VERMILLION, S.D. -- After a pair of upsets in the opening round of the NCAA Division II North Central Region women’s basketball tournament, it took the tournament host to get things back in order. The University of South Dakota, the region’s #1 seed, defeated Colorado State University-Pueblo to advance to the semifinal rounds. USD’s Bridget Yoeger and Amber Hegge combined for 36 points and 15 rebounds to lead the team to a 66-55 win over the #8 Thunderwolves.

Yoeger led the Coyotes with 20 points, eight rebounds and four steals. She missed just one shot on the night, going 8-of-9 from the floor. Of her eight rebounds, four were on the offensive glass as USD had 16 offensive rebounds in the game. Hegge was just as impressive shooting. She made 8-of-10 shots and finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. The freshman’s 16 is a new career-high.

“There was a good atmosphere, a lot of people were there, we just came out and played hard,” said Hegge. “That is how the game went, (getting Hegge the ball often) it was open because we have such great shooters.”

“Their switching on defense gave us problems because it kept us from getting to the rack,” said USD head coach Chad Lavin. “We drew some fouls, but, doing that (CSU Pueblo’s defensive scheme), you are going to give up three’s, which they did, but we didn’t make them. Defensively we got out on their shooters, we did a great job on D to hold them to 23 points especially since we were struggling offensively. If they would’ve got going when they led 16-10 I’m not sure what would’ve happened.”

CSU-Pueblo was led by Mary Rehfeld who scored a game-high 22 points. Lindsay Black added 11 points and eight rebounds.

South Dakota advances to the semifinals of the North Central Region where they will play the winner of the Fort Lewis/Nebraska-Kearney game. The semifinal matchup will take place on Saturday, March 15 at 6:00 p.m. at the DakotaDome on the campus of The University of South Dakota.