The SDSU women’s basketball team overcame a 15-point first-half deficit to beat Missouri-Kansas City, 79-73 Feb. 11 — thus keeping their lead in the Summit League at three games.

The contest was truly a tale of two halves for the Jacks. In the first half, SDSU shot an abysmal 31 percent to produce 26 points, and UMKC shot 48 percent to end the half with 38 points. The second half brought changes and the Jacks shot 54 percent and scored 53 points, including shooting 23-24 from the free throw line. UMKC shot 32 percent and scored 35 points.

The six-point victory was the smallest margin of victory in league play this year for the Jackrabbits. UMKC took advantage of 13 SDSU turnovers and would have taken a 15-point lead into halftime if not for a Hannah Strop three-point shot just before halftime.

Immediately after intermission, the Jackrabbits scored the first eight points and eventually caused a 21-point swing, going from 15 points behind to 6 ahead within a matter of 13 minutes of game play. In a back-and-forth game that saw the lead change 10 times, the Jacks never trailed in the final nine minutes and 24 seconds.

Jennie Sunnarborg led the Jacks in the point column with 16. Sunnarborg also blocked one shot, moving herself into sixth place in school history, breaking a tie with Jennifer Warkenthien. In addition to scoring a game-high 16 points, Sunnarborg pulled down a Jackrabbit season high 13 rebounds for her third career double-double. Another Jackrabbit, Ashley Eide, also recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Also in double figures for the Jackrabbits were Jill Young with 13 points and Strop, who came off the bench to kick in a career-high 14 points. The Jacks also saw great numbers from the free throw line as Young, Tara Heiser and Katie Lingle were all perfect from the charity stripe. The team finished the game 29-33 after only missing one free throw in the second half.

Although surrendering a 15-point lead to the fourth place team in the Summit League is not what the Jacks had in mind, it provided an excellent chance for the team to demonstrate perseverance. The Jacks were forced to overcome a double-digit deficit and take the game over in the second half. The 53 second-half points are the most points the Jacks have scored in any half this season.

On Feb. 18, the women will don their pink Breast Cancer Awareness jerseys for their game against NDSU. The Jacks then have a week off before they finish the regular season with three games in two days: a Feb. 25 doubleheader against IUPUI and a season-ending game against Western Illinois Feb. 27.