were the preseason pick to win the league. Montana State will be one of the older teams in the country with seven seniors and graduate students in the projected rotation, plus five juniors. Tip is set for 7 p.m. on BTN+.

Dan Campbell just looks like a coach. He’s a former NFL player and still has good size; he’s intense on the sidelines; and he’s always seen wearing a hat.

The Detroit Lions are coming off a huge divisional win against their rivals the Green Bay Packers in Lambeau Field. It was a rain-soaked, smash-mouth affair which suits their rough and rugged looking coach just fine.

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The Lions now sit at 7-1 and lead the NFC North division. Whatever Campbell is doing is clearly working in Detroit. But as a coach, you don’t get a lot of time off during the season. Before the Green Bay game, however, Campbell and wife Holly Campbell got a “rare” date night in for some Italian food in Detroit. She posted a picture of the coach dressed up and without his signature Lions cap on, which made him look unrecognizable with his hair.

Wow, he’s got a full head of hair under there. And it’s great to see him enjoying some much-deserved wine.

It’s not quite Texas A&M Aggies Dan:

Or definitely not Lions and NFL Dan:

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Dan and Holly have been married since 2005. They have two children together: a son named Cody and a daughter named Piper.

Dan played in the NFL for 11 years with the New York Giants, the Dallas Cowboys, the Lions, and the New Orleans Saints before retiring after the 2009 season.

The Lions are back in action on Sunday vs. the Houston Texans, and no doubt so is the coach’s hat.

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