Travis Kriens

After setting a record they would like to forget against Oral Roberts Jan. 30, the Jackrabbits set one to remember Feb. 1.

SDSU (12-9, 8-3) shot 64.7 percent from field-goal range, surpassing a nearly 10-year record of 64.4 percent accomplished in 1990 against Concordia, beating the Centenary Ladies (0-11, 1-21) in Shreveport, La., 92-50.

The win, highlighted by a new team record, was punctuated by a near-perfect offensive performance from Ketty Cornemann. The senior shot 9-of-11 from the field including 6-of-6 from 3-point range scoring a career-high 25 points.

“When she plays well, we’re a much better team, we just are,” said head coach Aaron Johnston in a post-game interview on Brookings’ The Ranch 910 AM. “She shoots the 3 very well, her teammates find her when she’s open ? I think she felt pretty bad about her last performance (at Oral Roberts).”

The Jacks took a 9-0 lead within the first minutes of the game and did not allow Centenary within double digits the rest of the way, a tone they determined to enforce from tip-off. SDSU also began the second half quickly, making their first eight shot attempts and growing their lead to 30 with just over 10 minutes in the second half.

“We talked about it before the game and at halftime, we weren’t going to win the game the first five minutes either half,” said Johnston in the radio interview. “We just thought we needed to have the right emotion and the right focus.”

Shooting 65 percent helps that mentality. Jennie Sunnarborg shot 3-of-5 and made all five free-throw attempts, scoring 11 points. Maria Boever was 7-of-10 from the field, totaling 14 points, and Ashley Eide was 5-for-5 off the bench, scoring 14 points. Freshman Steph Paluch benefited from the torrid shooting, finishing with seven assists in only 18 minutes.

“As a team, everybody shot well,” said Johnston. “It was really fun to see Ketty play with that kind of confidence, (and) Ashley Eide play with a lot of confidence off the bench.”

Quality shooting 1 through 13 in the lineup can help heal wounds. The ones inflicted after such a loss against Oral Roberts in Tulsa can cause permanent damage, but the Jacks showed determination and resilience to not let the Jan. 30 game affect them – doing so in record-setting fashion.

“I’m proud of this night. It’s certainly one we should enjoy, and hopefully it’s a sign of better things to come,” said Johnston on the radio show.

The Jacks will begin a stretch of four consecutive home games, including three conference matchups before a matchup between NCAA Division I-transitioning and in-state rival South Dakota.

With the win against Centenary, SDSU moves to a tie for third place in the Summit League. On Feb. 6, the Jacks face UMKC at 5 p.m., a team that beat them by three on Jan. 11 in Kansas City.

“This is our window to really kind of push forward, not only for our seniors, but our program and really get a sense of what we want to be like here as we come down the stretch,” said Johnston.