The SDSU women’s basketball team hosted its first exhibition home game on Sunday, Oct. 28, at Frost Arena.

They faced the University of Minnesota-Crookston Golden Eagles. The Jackrabbits made their way to victory with a final score of 86-43.

The Jacks came out of the gate very strong and never trailed in the contest.

SDSU have once again been tabbed as number one in the Summit League preseason poll, as the four-time defending Summit League Champions make a run again this season.

“We have high expectations for that,” head coach Aaron Johnston said.

This year the Jacks have many returning players, as well as a couple of new faces. The returning sophomores that didn’t get much playing time last year seem to have blossomed for the Jackrabbits.

With 2:31 left in the first half, the Jacks led the Golden Eagles 38-25.

Minnesota couldn’t seem to hold onto the ball, as SDSU racked up a total of 19 steals on the night. With the many turnovers, the Jacks were able to lead by 47-27 at the end of the first half.

With the start of the second half, the Jacks didn’t take long to extend their lead, as they continued their romp over UMC to 62-29 with 13:16 left to play in the game.

Even with the big lead, Johnston said there is still work to do.

“We need to work on our half court offense,” Johnston said.

At one point, the Eagles finally tried to kick it in gear, but with little success. SDSU had a total of 49 rebounds in the second half, 32 of them being offensive rebounds.

Neither the Jacks nor the Golden Eagles were very successful with three point shots. UMC made a total of one three-pointer in the second half, and SDSU had only three. The Jacks finished the game with a three-point percentage of 17.6 percent, and UMC with only 7.7 percent.

The Eagles trailed the Jacks 81-37 with 3:44 left in regulation, and finished the game behind by 43.

Ashley Eide led the Jacks, shooting 6-10 and scoring 17 points. Behind Eide was Megan Waytashek shooting 5-10 from the floor, scoring 14 points.

“It was fun to get out and play, but we have work to do,” Johnston said.

Following their victory, the Jackrabbits will face the Black Hills State University Yellow Jackets at Frost Arena on Nov. 1with tip-off scheduled for 1 p.m. SDSU opens the season Nov. 10 and 11 in the Minnesota Opening Tournament. The Jacks play Villanova in the first round, followed by Minnesota or Washington State in the four-team finale.