Four seniors honored in final home game as Rabbits

The South Dakota State women’s basketball team finished off their regular season Saturday with 82-53 rout of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis on Senior Day.

The Jacks got off to a hot start as they went on a 15-0 run to start the game and led 25-6 with just under nine minutes remaining in the first half. They took a 42-21 lead into halftime and never looked back as they cruised to victory.

“Offensively I thought we did a little bit better than the other night,” Head Coach Aaron Johnson said after the game. “Our defense has got to be a priority and it’s fun to see our team buy into that.”

“We’ve been working a lot on it and practice, it’s probably 80 percent of our practice and we just realize that a team that plays the best defense will make the tournament,” senior Mariah Clarin said.

SDSU honored a total of four senior including Clarin, Rachel Walters, Megan Waytashek and Megan Stuart, who sat out most of the season due to injury.

Waytashek led the seniors and all the Jacks in scoring as she had 21 points. This moved her to 17th all-time in scoring for the Jacks. Clarin and Walters each had 13 and 3 points of their own, respectively. 

“It was great to be in front of the fans one last time, it was a great game to end on and we’re excited for what’s next,” Walters said.  

All five of the Jackrabbit starters scored in double-figures. Sophomore Kerri Young and freshman Macy Miller each had 10 points.

The Jacks finished the regular season with an overall record of 21-8 and 12-4 in the Summit League. They will play in the Summit League Tournament in Sioux Falls this weekend as the No. 2 seed. The University of South Dakota sits at the No. 1 seed.

“We’re all just excited for next weekend,” Waytashek said.

The Jacks will play their first game in the tournament at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday against Denver University at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls.