BROOKINGS – South Dakota State’s performance Saturday afternoon shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise.

The Jackrabbits (17-5, 6-1) were coming off a loss to rival South Dakota two days earlier and playing the last-place team in the Summit League.

The opening game of the Pork Classic saw SDSU beat IPFW 105-49 in front of 2,881 fans.

“I think the loss the other day really hit us hard, especially it being rivalry game,” said senior point guard Alexis Alexander. “So during practice we just wanted to bounce back and come out strong and build off of what we’ve been working on, because we still have a lot of conference (games) to go. We just want to look forward and keep pushing.”

Ellie Thompson (23) and Macy Miller (22) combined for 45 points as four Jackrabbits reached double figures.

“We really focused on getting those gritty plays, like making sure we win those 50-50 balls, win those rebounds that could go either way,” said Thompson, who went 9-of-10 from the field and 4-for-4 at the free-throw line while tying a career high in points. “So I think that just having a winning mentality is what was really stressed (Friday) at practice.”

SDSU dominated every aspect of the game while racking up its highest point total in nearly a decade. 

The Jackrabbits shot 58.8 percent (40-of-68) from the field, including a 14-of-27 clip from downtown; held a 47-27 advantage on the glass; and racked up 27 assists. The Mastodons finished at 28.8 percent (17-of-59) but hit eight treys.

“I’m just really pleased with how we bounced back after a tough one on Thursday,” said SDSU coach Aaron Johnston. “Everything went very well for us today. We played great offensively, we had a lot more balance. Defensively, we were really good.

“It’s nice to see Ellie I think bounce back and really have one of her more complete games of the year. I thought Lexi did a really nice job, too. So both of those seniors had a big part, I think, of our game today and you need that from seniors especially when something doesn’t go well. They did a nice job of keeping us kind of focused and going in a good direction.”

SDSU led 27-14 after a quarter, 51-19 at halftime and 78-32 through three.

Madison Guebert hit four 3-balls and totaled 16 points.

Freshman reserve Tylee Irwin scored a career-high 15 points. She had previously scored 14 points twice and is averaging 6.3 points in 20 games.

Tagyn Larson totaled nine points, nine rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a pair of steals. Alexander and Rylie Cascio Jensen chipped in with seven apiece. Alexander, Miller and Sydney Tracy each dished out five assists. Thompson grabbed seven boards.

IPFW (4-17, 1-7) got 16 points from Kierstyn Repp and 13 by Jaelencia Williams.

South Dakota State plays five of its final seven regular-season games on the road, beginning with a matchup against North Dakota State on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Fargo. The Jackrabbits are at Omaha on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Notes: SDSU beat Centenary 105-47 on March 1, 2008. … Jackrabbit freshman Myah Selland missed her fourth consecutive game – and fifth overall this season – with a foot injury. She’s started all 17 contests in which she’s been active. … Miller has 1,525 career points, and remained in eighth place in SDSU and 19th in Summit League history. … Guebert moved to 28th place in scoring at SDSU with 1,176 points, passing Lisa Kurtenbach (1,174 from 1985-88). … Thompson moved into a tie for 30th with Rachel Halsrud (1990-93) with 1,154 career points. The senior also recorded her 700th rebound. … Johnston coached his 175 career Summit League game, as his record is 145-30.

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 105, IPFW 49

IPFW (4-17, 1-7 Summit)

Jaelencia Williams 4-10 4-8 13, Hannah Albrecht 1-7 1-2 4, Anna Lappenkuper 0-2 0-0 0, De’Jour Young 2-7 0-0 5, Peyton Fallis 1-9 1-2 4, KeShyra McCarver 0-2 0-0 0, Hannah Hess 2-4 0-0 4, Emma Tuominen 0-0 0-0 0, Diamond Williams 0-2 1-2 1, Sofia Rajala 1-4 0-0 2, Kiersyn Repp 6-12 0-0 16. Totals 17-59 7-14 49.

South Dakota State (17-5, 6-1 Summit)

Tagyn Larson 3-8 3-4 9, Ellie Thompson 9-10 4-4 23, Alexis Alexander 3-6 0-0 7, Madison Guebert 6-9 0-0 16, Macy Miller 9-13 0-0 22, Rylie Cascio Jensen 2-4 2-2 7, Tylee Irwin 6-8 0-0 15, Sydney Palmer 1-3 0-0 2, Sydney Tracy 0-1 0-0 0, Megan Bultsma 1-6 2-2 4. Totals 40-68 11-12 105.

IPFW 13    6  13  17  –    49

SDSU 27  24  27  27  –  105

3-point goals – IPFW 8-23 (Repp 4-8, Williams 1-1, Albrecht 1-3, Young 1-3, Fallis 1-4, Lappenkuper 0-1, McCarver 0-1, Hess 0-1, Rajala 0-1), SDSU 14-27 (Miller 4-5, Guebert 4-6, Irwin 3-4, Thompson 1-1, Alexander 1-3, Cascio Jensen 1-3, Palmer 0-1, Tracy 0-1, Larson 0-3). Rebounds – IPFW 27 (Williams 6), SDSU 47 (Larson 9). Assists – IPFW 8 (Young, Fallis 2), SDSU 27 (Alexander, Miller, Tracy 5). Steals – IPFW 4 (Hess 2), SDSU 8 (Larson 2). Blocks – IPFW 2 (Williams, Young 1), SDSU 6 (Larson 3). Turnovers – IPFW 15, SDSU 9. Total fouls – IPFW 14, SDSU 12. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – none. A – 2,881.

SUMMIT LEAGUE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Conf. Overall

South Dakota 8-0 17-5

South Dakota State 6-1 17-5

Western Illinois 6-2 16-6

Oral Roberts 4-3 13-8

Denver 3-5 12-11

Omaha 1-6 9-10

North Dakota State 1-6 8-13

IPFW 1-7 4-17

Monday

*Peru State at Omaha, 7 p.m.

Thursday

South Dakota State at North Dakota State, 7 p.m.

Western Illinois at South Dakota, 7 p.m.

IPFW at Oral Roberts, 7 p.m.

Saturday

South Dakota State at Omaha, 1 p.m.

North Dakota State at South Dakota, 1 p.m.

Western Illinois at Oral Roberts, 2 p.m.

Sunday

IPFW at Denver, 2 p.m.

   *nonconference game