The Jackrabbits continue their Summit League dominance, taking out No. 5 North Dakota 84-55 on their way to the Summit League semifinals.
SDSU has remained undefeated in the conference season for three years and will have the opportunity to win its third Summit League Championship in a row tomorrow.
The Jacks set the tempo early after a Brooklyn Meyer layup gave SDSU its first points of the game. Paige Meyer shortly followed it up with a steal which turned into a made basket by Madison Mathiowetz.
SDSU was able to shut down North Dakota’s offensive effort, holding them 5-18 from the field as they closed the quarter 22-11.
South Dakota’s defense stayed hot in the second quarter as they held North Dakota to ten points, 2-12 shooting. The Fighting Hawks kept the Jacks offense in control and forced 15 misses on 20 shots. Paige Meyer scored an SDSU quarter-high four points as the Jacks went into the half up 34-21.
“I thought we were really sharp and made it hard for them to get the kinda looks that make them a good team, so I thought defensively we were really locked in,” said head coach Aaron Johnston
The floodgates opened up the third, with SDSU putting up 26 points in the quarter. Brooklyn Meyer, Paige Meyer and Mesa Byom combined for 19 points while UNDs Kiera Pemberton had a huge 12-point quarter, shooting 2-3 from beyond the arc.
SDSU entered the fourth quarter up 60-40 after shooting 50% from the three and the field.
The Jackrabbits had their best offensive quarter of the game as they scored 26 points while shutting down UNDs offense to put the game away. Seven Jackrabbits scored in the quarter with Brooklyn Meyer leading the team with six in the fourth. Brooklyn Meyer ended the game with 22 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
While both teams had similar three-point shooting numbers, with SDSU shooting 9-26 and UND going 8-27, it was field goals that made the difference. The Jacks shot 44.4% from the field compared to UND’s 29.3% while outshooting UND 72-52. Paint scoring was also an impactful factor, SDSU tallied 42 points from inside while UND was only able to score 12. SDSU’s offensive rebounding effort created 18 extra possessions, which the Jacks were able to score 22 points from.
“I think we are playing at a really high level right now,” said senior forward Mesa Byom. “That’s really important because every team is going to give it our all.”
South Dakota will face off against the winner of Kansas City and Oral Roberts tomorrow at 3 p.m. at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center. The game will be broadcasted on the CBS Sports Network.
