SIOUX FALLS – The Jackrabbits are heading back to the Big Dance for the eighth time in 10 seasons.

South Dakota State beat top-seeded South Dakota 65-50 – snapping the Coyotes’ 20-game winning streak – in the Summit League Women’s Basketball Championship final Tuesday afternoon at the PREMIER Center.

Macy Miller, the Tournament MVP for the second time in her career, posted a double-double of 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting and 11 rebounds to go with four assists and three steals.

“It’s just a great day for our program,” said SDSU coach Aaron Johnston, whose team was swept by USD in the regular season. “I thought our team played really well throughout the game – offensively and defensively, really locked in and really focused. We played a great tournament.

“We had some really special performances, but we also had a lot of people step up and had balance and that’s what we’ve been talking about all weekend. So I’m really proud of what we did.

“We beat a really good team who also had a very special year, and that makes this one feel really good.”

The Jackrabbits raced out to an 11-0 lead 4 minutes into the game.

Ellie Thompson got it going with back-to-back buckets. Tagyn Larson followed with two free throws and a 3-pointer, before Thompson capped the run with another bucket.

The Jackrabbits finished with a 36-16 advantage in points in the paint for the game.

“We always thrive when we get points in the paint, no matter if that’s post touches or guards driving it in,” said Thompson, who scored 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting and grabbed six rebounds while earning all-tournament honors for the second time. “I think we did a really good job, especially in the first quarter, of getting post touches and getting points in the paint.

“We also did a good job of keeping them out of the paint and forcing them to take some tough mid-range jumpers, which I think kind of help propel us to an early lead.”

Turnovers prevented SDSU from further extending the lead as the score stood at 15-9 at the end of a period.

Thompson, Myah Selland and Miller each scored in the lane to open the second, putting the Jackrabbits ahead 21-9. The Coyotes pulled within five at 23-18, before SDSU countered with eight consecutive points.

Rylie Cascio Jensen went 2-for-2 at the foul line and added a layup, before Thompson and Miller also scored to make it 31-18 with 1:28 left in the quarter.

It was 33-20 at halftime.

The lead peaked at 17 points – 40-23 – after Miller hit a jumper and made two charity tosses at the 6:51 mark of the third.

USD got as close as six points – 44-38 – on Allison Arens’ traditional 3-point play with 2:06 showing on the clock. SDSU led 49-40 heading to the fourth.

The Coyotes never really threatened in the fourth as the Jackrabbits’ advantage fluctuated between eight and 13 points, before Selland essentially sealed the deal with a trey from the right corner that put SDSU on top 62-48 with 3:17 left.

“I thought we came in with a lot of aggressiveness and we played together the whole 40 minutes,” said Miller. “No one tried to do too much of one thing and we played with toughness together and we finished the whole 40 minutes together.”

Larson added 13 points, including a 6-of-6 mark at the foul line, and had four boards. Selland totaled 10 points and eight rebounds. Madison Guebert, who also made the all-tourney team, contributed six markers.

SDSU shot 53.5 percent from the field and limited USD to 28.3 percent (15-of-53), including a 6-of-30 clip from downtown. The Jackrabbits had 20 turnovers.

“I think we took good steps forward every time we played them and I think we came in here with a lot of determination and kind of a chip on our shoulder, thinking that we need to beat them this time,” noted Thompson. “And this time was the most important time because this was the now – the present – and we didn’t want to dwell on the past at all.”

Ciara Duffy paced South Dakota (26-6) with 12 points and six rebounds. The Coyotes were 16-0 versus Summit League opponents this season entering the title game.

“I thought it was a tough game, obviously, for us, and certainly a tough start for us,” said USD coach Dawn Plitzuweit, whose team received an automatic bid to the WNIT. “We dug ourselves a hole and just really never seemed to kind of gather the momentum after that – certainly not from a lack of effort from our young ladies’ standpoint.

“What these young ladies have done has been nothing short of impressive, and I think they’ve really battled and proven that they can compete and play at a very, very high level.

