Williams Gets 100th Victory with Win Over Utah Valley

by Nick Lenz, Sports Anchor/Reporter
December 01, 2012 11:01 PM


VERMILLION, S.D.—Nicole Seekamp scored a career-high 27 points and Polly Harrington had 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead South Dakota to a 72-48 win against Utah Valley Saturday at the DakotaDome.

It was the second win in three games for the Coyotes (3-5) while the Wolverines (1-7) dropped their sixth in a row.

South Dakota head coach Amy Williams earned career win No. 100. She had 97 wins in five seasons at Rogers State before arriving in Vermillion this season.

Seekamp had 13 points at halftime and single-handedly out-scored Utah Valley 8-2 to begin the second half. South Dakota led 41-29 at the break and 58-37 near the midway point of the second half when Seekamp scored her 27th point. She finished 8-of-15 from the field and made four 3-pointers.

Harrington’s physical presence inside helped give South Dakota a 47-36 edge on the boards. Freshman Margaret McCloud had a career-high 10 rebounds and finished one point shy of a double-double. Tia Hemiller, a 5-foot-6 freshman guard, added eight rebounds in 18 minutes off South Dakota’s bench.

It was a frustrating night for reigning Great West Conference Player of the Year Sammie Jensen, who needed 17 shots to reach 10 points. She was Utah Valley’s leading scorer. Tina Doughty added eight points off the Wolverines’ bench.

Utah Valley entered the contest averaging 66 points per game, but shot 35 percent from the field (25-of-59) and was 2-of-11 from behind the arc. South Dakota made 10 three-pointers and was 18-of-26 from the free-throw line.