POCATELLO, Idaho - Idaho State women's basketball stays on the road Sunday to face the unbeaten South Dakota Coyotes at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. Tipoff is set for 12:00 PM MT on the Summit League Network.
The Bengals have won three straight after a 54-41 win at Utah State on Wednesday, their first win in Logan since Dec. 11, 2010. ISU held the Aggies to nine first-half points on 2-of-18 shooting, used an 11-0 second-quarter run to take a 32-9 halftime lead, and led by as many as 24 early in the third quarter. Aspen Caldwell led the Bengals with 13 points and five assists, her third straight game leading the team in scoring. Jazzy Wilkerson went 3-of-4 from 3-point range for nine points, and Maggie Hutka added nine points and eight rebounds. Krystal Arnason had seven points, five rebounds, two blocks and two steals, and Skylie Barker scored five points in her Idaho State debut. ISU shot a season-best 56.4 percent from the field, held Utah State to 21.2 percent and outscored the Aggies 26-14 in the paint.Â
South Dakota leads the all-time series 3-1 and won the last meeting 64-63 in Pocatello on Nov. 16, 2025, on a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Sunday is the fifth meeting between the programs and the third in Vermillion, where the Bengals are 1-1. ISU's only win in the series came 69-45 at South Dakota on Nov. 29, 2012.
Quick Look at South Dakota
South Dakota is 3-0 in its third season under head coach Carrie Eighmey. The Coyotes opened with home wins over York 95-38 and UTRGV 68-56, then beat Creighton 54-49 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls on Wednesday.
Senior guard Molly Joyce, last season's Summit League Newcomer of the Year, leads USD with 13.7 points per game and has led the Coyotes in scoring in all three games. She has 1,278 career points. Senior forward Latazia Williamson, a transfer from Kennesaw State, averages 10.3 points and a team-high 9.0 rebounds. Northern Iowa transfer Bri Robinson adds 9.0 points and a team-high 3.0 assists per game.
South Dakota is averaging 72.3 points per game and leads the Summit League in rebounding (43.0 per game) and rebound margin (+17.0). The Coyotes have attempted 93 free throws in three games and are shooting .710 at the line. Defensively, USD is allowing 47.7 points per game, and opponents are shooting .285 from the field, the lowest mark in the league. The Coyotes are forcing 20.7 turnovers per game but also committing 20.0.
Bengal Bites
Idaho State leads the Big Sky in scoring defense (47.3 points per game) and 3-point percentage defense (.198). In the most recent NCAA rankings, ISU was 19th nationally in field goal percentage defense and 22nd in 3-point percentage defense.
Idaho State leads the Big Sky with 5.5 blocks per game. Arnason leads the league with 12 blocks and ranked sixth nationally in blocks per game in the most recent NCAA rankings.
Sunday matches two of the stingiest defenses in the country this early in the season. ISU allows 47.3 points per game on .270 shooting, and South Dakota allows 47.7 on .285.
The glass is the matchup to watch. ISU has won the boards in three straight games and is +6.3 in rebounding margin, while South Dakota is +17.0.
Caldwell leads ISU with 12.8 points per game, more than triple her career average entering the season.
Idaho State's freshmen have scored 115 of the Bengals' 247 points this season.
Hutka has grabbed exactly eight rebounds in all four games. She has 895 career points and 477 career rebounds, 105 points shy of 1,000 and 23 rebounds shy of 500.
Wilkerson has committed one turnover in 91 minutes this season and leads ISU with seven 3-pointers.
NUMBERS TO WATCH
3-1: South Dakota's all-time series lead over Idaho State.
1-1: ISU's all-time record in Vermillion.
47.3: Points per game allowed by Idaho State, the fewest in the Big Sky.
+17.0: South Dakota's rebound margin, best in the Summit League.
9: Points Idaho State allowed Utah State in the first half Wednesday.
23: Rebounds Hutka needs to reach 500 for her career.
