After a successful undefeated conference season, the reigning Summit League Champions for the last three years is once again, going dancing.
The Jackrabbits were seeded tenth for the 2024-25 NCAA tournament and will take on the No. 7 Oklahoma State Cowgirls.
“I think this team is as good as seed as we’ve had,” said head coach Aaron Johnston. “They’re certainly playing at that level and have certainly proved that throughout the year.”
South Dakota State
This will be SDSU’s 13th appearance in the tournament in 17 seasons. The Jacks have had a tough non-conference schedule, only taking 3 losses, one being Texas, a No.1 team in the NCAA tournament and fifth in the nation.
After beating teams such Rice, Creighton, Wisconsin and Oregon, the No. 24 team in the nation has shown that they can compete.
As a team, the Jacks average 76.3 points a game, 48.3% from the field and 37% beyond the arc and 71.6% from the charity stripe.
The Jacks average 38.9 boards per game and 17 assists.
Brooklyn Meyer leads the team in points, averaging 17.4 a game, tallying 556 on the season. Brooklyn Meyer hit her career-high this season with a 34-point game. Haleigh Timmer and Paige Meyer contribute to points as well. Timmer averages 13.1 a game with a career-high of 26 and a total of 420 on the season.
Paige Meyer averages 12 a game with a career-high of 27 and a total of 385 points this season.
Madison Mathiowetz has also been a key contributor for the Jackrabbits this season. The Minnesota Native averages 8.7 points a game and shoots 44.5% on field goals and 37.5% from beyond the arc. In the championship game against Oral Roberts, she had 20 points and shot 50% from the field.
Paige Meyer has 170 assists on the season which is the most for the Jacks and averages 5.3 a game. Mesa Byom has brought in 218 rebounds this season (6.8 per game).
Brooklyn Meyer isn’t far behind with 5.8 a game and 186 on the season. Byom also averaged one block a game, having 32 on the season.
“We have a lot of pieces it takes to be a really good team; we have great guard play and post play,” said Johnston. “We can defend size, we can defend athleticism. We have a lot of different things we can do.”
Oklahoma State
The OSU women’s basketball team is 25-6 overall and 14-4 in the Big 12 conference. OSU has beaten teams such as TCU, Kansas, Baylor and Utah.
As a team, the Cowgirls average 76.7 points per game and shoot 45% on field goals and 33.8% from beyond the arc. The Cowgirls grab 40.9 boards per game and 8.2 steals per game.
Leading the team in points is sophomore guard Stailee Heard. Heard averages 16.7 points per game while shooting 47.8% from the field and boasts the highest 3-point percentage on the team with 40.9%. So far this season Heard has had 57 steals and 9 blocks.
Heard has brought in with 252 so far this season. Helping with rebounds are 5th-years Ténin Magassa and Alexia Smith. Magassa 5.8 per game with a total of 179. Magassa also averages 8.7 points per game and leads the team with 72 blocks on the season.
Alexia Smith averages 4.8 rebounds per game and 148 on the season.
Junior guard Micah Gray is second in scoring on the team averaging 13.8 points per game. Gray shoots 73.9% from the charity stripe and has a total of 428 points on the season.
Gray has 75 rebounds and 43 assists on the season. The Jacks and the Cowgirls will go head to head Saturday in Storrs, Connecticut with a tip-off time of 2:30 p.m.
