Ariy-El Boynton

For a while, it seemed that the Jackrabbit women’s basketball team was headed for a loss. Shots were not falling in the basket, and Oral Roberts was taking away the momentum mostly reserved for the Jacks. A Mariana Camagro jumper made the score 49-45 with just under 13 minutes on the clock.

Just then, an alarm went off, and the Jacks realized they were the best team in the Summit League. They ended the game on a 39-22 run to beat ORU, 88-67, on March 3 at Frost Arena.

With the win, the Jacks won their 12th game in a row and 22nd consecutive win at home, dating back to last year. The home winning streak is currently the second longest streak in the nation, including every team in the Summit at Frost. The 16 wins posted in the Summit League is the most in conference history (including the mid-continent). Western Illinois was the closest team to SDSU in the Summit League, and the four game lead was the third largest separation of first to second place.

“We’re playing as good as I think we can possibly play. Now, I don’t necessarily feel like tomorrow that means there’s going to be a big letdown, but it think this team every single day continues to get better in certain areas,” said Head Coach Aaron Johnston.

ORU Head Coach Jerry Finkbeiner had a goal of not letting SDSU score 61 points, as wins have been limited when the lady Jacks have scored less than 62 points. Needless to say the Golden Eagles failed.

Six players combined for 67 points as six SDSU players were in double figures. Andrea Verdegan scored 11 points and grabbed four rebounds and assists to make her senior night successful. Sophomore Ketty Cornemann led all Jackrabbits with 14 points; forward Jenn Warkenthien was two rebounds short of a double-double as she scored 11 points in 24 minutes of action.

“I think depth is being able to bring people in off the bench and really getting a lot done” Johnston said. “You don’t have to hope that somebody on the bench can give it to you; it’s just a matter of time until you find the right one at the right time.”

Not only was senior Courtney Grimsurd and the rest of the Jackrabbits on the top of their game, but the fans were in post-season form.

“There were a few question calls against us, and 3-pointers added the momentum of 4,000 fans jumping on us,” said Finkbeiner, whose team locked up the fourth seed at the league tournament on March 8-11, “and it was off to the races.”

While ORU may have felt like 4,000 fans were cheering the Jacks on, there were only 2,154 fans that packed Frost Arena. At times the crowd got on the home team, for missing shots and allowing the opponent to go on a 11-point run late in the second half, but the coaching staff did not look at it negatively.

“It’s always good to be tested,” said Johnston. “Big picture that could be good, but when each game has it’s own identity, we could play another game down by 15 and come back and we could play another game and get rolling.”

Preseason Summit League Player of the Year Jenny Hardin scored a game-high 19 points.

ORU will play IPFW on March 9 in the Summit League Championships in Tulsa, Okla.

SDSU will wait for the Women’s National Invitational Tournament pairings to be announced on March 17.