The South Dakota State women’s basketball team remains unbeaten in conference play and increases their winning streak to seven following home victories over the Omaha Mavericks and South Dakota Coyotes.
“We shot the ball well as a group, gained a lot of confidence down there, played very well defensively I thought and then we carried some of that momentum into the game out Saturday against South Dakota,” said head coach Aaron Johnston.
Omaha
Against Omaha, the Jackrabbits played arguably their best game of the season, five players finishing in double figures.
South Dakota State dominated every quarter, jumping out to an early 52-24 halftime lead. The Jackrabbits followed it up with another great second half to take home the 92-55 runaway victory.
As a team, the Jackrabbits shot 48% from beyond the arc, connecting on a season-high 12 three-pointers.
Guard Paige Meyer led the team in scoring with 18 points, shooting 77% from the field. Other leading scorers for the Jacks include Madison Mathiowetz with 16, Madysen Vlastuin added 12, Brooklyn Meyer recorded 11, and Jenna Hopp scored another 11 off the bench.
South Dakota
The Jacks played their in-state rivals, the South Dakota Coyotes, as part of the Interstate series inside Frost Arena.
It was the 99th meeting between the two women’s basketball teams, with the Jacks now increasing their lead in the series 64-35.
However, things did not start off so smoothly for the Jacks as the Coyotes hit five first quarter threes and went up by seven points after the first 10 minutes.
SDSU came out of the quarter break going on a 15-0 scoring run and was able to go into halftime with a 36-28 lead.
After allowing 21 points in the first quarter, the Jackrabbit defense started to lock down the USD offense, allowing 20 total points in the ensuing two quarters.
The Jacks finished the game 73-55 over USD.
Tori Nelson scored a season high 15 points, while Brooklyn Meyer added another 13 points, four rebounds, and four assists on 50% shooting.
Madysen Vlastuin, Ellie Colbeck, and Jenna Hopp had a great night shooting from three-point range, combining for eight three pointers on just twelve shots from beyond the arc.
“Ellie Colbeck off the bench made a lot of big threes for us,” said Johnston. “She is a very capable shooter so it’s fun to see her continue to grow and make some plays like that.”
The Jacks are now 5-0 to start conference play, increasing their Summit League regular season record to 54-1 over the last four seasons.
Kansas City
South Dakota State will hit the road this Thursday, where they will be taking on Kansas City. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. on the Summit League Network.
UMKC is currently 10-10 on the season, but a 1-4 start to Summit League play has them sitting in the bottom half of the conference standings.
UMKC is 8-2 this season at home, including their most recent victory against Omaha on Saturday.
The Roos offense is very spread out when it comes to scoring, as the top five players average between seven and ten points per contest. The leader in points per game on the season is guard Nariyah Simmons. The Junior averages just over 10.1 points per game, while also grabbing 3.1 rebounds and 1.75 assists per game.
The Roos complemented their offense with very solid defense, giving up just 62.7 points per game, good for second lowest in the Summit League, behind SDSU.
Oral Roberts
The Jackrabbits will return home this weekend to face off against ORU Sunday, Jan. 28 at 3 p.m. on the CBS Sports Network in a battle of top seeded Summit League opponents.
ORU has played great basketball to start conference play. The Golden Eagles most recently took down a tough North Dakota State team 84-75 to give the Bison their first conference loss this season.
ORU is currently 14-5 on the year, including a 5-1 record in the Summit. The one caveat to their record has been their struggle to play well on their opponent’s home floor, as all five losses have come on the road.
As a team, ORU averages over 80 points this season, while giving up an average of 67.7 points per. That scoring margin is good for second best in the Summit League, right behind the Jackrabbits.
The scoring output for ORU is very starter-heavy, as all five starters average over 10 points per game. Leading the way is Taleyah Jones averaging 16.84 points, three rebounds, and two assists per contest.