VERMILLION, S.D. - With only three games left to play and a chance at claiming the two seed in the Summit League, the Mavericks hit a road block on Thursday when they began their final road trip of the season with a 41-61 loss to South Dakota.

Omaha drops to 12-15 overall and 7-9 in the Summit League. Though mathematically eliminated from being able to secure the no. 2 seed due to North Dakota owning the tiebreaker over Omaha, the Mavericks can still finish in third place if things go their way over the final two games.

Meanwhile, the Coyotes entered the day directly ahead of Omaha in the standings and have now widened the gap between them as they improve to 12-14 with an 8-7 conference record.

Leaders For Omaha   
Kennedi Grant accounted for over 50% of Omaha's total points tonight with a career-high 21 points. She shot 7-for-13 (.539) and also recorded two steals and blocked a shot. Grant also topped 250 points on the season as she ends the night with 255.

Sam Mitchell was Omaha's leading rebounder for the first time this season with five boards.

Leaders for South Dakota
Grace Larkins and Walker Detmers were each a single rebound away from earning a double-double wth 14 and 11 points each. Larkins also lead the Coyotes with six steals and four assists.

Team Stats   
The Mavericks were outshot by the Coyotes on field goals at 25.5% (12-for-47) to 45.2% (19-for-42) and 3-PT FGs at 20.0% (4-for-20) to 40.0% (8-for-20). Omaha was also out-rebounded (31 to 27) and out-stolen (15 to 5) by USD.

Inside the First Quarter   
Mitchell got things started with a steal to set up Grant for the three at 8:40. Two minutes later, Mitchell and Grant switched places, with the former draining one from deep on a pass from the latter. 

Down 6-3, the Coyotes followed up by scoring nine straight over the next six minutes. Thanks to six defensive boards, a couple of steals, and a blocked three-pointer by Grace Cave, Omaha was able to limit the damage and hold South Dakota to only 12 points.

Inside the Second Quarter   
South Dakota opened the second with 13 more points to extend their scoring run to 22 unanswered points and take a 25-6 lead with 4:30 left in the half. Grant was finally able to end the Coyotes' streak with a layup and an and-one at 4:03. 

With 2:28 on the clock, Cave took over the Mavericks offense and scored seven points over the next minute, including her first of the day from deep to cut the deficit down to 28-16. Grant would then end the half with a jumper in the paint to get Omaha within 11 at 29-18.

Inside the Third Quarter
The Mavericks completely turned the game on its head to open the second half as they carried over their momentum from the prior period to outscore USD 11-5 through the first five minutes. Grant provided the spark with a quick layup just 17 seconds into the quarter, followed by a steal and another bucket just 10 seconds later. Grant would then get four more points to give her 10 in a row for Omaha, before Aaliyah Stanley drained her first of the day and the and-one at 5:52 to make it a five-point game at 34-29.

Omaha cooled off in the second half of the quarter with a pair of Elena Pilakouta free throws accounting for their only points. Meanwhile, the Coyotes scored 10 more points to take a 44-31 lead into the final quarter.

Inside the Fourth Quarter 
Seven Coyote free throws made up all the scoring through the first four and a half minutes as they grew their lead to 20 points. A three-pointer from Katie Keitges and five combined free throws from Grant and Ana Nikulochkina would be all the scoring Omaha would get in the quarter as South Dakota ran out the clock to win it.

Next Up   
The Mavericks play their final road game of the regular season on Saturday when they head over to Brookings, S.D. to face South Dakota State at 2 p.m.