South Dakota women shock Baylor, win 61-47

WACO, Texas (AP) — Chloe Lamb, Hannah Sjerven and Liv Korngable are super-seniors at South Dakota who came back together for another season hoping for something special. They have something really sweet — and are still playing, even as a No. 10 seed in the women’s NCAA Tournament.

Sjerven scored 16 points and Chloe Lamb added 15 and the Summit League champion Coyotes beat Baylor 61-47 on the No. 2 seed’s home court Sunday, and are going to the Sweet 16 for the first time.

“It’s a joy, it was a great experience to play in this environment, Yes, it’s settling that there’s only 16 teams left playing in the tournament, so it’s very cool,” said Korngable, who added 11 points and five assists.

“Well, it’s so special to have the young ladies that we do, and for them to come back, I think, certainly speaks volumes of what they wanted to accomplished,” coach Dawn Plitzuweit said. “And they obviously knew they needed all three of them together.”

South Dakota was the second No. 10 seed to beat a No. 2 seed on Sunday, after Creighton won 64-62 at Iowa earlier in the day. They were the eighth double-digit seed to win a game on the opening weekend of the women’s tournament this year, matching a record.

Queen Egbo had 13 points while two-time AP All-America forward NaLyssa Smith matched her season low with 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting for the Bears (28-7) while being constantly surrounded by defenders.

Baylor saw the end of its streak of 12 consecutive Sweet 16 appearances, while Summit League player of the year Lamb and top defensive player Sjerven and the Coyotes instead head to Wichita instead next weekend.

“It looked like we were in slow motion to start the game,” first-year Baylor coach Nicki Collen said. “I think we played them pretty even after that 11-0 start. … They’re really, really physical. We’re pretty finessey.”

In a building where Baylor rarely loses, the Coyotes had a loud contingency of roughly 150 fans, cheerleaders and pep band members that got to celebrate with them. The fans in the seats behind their bench stood chanting “U-S-D!” in the closing seconds, and celebrated with their team long after Baylor had left the court.

“I thought our kids played really hard, I thought they played fearless, and I thought they made a lot of good things happen,” Plitzuweit said. “They’ve earned this and now they have a chance to enjoy it.”

Baylor had won 66 consecutive home games against non-conference opponents since UConn won in the Ferrell Center on Jan. 13, 2014.

The Bears won their 12th consecutive Big 12 title even after losing their first two conference games with Collen, the WNBA coach who took over when three-time national champion coach Kim Mulkey left for LSU after last season. But they have their earliest NCAA tourney exit since 2008.

“I think slowly and surely, the Baylor family realized that maybe I do fit in here, whatever that sounds like or looks like. I think that was hard for them too. I think change is hard,” Collen said. “I’m incredibly grateful. I’m sure they’re not real happy with me right now. That’s OK, because I’m not really happy with me right now, either. ”

South Dakota, in its 10th year of Division I eligibility, is in its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament, and fifth overall. But the Coyotes had never won a tourney game before the last few days.

The Coyotes had their 11-0 lead in less than three minutes while hitting their first four shots, including two 3-pointers by Lamb. It was Sjerven made a 3-pointer on the first shot, just like in their 75-61 victory over Mississippi when leading throughout Friday in their first-round game.

“Hannah started the game off with another 3, I think we all kind of smiled and relaxed a little bit,” Plitzuweit said.

“Just that this is fun,” Sjerven said when asked her thoughts about the fast start. “And the game of basketball is as simple as five players going at another set of five players, and not to overthink it too much and it was a fun game.”

BIG PICTURE

South Dakota: The Coyotes played with confidence and were fearless on the road against a perennial Top 10 team while becoming on the second Summit League team to make the Sweet 16. Along with the three super seniors, there were two second-year freshmen in the starting lineup. South Dakota State made the Sweet 16 three years ago.

Baylor: Smith, potentially the top overall pick in the next WNBA draft, arrived in Waco with Egbo and Caitlin Bickle. That trio was part of Baylor’s last national championship in 2019 as freshmen. Egbo could return, and Bickle has already said she will return for a fifth season. … The Bears shot a season-low 31.5% from the field (17 of 54) and were held 30 points below their season average in scoring with their fewest points since December 2015. They had 10 turnovers in the first quarter, and 19 overall that led to 22 points for South Dakota. Baylor had only two points off the 14 USD turnovers.

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