South Dakota shocks Baylor in the second round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, ending the Sweet 16 streak

Hours after Creighton stunned Iowa on Sunday afternoon, South Dakota decided to join the fun.

The Coyotes defeated Baylor 61-47 at home for their second 10-seed-from-two-seed-a-day. The Bears hit the Sweet 16 12 consecutive times prior to this loss, achieving the fourth longest streak in NCAA championship history.

After a surge at the end of the regular season and in the Big 12, where her team fell in the championship game to Texas, Nikki Cullen wrapped up her first season at the helm of the championship in Waco with a record of 28-7.

baylor star Nalissa Smitha pick expected to finish second in the WNBA draft next month, picked up 10 points from 4-11 in Sunday’s loss.

The Bears’ early exit marked the first time since 2016 that two or more top- and second-placed players had lost in the first two rounds of the tournament. That year, Maryland and Arizona, both seeders, lost in the second round. It’s also the first time since 2018 that I’ve made a double-digit Sweet 16 seed (central Michigan and Buffalo did it that year).

With the win, South Dakota State advanced to the first Sweet 16 in the school’s history. It’s only the second time a program from the Summit League has made it to the second weekend of the tournament, as South Dakota State previously made the Sweet 16 in 2019.

South Dakota, who upset 7th seed Ole Miss in the first round to seal a match with the Bears, topped all but the first 32 seconds of the game.