After a challenging three-game stretch to kick off the 2018-19 season, another tough test looms for the South Dakota State women’s basketball team.
The Jackrabbits are out to a 2-1 start after contests against a nationally ranked program and two top 10 mid-major teams. They will be back in action 7 p.m. Thursday when the Creighton Bluejays visit Frost Arena.
“I think we’ve played really well,” SDSU head coach Aaron Johnston said. “You can find some times where we didn’t play well, but that’s true of most seasons — especially against this level of competition … I like where we’re at, but we’ll have to keep playing well because we don’t have many easy ones on the schedule.”
SDSU will be the third foe from the Summit League the Bluejays have faced in as many games to open their season.
Creighton fell at home to the University of South Dakota in the season-opener but bounced back with a 35 point drubbing of North Dakota State.
The Jacks will have to hold Creighton senior forward Aubrey Faber in check if they hope to earn a win in front of the home crowd Thursday night. She is averaging 22 points a game through two games and has led the Bluejays in scoring each of the past three seasons.
“She’s a handful,” Johnston said. “I think if we tried hard to take everything away from her that would create a lot of shots for other people too. You really have to play solid team defense because they have a lot of people who can score.”
The 6-foot-2-inch Faber not only has the size to score inside but started the season 8-for-11 on three-point field goals.
Junior forward Jaylyn Agnew is the only other Bluejay starter averaging more than 10 points through two games
Agnew dropped 21 points on SDSU in the Bluejays’ 72-65 victory last season in Omaha, Nebraska.
Johnston hopes his team makes the most of the opportunity to improve the record to 3-1 before the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout in Las Vegas Nov. 23-24.
“We always play so well in Frost Arena and our road games and the competition are going to be tough,” he said. “So when we get a chance to play anyone at home, we have to try and take full advantage of it. There’s not a whole lot of easy home wins either. We’re going to have to play awfully well.”
Week One Recap
Marquette (No. 19 in AP Top 25)
The Jackrabbits started off their season Tuesday, Nov. 6 on the road against No. 19 Marquette and fell victim to a barrage of three-pointers from the Golden Eagles.
The sharp shooting from the opposition coupled with 24 Jackrabbit turnovers led to a lopsided 91-52 final score in favor of Marquette.
Florida Gulf Coast (No. 8 in CollegeInsider mid-major poll)
SDSU then played host to a Florida Gulf Coast squad, that defeated the Jacks last season, on Friday.
After facing an early 12 point deficit, SDSU used superior defense and ball movement over the final three quarters to put down the Eagles 80-62.
Senior guard Macy Miller moved into third place on the all-time scoring list with a 25 point performance against FGCU.
Central Michigan (No. 3 in CollegeInsider mid-major poll)
The Jackrabbits capped off the first week of the season with a third tough test, this time against Central Michigan.
The game was hotly contested throughout and SDSU held only a two-point lead with under 90 seconds to play, but the Jacks secured an 80-71 victory by going 7-for-7 from the free throw line in the last minute.
