BROOKINGS – Trailing 39-35 at halftime, South Dakota State put together a 27-9 run in the third quarter en route to a 76-63 nonconference win over Dakota Wesleyan on Tuesday night at Frost Arena.
The NAIA squad from Mitchell proved they had some firepower after the Jackrabbits scored first on an Ellie Thompson basket in the paint by putting together an 11-0 run for the early lead through three minutes.
The Tigers’ lead reached 11 points at 27-16 following Amber Bray’s bucket in the lane before Thompson converted 1-of-2 from the foul line to get SDSU within 27-17 after the first quarter.
DWU built the lead back to 11 on two different occasions in the second quarter – a 3-pointer by Ashley Bray early in the frame and a layup by Sarah Carr with 7:20 on the clock – but the ‘Rabbits got back within four at halftime, 39-35, following Macy Miller’s jumper in the lane as time expired.
It took SDSU less than 90 seconds into the second half to take the lead as the Jacks went on a 19-3 run over the first six minutes to build a 54-42 advantage.
Madison Guebert’s 3-pointer with 1:53 left in the third gave South Dakota State its largest lead of the night at 58-14 and a pair of Tagyn Larson free throws inside of minute made it 62-48 through three quarters.
Tylee Irwin’s 3-pointer early in the final quarter pushed the SDSU advantage to 17 – 67-50 – and although the Tigers rallied, they never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.
Miller led all scorers with 23 points while adding seven rebounds, six assists and a steal to her stat line. Thompson finished with 16 points, seven boards, three blocks and a takeaway as Larson and Guebert knocked down eight markers apiece.
Amber Bray had 18 points and five rebounds for DWU, while Ashley Bray chipped in with 16 points and five boards. Rylie Osthus contributed 14 points, seven assists, a pair of steals and a block as the Tigers dropped to 16-5 on the season.
SDSU, 15-4 overall, returns to Summit League play on Saturday when the Jacks play host to Western Illinois in a 2 p.m. contest at Frost Arena.
Notes (From SDSU SID): Miller moved into 10th on the career scoring list with 1,454 points, passing Sherri Brende (1997-2000)... Madison Guebert scored eight points to give her 1,133 points for 31st place, passing Lisa Kannegieter (1990-93)… Thompson has now scored 1,120 points for 34th place. Her three blocked shots give her 107, eighth all-time at SDSU… Head coach Aaron Johnston recorded his 260th win as a member of The Summit League, tying Oral Roberts’ Jerry Finkbeiner for the league’s record.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 76, DAKOTA WESLEYAN 63
Dakota Wesleyan (16-5)
Amber Bray 7-9 3-4 18, Ashley Bray 6-10 0-0 16, Rylie Osthus 4-11 3-4 14, Chesney Nagel 0-0 0-0 0, Madison Mathews 0-0 0-0 0, Kynedi Cheeseman 6-13 0-0 13, Sarah Carr 1-5 0-0 2, Jessica Mieras 0-1 0-0 0, Makaela Karst 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-50 6-8 63.
South Dakota State (15-4)
Macy Miller 9-14 2-2 23, Ellie Thompson 6-6 2-3 16, Madison Guebert 3-13 0-0 8, Tagyn Larson 3-5 2-2 8, Alexis Alexander 2-3 0-0 4, Tylee Irwin 1-4 4-4 7 Sydney Palmer 2-5 1-2 6, Rylie Cascio Jensen 1-4 0-2 3, Chynna Stevens 0-3 1-2 1, Syndey Tracy 0-1 0-0 0, Megan Bultsma 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-58 12-17 76.
DWU 27 12 9 15 – 63
SDSU 17 18 27 14 – 76
3-point goals – DWU 9-19 (Am. Bray 1-2; As. Bray 4-6, Osthus 3-4, Cheeseman 1-5, Carr 0-2); SDSU 10-27 (Miller 3-5, Thompson 2-2, Guebert 2-10, Larson 0-1, Alexander 0-1, Irwin 1-3, Palmer 1-1, Cascio Jensen 1-3, Tracy 0-1). Rebounds – DWU 27 (Am. Bray 5, As. Bray 5, Carr 5); SDSU 34 (Miller 7, Thompson 7). Assists – DWU 14 (Osthus 7); SDSU 16 (Miller 6). Steals – DWU 7 (Osthus 2, Mathews 2); SDSU 5 (Miller, Thompson, Alexander, Stevens, Tracy). Blocks – DWU 2 (Osthus, Cheeseman); SDSU 5 (Thompson 3, Larson 2). Turnovers – DWU 15; SDSU 13. Total fouls – DWU 22; SDSU 12. Fouled out – None.
Photo: Tagyn Larson knocks down a baseline jumper in the fourth quarter to give SDSU a 64-48 lead en route to a 76-63 nonconference win over Dakota Wesleyan on Tuesday night at Frost Arena.
