BROOKINGS – South Dakota State blasted Denver 95-59 in a Summit League women’s basketball matchup – the Pink Game – Thursday night at Frost Arena to reach the 20-win mark for the 12th time in 14 seasons at the Division I level.
SDSU has outscored its past four opponents an average of 97-56.5 following its only conference loss of the year.
Macy Miller scored a game-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting as five Jackrabbits reached double figures.
Madison Guebert added 16 points, Tagyn Larson and Tylee Irwin 13 apiece, and Alexis Alexander 10.
SDSU shot 55.4 percent (36-of-65) from the field and hit eight 3-pointers.
The Jackrabbits dominated the first and third quarters. They were up 24-9 after 10 minutes, 47-31 at halftime and 74-39 heading to the fourth.
Sydney Palmer, who scored seven points, grabbed six rebounds while Miller, Thompson and Rylie Cascio Jensen added five apiece as SDSU held a 43-30 advantage on the glass.
For the Pioneers (13-12, 4-6), Carie Weinman knocked down four treys while scoring 16 points off the bench. Denver shot 39.3 percent and turned the ball over 16 times.
South Dakota State (20-5, 9-1) takes on Oral Roberts on Saturday at 2 p.m. in its home regular-season finale.
Notes: SDSU’s Myah Selland missed her sixth consecutive game – and seventh overall – but was in uniform and went through warmups with the team. She has started all 17 games in which she’s appeared. … Miller pushed her career point total to 1,572, passing Karla Stevenson (1,562 from 1983-87) for seventh place in school history. Miller remained in 16th on the Summit League chart, five behind Western Illinois senior Emily Clemens (2014-present) and Youngstown State’s Carolina McCombs (1994-98), who are tied for 14th at 1,577. … Miller made her 101st career start. … The two seasons the Jackrabbits didn’t record 20 wins – 2005-06 and 2010-11 – they posted 19 victories. … SDSU is 330-114 in the Division I era since beginning the transition in 2004-05. The Jackrabbits are 170-32 in Summit League games since joining the league in 2007-08, including a 148-30 mark in regular-season games and an 82-8 record at home.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 95, DENVER 59
Denver (13-12, 4-6 Summit)
Briana Johnson 3-7 0-4 7, Claire Gritt 5-12 0-0 11, Jasmine Jeffcoat 2-2 0-2 4, Samantha Romanowski 2-5 0-0 5, Jordyn Alt 2-7 0-0 4, Grace White 1-3 0-0 2, Lauren Loven 2-9 0-0 4, Sidney Wentland 0-0 0-0 0, Carie Weinman 4-7 4-4 16, Madison Nelson 1-4 0-0 2, Sydney Koel 0-0 0-0 0, Abi Curtin 1-1 0-0 2, Jahla Osborne 0-2 0-2 0, Leya Depriest 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 24-61 4-12 59.
South Dakota State (20-5, 9-1 Summit)
Alexis Alexander 4-4 0-2 10, Madison Guebert 4-8 6-6 16, Macy Miller 8-11 2-2 20, Tagyn Larson 6-8 1-2 13, Ellie Thompson 3-5 0-0 6, Rylie Cascio Jensen 2-7 2-2 6, Tylee Irwin 4-9 4-7 13, Sydney Palmer 3-7 0-0 7, Sydney Tracy 0-1 0-0 0, Megan Bultsma 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 36-65 15-21 95.
Denver 9 22 8 20 – 59
SDSU 24 23 27 21 – 95
3-point goals – UD 7-26 (Weinman 4-5, Johnson 1-3, Romanowski 1-3, Gritt 1-6, Alt 0-1, Nelson 0-2, Loven 0-6), SDSU 8-17 (Alexander 2-2, Miller 2-2, Guebert 2-5, Irwin 1-3, Palmer 1-3, Cascio Jensen 0-2). Rebounds – UD 30 (Alt 6), SDSU 43 (Palmer 6). Assists – UD 10 (Romanowski 4), SDSU 19 (Larson, Cascio Jensen 4). Steals – UD 7 (Gritt, Jeffcoat, Romanowski, Alt, Weinman, Koel, Curtin 1), SDSU 10 (Thompson, Cascio Jensen, Irwin, Palmer 2). Blocks – UD 3 (Alt, Weinman, Nelson 1), SDSU 3 (Bultsma 2). Turnovers – UD 16, SDSU 10. Total fouls – UD 20, SDSU 13. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – none. A – 1,543.
Photo: South Dakota State’s Rylie Cascio Jensen flies in for a layup in transition during the second quarter of the Jackrabbits’ 95-59 Summit League win over Denver in the Pink Game on Thursday night at Frost Arena.
