After a successful, undefeated conference record, the South Dakota State women’s basketball team is looking to take the Summit League for the third consecutive year.
Nine teams will go head-to-head for the chance to be champions and punch their ticket into the NCAA tournament.
No. 1 South Dakota State (26-3, 16-0 Summit League)
The Jacks didn’t have an easy road to being undefeated. With nail-biters and tough comebacks, the Jacks never let go of their momentum. As a team, the Jacks averaged 75.4 points per game and shot from 48% on field goals.
SDSU totaled 1108 rebounds this season and 491 assists. Junior Brooklyn Meyer leads the team in points with 508 on the season, averaging 17.5 points per game.
Brooklyn Meyer ranks first in the Summit League for field goals sitting at an even 64%. Senior Paige Meyer leads the Jacks in assists with 154 this season, putting her at second in the league, while contributing 11.4 points per game. Mesa Byom has tallied 92 rebounds on the season so far, averaging 6.6 per game.
Haleigh Timmer and Madison Mathiowetz are strong shooters for the Jacks as they both have a 3-point percentage of over 40% and have tallied over 100 makes from beyond the arc this season. The Jacks will have a first-round bye and will face the winner of Omaha and Denver.
No. 2 Oral Roberts (22-7, 12-4 Summit League)
The Golden Eagles are ranked second in the conference, boasting only four losses, two of which coming from South Dakota State.
The Golden Eagles average 83.8 points per game while shooting just over 47% from the field. Despite being No. 2, ORU leads the league in forced turnovers, averaging 19.1 per game.
Junior Taleyah Jones leads the Golden Eagles in points, averaging 18.8 per game, ranking third among top scorers in the Summit League this season. Redshirt junior Jalei Oglesby ranks fourth behind her teammates in scoring, averaging 17.6 points per game.
The Golden Eagles will take on USD in the quarterfinals.
No. 3 North Dakota State (19-10, 11-5 Summit League)
The Bison started the season off hot, filling the No. 2 seed but couldn’t hold on as ORU outperformed NDSU at the end of the season.
The Bison average 70 points per game while allowing their opponents 64.6. As a team, they shoot 43% from the field and 32% from beyond the arc.
Sophomore Avery Koenen leads the team with 14.1 points per game, shooting 53.4% from the field. Koenen is ranked fourth in the league for rebounding and field goal percentage. Koenen is also ranked third for blocked shots.
The Bison will take on Kansas City in the quarterfinals.
No. 4 St.Thomas (16-13, 8-8 Summit League)
Senior Jo Langbehn sits at the helm for the Tommies as she leads the team in points, field goals and rebounds. Langbehn averages 14.9 points per game and shoots 63%, ranking her second in the league. Senior Jade Hill leads the team in assists with 4.6 per game and 134 on the season. Hill sits at third in the Summit League for assists.
As a team, the Tommies shoot 44.6% from the field, averaging 71.5 points per game. St.Thomas will play North Dakota in the quarterfinals.
No. 5 North Dakota (11-18, 6-10 Summit League)
North Dakota ties with Kansas City at a 6-10 record in conference play. The Fighting Hawks shoot just under 43% on field goals while averaging 66.2 points per game and allowing their opponents to score 69.7. The Hawks have the least amount of turnovers in the league averaging at 14.7 per game.
Sophomore Kiera Pemberton has been a standout for the Hawks this season. Pemberton averages 16 points per game and shoots 52.4% on field goals. Pemberton also leads the Hawks in rebounds with 7.2 per game and is ranked fifth in the league.
Sophomore Fatima Ibrahim leads the league in blocks with 50 on the season.
No. 6 Kansas City (11-20, 6-10 Summit League)
The Roos average 65.3 points per game shooting at a field goal of just over 40%. Kansas City’s offense is ranked 8th in the league, second-to-last, while their defense isn’t much better.
Kansas City will play NDSU, who won their first meeting in the season but lost the second.
No. 7 South Dakota (11-19, 5-11 Summit League)
Despite having a tough season, senior Grace Larkins could make an impact and lead the Yotes far into the tournament. Larkins leads the league in scoring, rebounds and assists. Larkins averages 24 points per game, 9.4 rebounds and 5.6 assists. The senior has totaled 719 points, 281 rebounds and 167 assists just this season alone.
As a team, the Yotes are ranked sixth with their offense averaging 66.4 points per game and shooting at 40.7% on field goals. Defensively, the Yotes are seventh in the league, giving up an average of 72.3 points per game.
USD will play ORU in the quarterfinals.
No. 8 Omaha (13-16, 5-11 Summit League)
Omaha tied with USD, however, the Mavericks are ranked fifth in the league for offense and last in defense. The Mavs average 67.4 points per game and shoot 41.6% from the field. Freshman Harriet Ford leads the Mavs in rebounds, averaging 7.9 per game and ranks third in the league.
Omaha will play Denver to see who will face the undefeated Jacks in the quarterfinals.
No. 9 Denver (9-20, 2-14 Summit League)
Having only two wins in conference play, Denver will have to dig deep if they want to move forward in the tournament. The Pioneers shoot the worst in the league at 38.7% on field goals and second-to-last from beyond the arc at 29.1%.
Despite also being ranked last for offense, the Pioneers are the best at free throws with 406 on the season (78.2%). Junior Jordan Jones leads the Pioneers in scoring with an average of 19.8 and a total of 575 on the season, ranking her second in the league.
Denver will take on the Mavs to try to cause an upset and take on the Jacks in the quarterfinals.
