Jacks hold off Sooners, 67-61

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BROOKINGS – The Jacks got it done.

After a tough loss to highly-ranked Louisville on Sunday, South Dakota State put up a double-digit lead on Oklahoma and survived for a 67-61 win on Wednesday night at Frost Arena.

Tied at 12-12 with 1:44 to play in the first quarter, SDSU’s 12-0 run that spanned the remainder of the first and a minute of the second gave the Jacks a 24-12 advantage.

A basket in the lane by Tagyn Larson, followed by a Rylie Cascio Jensen 3-pointer, pushed the lead to 17 points at 33-16 midway through the second quarter.

Madison Guebert’s trey gave the Jacks a 38-26 edge at halftime.

Back-to-back baskets by Macy Miller and Alexis Alexander to open the third quarter opened the lead back up to 16 points – 42-26 – but the Sooners rallied to get within two points at 46-44 following a steal and layup by Shaina Pellington.

Two free throws each by Myah Selland and Guebert allowed SDSU to take a 50-45 lead into the final frame.

A 3-pointer by Miller, followed by two Guebert free throws and one by Alexander gave the Jacks a 60-50 lead with 3:05 left in the game before Oklahoma went on a 7-0 run over the next two minutes to get within three at 60-57 with 1:05 left.

But Miller knocked down 5-of-6 free throws and Guebert added two over the final minute for the final margin.

“We were just never able to pull away offensively,” said SDSU head coach Aaron Johnston. “We were pretty fortunate to make five field goals in the second half and still get a win – not an easy task.

“I thought, defensively, we played well – we’re doing a really good job on that side of the ball; rebounding well; making free throws. We’ve had some timely baskets when we really needed them, so far this year. As long as we continue to have those qualities, I’m really pleased.”

Miller led the Jacks, who improved to 7-2 on the season, with 17 points as Guebert chipped in with 16.

Selland finished with 12 points and nine rebounds as SDSU held a 48-47 edge on the glass.

“The offensive efficiency is something we have to get better at, but I wouldn’t say it’s something that is a major concern for me yet, either, but obviously we want to get better,” Johnston said. “I think they were all disappointed after losing to Louisville – not that we let it slip away, but had a chance to win against a really good team – we were all disappointed that we didn’t get it done.

“Our first quarter – first half (tonight) – was really good.”

Pellington scored 16 points for the Sooners before fouling out in the final minute.

Gabbi Ortiz added 13 points and Maddie Manning chipped in with 10 and eight boards as OU dropped to 3-5.

Notes (From SDSU SID): Macy Miller’s 17 points tonight give her 1,262 points. She is 24th on the SDSU career scoring list and needs nine points to pass Jodi Bergemann (1990-93) for 23rd… Ellie Thompson’s four points give her 1,041 career points, two points shy of moving into 33rd in career scoring at State… Madison Guebert’s 16 points tonight give her 974 career points, 26 points short of 1,000 career points.

The Jackrabbits play host to Bowling Green on Saturday at 7 p.m.

South Dakota State 67, Oklahoma 61

Oklahoma (3-5)

Shaina Pellington 5-10 6-10 16, Gabbi Ortiz 4-15 2-2 13, Maddie Manning 4-16 2-2 10, Ana Llanusa 4-7 0-0 9, Mandy Simpson 2-10 1-2 5, Ijema Odimgbe 2-3 2-6 6, Gileysa Penzo 0-0 2-2 2, LaNesia Williams 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 21-64 15-24 61.

South Dakota State (7-2)

Macy Miller 4-10 7-8 17, Madison Guebert 4-13 6-6 16, Myah Selland 4-11 4-4 12, Alexis Alexander 2-7 1-2 5, Ellie Thompson 1-6 2-3 4, Tagyn Larson 3-7 0-0 7, Rylie Cascio Jensen 2-6 0-0 6, Sydney Palmer 0-4 0-0 0, Megan Bultsma 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-64 20-23 67.

OU 12  14  19  16  –  61

SDSU 19  19  12  17  – 67

3-point goals – OU 4-18 (Ortiz 3-10, Manning 0-4, Llanusa 1-3, Williams 0-1); SDSU 7-25 (Miller 2-4, Guebert 2-6, Selland 0-2, Alexander 0-2, Thompson 0-2, Larson 1-2, Cascio Jensen 2-4, Palmer 0-3). Rebounds – OU 47 (Simpson 9, Odimgbe 9); SDSU 48 (Selland 9). Assists – OU 10 (Penzo 4); SDSU 10 (Alexander 3, Cascio Jensen 3). Steals – OU 11 (Manning 3); SDSU 7 (Alexander 2). Blocks – OU 8 (Manning 4); SDSU 5 (Thompson 2, Larson 2). Turnovers – OU 20; SDSU 19. Total fouls – OU 23; SDSU 19. Fouled out – Pennington. A – 2,068.