South Dakota State completes their road trip of the 2023-24 season with two wins over Denver and St. Thomas. They look ahead to their last two games of the regular season at home, in what will be the final events inside Frost Arena.
Denver
The Denver Pioneers were able to bring the game close in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to as little as four points.
In the end, the Jackrabbits pulled away to secure the win by nine, marking their second single-digit victory in Summit League play this season.
Foul trouble struck both teams as three players fouled out. Tori Nelson for the Jacks, and for Denver, sophomore guard Jordan Jones, and graduate forward Makayla Minett all fouled out in the waning minutes of the game. Three other players accumulated four fouls each.
The highest scorer for the Jacks was Paige Meyer, putting up 17. Mesa Byom, Madison Mathiowetz and Brooklyn Meyer scored 16 each, making up the majority of the team’s scoring in the 73-64 victory. The Jacks shot 59% during the game and were 50% on three-pointers.
“[We] just didn’t make free throws the way we probably needed to to create a little separation,” head coach Aaron Johnston said. The Jacks were 55.6% on free throws, their fourth lowest free throw percentage this season.
The Pioneers had three players put up double-digits; Jones with 21, sophomore guard Emma Smith with 14 and senior guard Emily Consuel with 11. Denver shot 37% while converting 30% of their three-pointers.
The loss for Denver drops them to 4-10 in the Summit League.
St. Thomas
The Jackrabbits were able to clinch a share of the Summit League regular season title after sweeping St. Thomas with a strong scoring effort by three players.
A six-for-six start on shots by the Jacks set the tone for the game, easily beating the Tommies in a 97-63 victory, marking their eighth road victory by double digits.
Four Jacks eclipsed double digits, with three of them surpassing 20 points; Brooklyn Meyer with 26, Paige Meyer with 23 and Madison Mathiowetz with 20. Ellie Colbeck rounded out the double-digit scorers with 11. SDSU was a season-best 68% on shots while going 64% on three-pointers.
“That was a really complete game for us,” Johnston said.
Paige Meyer earned herself a third weekly accolade from the Summit League on Monday, averaging 20 points in the last two contests.
Three Tommies hit double digits; junior forward Sammy Opichka with a season-high 15 points, while junior guard Jade Hill and junior center Jo Langbehn scored 10 each. St. Thomas was 46% on shots, while converting just 26% of their three-pointers.
The loss for the Tommies drops them to a 6-8 conference record.
North Dakota
The Fighting Hawks of North Dakota will visit Brookings for the penultimate women’s basketball game in Frost Arena. UND is sixth in the Summit at 5-9 and are coming off a 107-80 loss to North Dakota State on Saturday.
Despite the defeat, fifth-year guard Kacie Borowicz scored a career-high 40 points, putting her atop the team in scoring as she averages over 20 points a game.
As a team, UND is sixth on offense in the Summit, averaging 68 points a game. They rank seventh in the conference on defense, giving up 75.5 points a game. UND shoots 40% while converting 28.3% of their three-pointers.
Tip-off is scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. The game can be watched on Midco Sports Two or on the Summit League Network through Midco Sports Plus.

North Dakota State
The final event in Frost Arena will see the Bison of North Dakota State make a visit in the regular season finale for both teams. NDSU is second in the Summit at 12-2, just two games behind SDSU. They have never been regular season champions in the conference. The Bison will host South Dakota on Thursday before making the trip to Brookings.
In the victory over North Dakota, sophomore guard Elle Evans led the Bison in scoring for the third straight game with 21. She has been averaging a team-high 15.8 points a game and has led the team in scoring in just over half of their games this season. Five other Bison reached double digits in the game.
As a team, NDSU is second-best in the Summit on offense, putting up 77.4 points a game, with their defense ranked fourth in the conference, allowing 68.9 points a game. NDSU shoots 45.1% while converting 38.2% of their three-pointers.
“I think our team is excited to hopefully play well this weekend,” Johnston said. “It’s Senior Week for us so we’ll honor Tori Nelson and what she’s meant to our program over the years as well.” Nelson is just six points away from being a top 20 all time scorer at SDSU.
Tip-off is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. The game can be watched on the Summit League Network through Midco Sports Plus.