A tightly contested quarterfinal between South Dakota State and Omaha ended with a Jackrabbit victory at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls today.
The lead for South Dakota State reached a high of nine in the first quarter before Omaha cut their deficit to five. A 17-point second-quarter effort put the Mavericks in front by three at halftime.
The Jacks reclaimed the lead just over four minutes into the third quarter and never let it slip away again. The Mavericks brought the lead to just one point in the fourth quarter but could not get any closer after the Jacks put up a 9-0 run, as South Dakota State stood victorious by a score of 66-53.
“I think we really just locked into our plan,” Tori Nelson said. “[We] forced [Omaha] into some tough shots, I think we did a good job of just staying straight up and forcing them to shoot over us.”
Omaha went 31% on shots in the second half.
Paige Meyer led the Jacks in scoring, putting up a career postseason-high 24 points, mostly from five three-pointers. Madison Mathiowetz also eclipsed double digits, her best in the postseason.
Brooklyn Meyer, who fouled out late in the fourth quarter, scored seven. The Jacks shot at 42% while going 36% for three. The 66 total points scored is the second-lowest in Summit League play this season for the Jacks.
“A good win for us,” head coach Aaron Johnston said. “There were times we could look back and feel like there’s some things we want to do a little bit better.”
The Jacks went 36% on the floor in the first half but improved to 50% in the second half. However, they turned the ball over 20 times. Maverick graduate guard Aaliyah Stanley led her team in scoring with 14. Junior guard Grace Cave was not far behind at 12.
The Mavericks shot at 34% while going 5-of-15 for three. Junior guard Grace Cave received four fouls while two other players ended with three fouls each.
The Jacks advance to the semifinal round, where they will play the winner of fourth-seed South Dakota against fifth-seed St. Thomas. Tip-off is scheduled for Monday at 12:30 p.m. and will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
