DENVER, Colo. – After losing the first game of conference play last weekend, the South Dakota State women’s basketball team won its second-straight game after defeating Denver 87-43 on Saturday afternoon.
The Jackrabbits defeated Omaha 72-49 on Thursday and Johnston said the game against Denver was a lot different than the game against the Mavericks.
“[We] really played well I thought in this game,” Johnston said. “Denver is such a different style than Omaha. Every trip is going to have a different feel to it. Some teams have some consistencies, so you get ready for one plan and it kind of works in both games. But this was a weekend where we felt like it was going to be two different thoughts all together.
Denver really gets spread out their defense and I thought that allowed us to get penetration, post touches, offensive rebounds and a lot going to the rim. They came out and played a lot player-to-player and I thought we did a great job going at them and attacking. It was transition, it was attacking, it was post moves. Just a really good job.”
SDSU led 8-6 three and a half minutes into the game and then went on a 14-0 run to go up 22-6 with two minutes to go in the first quarter. The Jacks led 22-10 at the end of the first quarter and increased their lead to 48-21 at halftime.
The Jacks kept it up in the second half and used a 29-point third quarter to take a 77-31 lead into the final frame. SDSU cruised to victory and improved to 10-8 overall and 6-1 in the Summit League.
SDSU shot 55.4% from the field and was 5-16 from three. The Jacks went 10-12 at the free throw line and only had nine turnovers.
“65 shots, that’s a lot of attempts. That’s getting up and down, and so there’s a lot of pace to it. But we did take care of the ball for the majority of the game. We scored 87 points, so we were really efficient on offense. Great balance again. Nobody is out there trying to get 25 points. We had four different people in double figures,” Johnston said.
Myah Selland led the Jacks with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists. Johnston said it was nice to see Selland play well as she is still trying to get back to 100% after missing seven games with a knee and shoulder injury.
“… [It was] good to see Myah not just score, but I thought she went and took some contact plays. I think coming back from everything she’s gone through, those are great plays for her to build on. Where she had to go through contact, finish and kind of make that assertiveness that she’s going to hold up through those plays. [She made] some really good mental plays and she scored for us and got everyone going.,” Johnston said.
Kallie Theisen had 13 points and six rebounds. Haleigh Timmer had 11 points and six rebounds. Tori Nelson also had 11 points. Paige Meyer and Tylee Irwin each had nine points, and Paiton Burckhard had eight points and six rebounds.
The Jacks held Denver (5-13, 0-7) to 28.8% shooting from the field. The Pioneers were 5-20 from three and were 8-16 at the free throw line. SDSU forced 19 turnovers and scored 23 points off of them.
“I thought [we played] great defense,” Johnston said. “[Denver] shot 21% in the first, 35% in the second, 27% in the third and then 30% in the fourth. We held them to 28% shooting for the game and just did a great job of shrinking the floor and making it hard for them to get into the gaps. We took a number of charges in this game and did a great job of forcing them into difficult, difficult shots.”
The Pioneers were led by Uju Ezeudu who had 13 points, six rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Indeya Sanders had nine points and Emily Counsel had eight.
SDSU won the rebound battle 40-27. The Jacks scored 56 points in the paint and had 15 second chance points.
Up next, SDSU will play its first game at home since Jan. 1. The Jacks will welcome Summit League newcomer St. Thomas to Brookings on Thursday. Tip off between the Jacks and Tommies is scheduled for 7 p.m.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 87, DENVER 43
South Dakota State (10-8, 6-1)
Myah Selland 4-8 5-5 14, Kallie Theisen 6-8 1-1 13, Haleigh Timmer 5-6 0-0 11, Paige Meyer 3-7 2-2 9, Tylee Irwin 4-6 0-0 9, Paiton Burckhard 4-10 0-0 8, Mesa Byom 2-3 0-0 4, Haley Greer 2-4 0-0 4, Lindsey Theuninck 0-2 2-2 2, Addison Hirschman 1-3 0-0 2, Lauren Rongisch 0-1 0-0 0, Madysen Vlastuin 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 36-65 10-12 87.
Denver (5-13, 0-7)
Uju Ezeudu 3-14 7-11 13, Indeya Sanders 4-6 0-0 9, Emily Counsel 3-4 0-1 8, Meghan Boyd 2-10 0-0 5, Makayla Minett 2-4 1-4 5, Anna Jackson 1-4 0-0 3, Mary Wilson 0-2 0-0 0, Jocelyn Wyatt 0-3 0-0 0, Tess Santos 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 15-52 8-16 43.
SDSU 22 26 29 10 – 87
DU 10 11 10 12 – 43
Field goal % – SDSU 55.4%, DU 28.8%. 3-point field goals – SDSU 5-16 (Timmer 1-1, Nelson 1-1, Meyer 1-2, Irwin 1-2, Selland 1-3, Rongisch 0-1, Greer 0-1, Vlastuin 0-2, Theuninck 0-2), DU 5-20 (Counsel 2-2, Sanders 1-1, Jackson 1-4, Boyd 1-8, Wilson 0-1, Santos 0-4). Rebounds – SDSU 40 (Burckhard, Theisen, Timmer 6), DU 27 (Ezeudu 6). Assists – SDSU 16 (Meyer 5), DU 5 (Ezeudu, Boyd, Jackson, Santos, Minett). Steals – SDSU 9 (Irwin 4), DU 4 (Ezeudu 2). Blocks – SDSU 9 (Nelson, Irwin, Burckhard), DU 5 (Ezeudu 2). Turnovers – SDSU 9, DU 19. Total fouls – SDSU 13, DU 13. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – none. A – 191.
