South Dakota's March Madness success elicits statewide pride

Mandy Koupal and a South Dakota teammate from nearly two decades ago didn't want to jinx it, but as the Coyotes were closing in on their upset of Baylor and first appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16, the two started planning a road trip.

Koupal and Stacy (Schooley) Hendricks will be riding in a caravan of vehicles from the Mount Rushmore State to Kansas for the Wichita Region semifinal, where the 10th-seeded Coyotes (29-5) play No. 3 seed Michigan (24-6) on Saturday.

“We have the motto at USD, ‘It’s always a great day to be a Coyote,' ” Koupal said Wednesday. “But when stuff like this happens, you have to admit you feel extra bounce in your step. You're so excited to see how far the program has come going from D-II to where it’s at today.”

Koupal has lived the South Dakota women's basketball experience. She was a two-time Division II national player of the year (2003 and ‘04) and remains the school's all-time leading scorer. She was a graduate assistant and assistant for four of the five years the Coyotes were transitioning to Division I.

She's now a schoolteacher and assistant on the girls high school team in her hometown of Wagner, South Dakota. She also has stayed on top of things going on on campus in Vermillion.

“You see how special a team they are — the passion, the positive energy from everyone,” Koupal said. “Whether it’s the five on the court — the way they play with heart and have this humble confidence about them — or the bench. It’s almost as fun to watch the bench as it is the game because they’re so into it and good vibes are flowing. How could you not be rooting for them?”

The Coyotes have nine players with at least three years' experience and South Dakota is in its fourth straight NCAA Tournament and fifth overall in its 10th year as a full Division I...