CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — In the first-ever meeting between South Dakota State and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s basketball programs, it was the Jackrabbits who came away with a 71-54 win.

Turnovers could have caused the Jackrabbits problems — they committed 20 in the game, but a solid defense effort helped them improve their record to 5-3.

SDSU held the Mocs to 33.3 percent shooting on their home floor and forced 16 turnovers. The Jacks never trailed in the game.

For the second consecutive contest, the Jacks reached double figures in scoring before allowing their opponent to get on the scoreboard.

A 10-0 run to open play set the tone for the evening and gave SDSU a cushion it would never lose.

Late in the first half, the Mocs made a dent in the SDSU that had grown to as many as 16 points, but a 3-pointer from sophomore Myah Selland gave the Jacks a 39-26 lead at the halfway mark.

Out of halftime, the Mocs made yet another run.

At one point, the Mocs cut the lead to six point midway through the third quarter, but a spurt by the Jacks pushed the lead back to 15 points by the end of the period.

The fourth quarter never presented Chattanooga with an opportunity to claw back as the Jackrabbits closed out the game.

Senior guard Macy Miller led SDSU with 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, including 4-of-4 from 3-point range. With her performance, she moved into second place in career scoring at SDSU.

For the second game in a row, freshman forward Paiton Burckhard reached double figures, tallying 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

UTC was paced by junior guard Lakelyn Bouldin. She finished the game with 18 points in 36 minutes of action.

SDSU returns to Brookings to host No. 21 Drake University at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8 in Frost Arena.