Women dominate SUU T-Birds 76-35

Kara Gutormson

Kara Gutormson

According to SDSU’s freshman Kristin Rotert, the game plan for the women’s basketball team against Southern Utah on Jan. 19 was to “play hard, have confidence on offense and make the play when the opportunity’s there.”

The Jacks did that and much more as the more experienced Jackrabbits beat the Thunderbirds 76-35 in Summit League play.

Junior Maria Boever used back-to-back lay-ups in early first half action, ending the first half with eight points to place the Jacks up 48 to 19. The Jacks’ tough defense put the Thunderbirds offense in distress for the majority of the first half as SUU committed 16 turnovers in the first half. SDSU ended the first half 19-of-32 from the field for 59 percent. SUU had made only 8-of-18 at the half, for 44 percent.

While Southern Utah (3-14 overall record, 1-5) made adjustments to their defense, SDSU continued to dominate throughout the second half. By the end of the first three minutes of the second half, the Lady Jackrabbits expanded their lead to 31 points (52-31).

When the game ended, the 41-point margin of victory was the largest by an SDSU squad since a 103-51 victory over IPFW on Feb. 10, 2007. SDSU finished the game 31-of-65 from the field, 47.7 percent, including 8-of-24 from three-point range. The Jacks made 6 of 12 free throws.

Southern Utah ended the game with 14-of-37 from the field, 37.8 percent, including 2-of-6 on three-pointers. The Thunderbirds made 5 of 9 free throw attempts. SUU had a season high of 32 turnovers.

Rotert led the Jacks (12-6 overall, 5-2 Summit League) in scoring with 15 points. She also set the SDSU record for three pointers in one season by a freshman with 44. The previous school record for three-pointers in a season was 41 by Sherri Brende during the 1997-98 season.

“I honestly had no idea I was breaking a record,” Rotert said. “The season has been awesome, and it is such a great opportunity to play for SDSU.”

Boever was second leading scorer for SDSU with 14 points. Ketty Cornemann and Stacie Oistad contributed 12 points each. Jenn Schuttloffel led the Jacks in rebounding with six, while Southern Utah’s Challis Pascucci snagged eight. Leading scorers for the Thunderbirds were Anne Westwood and Aubrey Mackintosh, each with 8 points.

Overall, 13 of SDSU’s players saw court action, as 10 players logged 10-plus minutes of playing time.

The Jacks continue to pile up the wins at home. SDSU joins Hartford and Wyoming with the fifth-longest active home-court winning streak in NCAA Division I basketball. SUU dropped to 3-14 overall record, and are only 1-5 in Summit league play.

Up next for the Jackrabbits is North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND. at 7 p.m. on Jan.25.