USD WNIT Champions!!! JAMES D. CIMBUREK AND SHAUNA MARLETTE/FOR THE PLAIN TALK The University Of South Dakota Coyotes Women’s basketball team are you 2016 WNIT Champions defeating Florida Gulf Coast University 71-65 in front of a Division 1 record crowd of 7,415 at the DakotaDome. Above: The team celebrate the victory with the WNIT trophy. Top left: Jaycee Bradley sinks a free throw in front of the USD Student section. Middle Left: Nicole Seekamp, Jasmine Trimbole, Kelly Stewart and Caitlin Duffy make their way off the court late in the fourth Quarter to a huge standing ovation. Bottom Left: Tia Hemiller drives against the FGCU defence, leading to two of her team high 22 points on the day. For her efforts she was named to the all-tournament team and was joined by Seekamp who was named player of the tournament. Bottom Right: The USD women hoist the WNIT Championship trophy. Bottom Center: The USD student section rushes the court to celebrate with the team. USD Women Top Florida Gulf Coast 71-65 BY JEREMY HOECK jeremy.hoeck@yankton.net Typically in early April, the University of South Dakota women’s basketball team would be watching the ‘One Shining Moment’ montage at home, like the rest of the country at the end of the NCAA Tournament. That wasn’t the case this time. The Coyotes were watching it on their home floor, with their fans, after winning a national championship. It was a scene reminiscent of those NCAA Tournament moments: Cutting down the nets, putting on a celebratory T-shirt, hoisting a trophy. “It’s been an incredible ride, and the best month of basketball we’ve had,” senior Kelly Stewart said later. There were plenty of emotional moments to go around after USD defeated Florida Gulf Coast 71-65 in Saturday afternoon’s WNIT championship game in front of 7,415 fans at the DakotaDome. First, there were the on-court emotions displayed by senior point guard Tia Hemiller. After making a three-pointer with 1:36 to play in the fourth quarter, the Watertown native jumped up and down, and pumped her fists to the roaring tions atula ongr C from your Vermillion crowd. “I just really was in a different zone,” Hemiller said. “I’m probably one of the most competitive people ever. “I didn’t want to lose this game, and I would do whatever it takes to win this last game for our team.” Then came the post-game emotions for the Coyotes (32-6), who had capped off a historic season with a national post-season title — the first of its kind for any Summit League team. As the Coyotes stood on the court and watched the ‘One Shining Moment’ montage on the DakotaDome video board, Williams could be seen crying, with her arm around senior Nicole Seekamp. “If you’re a basketball fan, it stirs emotion anyway,” Williams said later. “But for our players to be able to experience this and go out on a win, and send the Dome out on a win, everything is just piling up.” So too did the momentum over the last month for the Coyotes. From the bitter sting of that Summit League championship loss to rival South Dakota State came the realization that the WNIT was the next goal. What followed were six wins in the tourna- ment — five at home — capped off by a title. “We’re a ‘next step’ team; move on to the next game,” senior Margaret McCloud said. “The fact that we got a next game is a great opportunity in itself. “We grabbed hold of it and made the most of it the whole way.” The seniors, especially. Saying all throughout the tournament that they didn’t want the season to end, USD’s seniors came up particularly big in the closing minutes Saturday. After Florida Gulf Coast (33-6) got within 5351 with 5:11 remaining, Stewart drilled a three. When the deficit was cut to 56-53 at the 4:19 mark, Seekamp drilled a jumper. And then, when the Coyote lead was cut to 61-55 with 1:57 left, Hemiller drilled that emotional three-pointer. That’s all the cushion USD needed. “Unfortunately late in the game, when we left a couple shooters, they made us pay,” FGCU coach Karl Smesko said, “and really, that was the difference.” Hemiller, herself, was a difference maker. She scored 22 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out six assists in her final game in a Coyote uniform. For good measure, seniors Stewart (12 points, 5 rebounds), Seekamp (7 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists) and McCloud (2 points, 3 rebounds) capped off their careers in style. Sure, it wasn’t in the NCAA Tournament, but for the Coyotes, it didn’t matter much when they were posing with the championship trophy. “Being able to win this championship in April in front of the kind of crowd we played in front of today, and with that type of support, it really makes this a little more special,” Williams said. That was a common word in USD’s post-game press conference: Special. A season that could’ve ended three weeks ago extended into April — literally the longest it could’ve gone. And the Coyotes were celebrating a championship. “To do something like this, it’s so special,” McCloud said. “Only three women’s teams get to end their senior year on a win, and we’re one of those teams. “I can’t really put it into words.” Follow @jhoeck on Twitter Coyote Women’s Basketball Proud S upporter of All USD Athletics