The South Dakota State women’s basketball team is all set to begin their 2023-24 season while facing a new challenge.
The Jacks are looking to fill the shoes of two dominant players- Myah Selland and Paiton Burkhard- who finished their careers last season. While battling to remain on top, the Jackrabbits are still forecasted to finish triumphant after receiving 27 of 36 first-place votes in the preseason poll conducted by the league’s coaches.
If two high-performing player losses weren’t enough, SDSU will also be deprived of guard, Haleigh Timmer and forward Kallie Theisen, after both suffered season-ending injuries during the preseason. Each girl played significant roles on last year’s 29-6 winning team.
Timmer ranked second on the team with 12.1 points per game and Theisen secured her crown with most rebounds and blocks for the Jacks last season.
However, those setbacks haven’t stopped the Jackrabbits or shrink their chances at success. It all boils down to an extremely superior team that owns nine regular season titles and 10 tournament championships, while being led by head coach Aaron Johnston, who sits with a 571-185 record entering his 24th season.
“He’s very consistent,” forward Tori Nelson said on what makes Johnston a great coach.
“He’s been here a long time; he has a good game plan, and you always know what you’re going to get from him.”
South Dakota State went 18-0 during the 2022-23 season, the first time a Summit League women’s team went undefeated in the regular season since 1993-94.
Some returning key players for SDSU include Nelson, second team All-Summit League and Paige Meyer, first team All-Summit League. Nelson is entering her fifth and final year with the Jacks, starting every game over the past two seasons and accumulating the most minutes played of any Jackrabbit in that span.
She averaged 7.9 points and snatched 3.4 rebounds per game in 2022-23. Meyer averaged 10.5 points, 3.2 assists and 1.3 steals in 2022-23, shooting 54.5% on the floor and 48.8% from beyond the arc, which are both team bests. In addition, she ranked second in the Summit League for her 2.0 assist/turnover ratio.
Looking to the bench, there is a lack of experience considering injuries took a toll in that area. The contributions that these players will bring to the floor is still unknown. However, the Jackrabbits are frequent contenders and have made 11 appearances at the NCAA Tournament proving that they can rely on previous success to assemble a competitive team throughout the course of the season.
“It’s really tough losing [Kallie and Timmer], they’re both great players for us and we’re going to miss them on the court,” Nelson said. “Obviously there’s going to be some bumps in the road, but we’ve got a lot of great players ready to step up and fill those roles. So, I’m excited to kind of help them with that and see how they do.”
The Jacks will jumpstart their season Wednesday as they face off against Minnesota-Duluth at 6 p.m. in an exhibition match that features a double header with men’s basketball.
Their first regular season game will start at 6 p.m. Nov. 6 against Arkansas State at Frost Arena.
