# 2015–16 South Dakota Coyotes women's basketball team

The 2015–16 South Dakota Coyotes women's basketball team represented University of South Dakota in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Coyotes, led by fourth-year head by Amy Williams, played their home games at the DakotaDome and were members of Summit League. They finished the season 32–6, 15–1 in Summit League play to win the Summit League regular season title. They advanced to the championship of the Summit League women's tournament where they lost to their in-state rival South Dakota State. They received an automatic trip to the Women's National Invitation Tournament, where they advanced to the championship game, defeating Florida Gulf Coast.
On April 11, 2016, Amy Williams resigned her position at South Dakota to accept the head coaching position at Nebraska. She finished at South Dakota with a 4-year record of 96–44.
This was the final season for South Dakota women's basketball at the DakotaDome. The Coyotes women's basketball, men's basketball, and women's volleyball teams now play in the Sanford Coyote Sports Center, which opened in August 2016.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/13/2015* 6:30 pm | at Utah | L 59–66 | 0–1 | Jon M. Huntsman Center (844) Salt Lake City, UT |
| 11/17/2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Northern Iowa | L 43–64 | 0–2 | McLeod Center (1,207) Cedar Falls, IA |
| 11/19/2015* 7:00 pm, FCS Central | at Kansas State | L 81–84 $^{OT}$ | 0–3 | Bramlage Coliseum (3,874) Manhattan, KS |
| 11/23/2015* 7:00 pm | Marquette | W 97–69 | 1–3 | DakotaDome (1,537) Vermillion, SD |
| 11/27/2015* 1:30 pm | vs. Appalachian State FAU Thanksgiving Tournament semifinals | W 87–60 | 2–3 | FAU Arena Boca Raton, FL |
| 11/28/2015* 1:30 pm | at Florida Atlantic FAU Thanksgiving Tournament championship | W 76–53 | 3–3 | FAU Arena (441) Boca Raton, FL |
| 12/03/2015* 7:00 pm | Drake | W 92–87 $^{OT}$ | 4–3 | DakotaDome (1,484) Vermillion, SD |
| 12/05/2015* 2:00 pm | Portland State | W 103–61 | 5–3 | DakotaDome (1,384) Vermillion, SD |
| 12/08/2015* 9:00 pm | at San Jose State | W 87–77 | 6–3 | Event Center Arena (217) San Jose, CA |
| 12/12/2015* 8:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN3 | Washington | L 64–77 | 6–4 | DakotaDome (2,235) Vermillion, SD |
| 12/17/2015* 7:00 pm | Dakota Wesleyan | W 94–54 | 7–4 | DakotaDome (1,218) Vermillion, SD |
| 12/19/2015* 2:00 pm, FSNOR | at North Dakota | W 73–70 | 8–4 | Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,532) Grand Forks, ND |
| 12/22/2015* 7:00 pm | at Illinois | W 85–76 | 9–4 | State Farm Center (1,573) Champaign, IL |
| The Summit League regular season ||||||
| 01/01/2016 12:00 pm | Denver | W 85–60 | 10–4 (1–0) | DakotaDome (1,620) Vermillion, SD |
| 01/06/2016 7:00 pm | at Oral Roberts | L 56–60 | 10–5 (1–1) | Mabee Center (736) Tulsa, OK |
| 01/09/2016 1:30 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN3 | Omaha | W 82–76 | 11–5 (2–1) | DakotaDome (1,523) Vermillion, SD |
| 01/14/2016 7:00 pm | at North Dakota State | W 96–94 $^{2OT}$ | 12–5 (3–1) | Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse (386) Fargo, ND |
| 01/17/2016 2:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN3 | at South Dakota State | W 63–58 | 13–5 (4–1) | Frost Arena (4,082) Brookings, SD |
| 01/21/2016 7:00 pm | IPFW | W 92–60 | 14–5 (5–1) | DakotaDome (1,453) Vermillion, SD |
| 01/23/2016 1:30 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN3 | IUPUI | W 65–59 | 15–5 (6–1) | DakotaDome (1,523) Vermillion, SD |
| 01/27/2016 7:00 pm, WIUTV/ESPN3 | at Western Illinois | W 102–77 | 16–5 (7–1) | Western Hall (644) Macomb, IL |
| 01/30/2016 4:30 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN3 | North Dakota State | W 80–54 | 17–5 (8–1) | DakotaDome (1,645) Vermillion, SD |
| 02/05/2016 8:00 pm | at Denver | W 79–33 | 18–5 (9–1) | Magness Arena (420) Denver, CO |
| 02/07/2016 2:00 pm | at Omaha | W 70–55 | 19–5 (10–1) | Baxter Arena (526) Omaha, NE |
| 02/13/2016 2:00 pm | Oral Roberts | W 71–48 | 20–5 (11–1) | DakotaDome (1,371) Vermillion, SD |
| 02/18/2016 7:00 pm | Western Illinois | W 86–50 | 21–5 (12–1) | DakotaDome (1,749) Vermillion, SD |
| 02/20/2016 2:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN3 | South Dakota State | W 80–75 | 22–5 (13–1) | DakotaDome (3,612) Vermillion, SD |
| 02/25/2016 6:00 pm | at IPFW | W 90–63 | 23–5 (14–1) | Hilliard Gates Sports Center (546) Fort Wayne, IN |
| 02/27/2016 6:00 pm | at IUPUI | W 74–63 | 24–5 (15–1) | The Jungle (525) Indianapolis, IN |
| The Summit League Women's Tournament ||||||
| 03/05/2016 12:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN3 | vs. Denver Quarterfinals | W 73–54 | 25–5 | Denny Sanford Premier Center Sioux Falls, SD |
| 03/07/2016 12:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN3 | vs. Oral Roberts Semifinals | W 78–61 | 26–5 | Denny Sanford Premier Center Sioux Falls, SD |
| 03/08/2016 1:00 pm, ESPNU | vs. South Dakota State Championship Game | L 55–61 | 26–6 | Denny Sanford Premier Center (8,647) Sioux Falls, SD |
| WNIT ||||||
| 03/16/2016* 7:00 pm | Creighton First Round | W 74–68 | 27–6 | DakotaDome (1,960) Vermillion, SD |
| 03/20/2016* 2:00 pm | at Minnesota Second Round | W 101–89 | 28–6 | Williams Arena (3,224) Minneapolis, MN |
| 03/24/2016* 7:00 pm | Northern Iowa Third Round | W 51–50 | 29–6 | DakotaDome (2,433) Vermillion, SD |
| 03/27/2016* 6:00 pm | WKU Quarterfinals | W 68–54 | 30–6 | DakotaDome (2,749) Vermillion, SD |
| 03/30/2016* 7:00 pm | Oregon Semifinals | W 88–54 | 31–6 | DakotaDome (5,080) Vermillion, SD |
| 04/02/2016* 2:00 pm, CBSSN | Florida Gulf Coast Championship Game | W 71–65 | 32–6 | DakotaDome (7,415) Vermillion, SD |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking Movement Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. :
| Poll | Pre | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Wk 19 | Final |
| AP | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | N/A |
| Coaches | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | RV |