—Photo courtesy of South Dakota women’s basketball Bishop Garrigan graduate Molly Joyce led South Dakota with 16 points in their WNIT game against Illinois State.

VERMILLION, S.D. — Molly Joyce and the South Dakota women came up short of reaching the WNIT championship game here Wednesday night.

After taking an early lead, the Coyotes were unable to rally vs. Illinois State, falling from the Sanford Coyote Sports Center in the Fab 4 round, 67-60.

Joyce, a former Bishop Garrigan standout, led the way for South Dakota with 16 points, adding six rebounds with a pair of made 3-pointers. She played all but two minutes in the game.

The Coyotes held a 17-12 lead after the first, as Joyce extended it to an eight-point advantage with a 3-pointer to open the second quarter. She also scored the final points of the third on a buzzer-beater, cutting the deficit down to nine.

With just under three to play in the game, Joyce hit another triple to make it 60-55, as she also got South Dakota within five with a pair of free throws with 45 seconds to go.

Joyce was coming off a 31-point performance this past weekend to lift the Coyotes to a 65-56 victory over Montana State and into the WNIT semifinals for a second time in program history.

The junior, who played her first two seasons at Truman State where she earned conference freshman of the year honors, was named to the all-Summit League second team this past year. She was also voted the newcomer of the year in the conference.

Joyce helped South Dakota to a 26-10 record this year, including a 15-4 mark at home. She averaged over 13 points per game.

At Bishop Garrigan, Joyce was a four-time all-stater and four-time selection to the all-tournament team at state, helping the Golden Bears win two championships. She finished her high school career with over 1,900 points, 500 assists and 250 made 3-pointers.