“I thought South Dakota State’s size and athleticism really bothered us. They were able to get the ball inside and really attack us and make us pay. On the other end, we had a tough time getting in the lane and attacking them and making them pay for that. It’s something we can learn from, something we can get better at. I’m just really proud of these young ladies even though it stings, it hurts; I’m certainly excited to have an opportunity to play again and kind of build on that.”

The NCAA Tournament bracket will be revealed Monday night.

Jackrabbits

SDSU is now 25-2 in 10 tourney appearances, including an 8-0 mark in the finals (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018).

The Jackrabbits are 4-1 versus the Coyotes in the event.

SDSU beat USD 56-53 in 2013, 72-57 in 2015 and 61-55 in 2016 – all title games. The Coyotes dropped the Jackrabbits 72-58 in the 2014 semifinals en route to winning their only conference tourney.

The Coyotes were the fifth Summit League team to sweep the Jackrabbits in the regular season – none have gone on to win the championship as Oral Roberts lost to SDSU in the 2010 final and to Oakland in the 2011 semifinals, IUPUI fell to USD in the 2013 semifinals and USD lost to SDSU in the 2016 final. SDSU took home the first-place hardware all five years.

All-tournament team

Miller (MVP); Guebert; Thompson; Duffy; Kate Liveringhouse, South Dakota.

Macy Miller

The junior has never lost a Summit League tourney game, improving to 9-0. She made the all-tournament team in 2015, 2016 (MVP) and 2018 (MVP), missing the 2017 event due to an injury.

In three games this year, Miller totaled 51 points, 24 rebounds, nine assists, seven steals and two blocks. She shot 48.6 percent (18-of-37) from the field, including a 4-of-10 clip from long range, and went 11-of-15 at the foul line.

Notes

Miller moved from a tie for fifth to fourth in career points at SDSU with 1,692, passing Brenda Davis (1,688 from 2000-04). She jumped from a tie for 12th to 11th in Summit League history. … Guebert is now alone in fourth in the Summit League with 263 career 3-pointers. … Thompson passed former teammate Clarissa Ober (2013-17) for seventh on SDSU’s all-time charts with 767 rebounds.

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 65, SOUTH DAKOTA 60

South Dakota State (26-6)

Alexis Alexander 0-2 2-2 2, Madison Guebert 2-10 1-3 6, Macy Miller 6-8 4-7 16, Tagyn Larson 3-6 6-6 13, Ellie Thompson 7-10 0-0 14, Rylie Cascio Jensen 1-2 2-2 4, Tylee Irwin 0-0 0-0 0, Sydney Palmer 0-0 0-0 0, Myah Selland 4-5 1-2 10. Totals 23-43 16-22 65.

South Dakota (26-6)

Allison Arens 2-8 5-5 9, Jaycee Bradley 2-7 0-0 6, Madison McKeever 1-7 0-0 2, Ciara Duffy 4-10 2-4 12, Kate Liveringhouse 2-6 2-2 7, Jasmine Trimboli 2-7 3-3 8, Monica Arens 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor Frederick 0-3 0-0 0, Chloe Lamb 2-4 2-2 6. Totals 15-53 14-16 50.

SDSU 15  18  16  16  –  65

USD   9  11  20  10  –  50

3-point goals – SDSU 3-10 (Selland 1-1, Larson 1-2, Guebert 1-4, Cascio Jensen 0-1, Alexander 0-2), USD 6-30 (Bradley 2-5, Duffy 2-7, Liveringhouse 1-3, Trimboli 1-3, M. Arens 0-1, Lamb 0-1, Frederick 0-2, A. Arens 0-4, McKeever 0-4). Rebounds – SDSU 38 (Miller 11), USD 23 (Duffy 6). Assists – SDSU 13 (Miller 4), USD 8 (Duffy 3). Steals – SDSU 5 (Miller 3), USD 13 (A. Arens, Bradley, McKeever 3). Blocks – SDSU 5 (Miller, Larson, Thompson, Irwin, Selland 1), USD 2 (A. Arens, Duffy 1). Turnovers – SDSU 20, USD 13. Total fouls – SDSU 19, USD 24. Fouled out – A. Arens, Lamb. Technical fouls – None.

A – 8,704.