STORRS, Conn. — South Dakota State rallied in the second half to come away with a 74-68 win over Oklahoma State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut.

It was the sixth time in program history that SDSU came out on top in a tournament game and head coach Aaron Johnston said it’s always special to get a win during March Madness.

“Really proud of our team,” he said. “Obviously you get a chance to play again in the NCAA Tournament, and to make it to the Round of 32 is an incredibly difficult thing to do any time, and we've had a chance to do it a couple of times.

“It's great. Winning is fun. I think everyone knows that and agrees with that, but just those moments of celebration, those moments of joy you get to share with people you spend a lot of time with in a locker room or wherever it might be, those are pretty special times.”

No. 10 seeded SDSU trailed 37-26 just over two minutes into the second half. The Jacks chipped away at the No. 7 seeded Cowgirls’ lead and it was 44-36 4:32 left in the third quarter. SDSU then went on a 7-0 run to make it 44-43 OSU with three minutes left in the quarter.

The Cowgirls used a and-one from Teanna Megassa to push the lead to four, but then Madison Mathiowetz scored five-straight points to put the Jacks in front and a Paige Meyer jumper made it 50-47 SDSU.

Jackrabbit junior center Brooklyn Meyer said she thought once her team started to focus on defense and rebounding and moved without the ball, things started to fall into place for the Jacks.

“I feel like we just had to dig in on defense and keep rebounding. Then on offense I feel like we had to, you know, move a little better without the ball and just play better together. Once it got a little smoother, I think that's when things started to work for us,” Brooklyn Meyer said.

Mathiowetz made a lay up right before the third quarter to give SDSU a 52-50 lead heading into the fourth. Mathiowetz scored nine points in the third quarter and finished with 17 points in the game, all of them coming in the second half. Johnston said he thought Mathiowetz’s play in the second half really opened things up for the Jacks offensively.

“Maddie's play was so important for us for sure. Her getting going offensively just took pressure off of a few of our other players I thought," Johnston said. "Maybe that sense that, hey, it's not going well. We've been down. I've got to press. I've got to do more. Just that other breath of offense was huge for us. Then it did. It opened the doors to so many good plays. I thought we really played well [in the second half].”

SDSU opened the fourth quarter with six-straight points to make it 58-50 with 8:09 to play. The Cowgirls cut the lead to 64-61 with just under four minutes to go, but then back-to-back buckets from Kallie Theisen and Mathiowetz pushed the lead to seven with 1:26 to go. Mathiowetz and Paige Meyer combined to make six free throws down the stretch to seal the deal.

Brooklyn Meyer said that staying together in those tight situations allows SDSU to come out on top in close games.

“We work on situations like that in practice, and I feel like we have some veteran players, and we have some younger ones too. I feel like just staying together and making sure we're all on the same page is just really good for us in moments like that,” Brooklyn Meyer said.

The two teams traded baskets in the first quarter as OSU led 17-15 heading into the second. OSU then led 26-24 with one minute left in the first half and a lay up and 3-pointer from Anna Gret Asi gave the Cowgirls a 31-24 lead heading into the locker room.

SDSU shot just 31% from the field and was 2-of-8 from three in the first half. The Jacks also had 11 turnovers in the first 20 minutes. Mathiowetz said the difference between the first half and the second half was SDSU being a lot more aggressive.

“I thought in the first half, we talked at halftime, maybe we weren't as aggressive and confident as we know we can be. In that second half I think things started to open up a little bit and that allowed us to be more aggressive, and we just stayed confident and did what we know how to do best. That allowed us to get to the hoop and score in ways we knew we needed to,” Mathiowetz said.

SDSU ended up shooting 44.4% from the field for the game. Brooklyn Meyer led SDSU with 19 points and eight rebounds. Paige Meyer had 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Haleigh Timmer had 11 points and five boards. 

The Jacks dominated the rebound battle 47-29. Heading into the fourth quarter the Cowgirls did not have an offensive rebound and they only finished with six offensive boards. Johnston said his guards did a good job of boxing out and keeping OSU’s guards out of the paint.

“[OSU’s] perimeter players are great rebounders,” Johnston said. “They're the ones that usually make the difference for them. I thought our guards blocked out very well. Again, you see Mesa [Byom] just as — that's why I just don't know that she'll ever get as much credit as she deserves, but she had 12 rebounds, 10 of them defensive. 

“Our point guard, Paige Meyer, had eight rebounds, five of them defensive. We just had a real mindset that that was going to be a big part of the game, and I think it was. I think how we rebounded was a big part of the game.”

OSU shot 40.6% from the field and was 10-of-29 from three. Stailee Heard led the Cowgirls with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Magassa had 10 points and eight blocks. Asi had 16 points and Michah Gray and Alexia Smith each had 10 points.

The Jacks knew coming into the game that Magassa would be a tough matchup for them as she stands at 6-foot-6. Brooklyn Meyer had the task of going up against her and scored just six points on 2-of-7 shooting in the first half. Johnston said the second half is what he and SDSU fans have seen from Brooklyn Meyer all season.

“Brooklyn is really determined, really talented. That first half is not a good indicator of Brooklyn. Those that have watched her or followed her, she's one of the best post players in the country. She really is. She's had big games all year. It's no surprise to us or to Jackrabbit fans. She is capable of really playing well and everybody saw that in the second half,” Johnston said.

UConn awaits

Up next, SDSU will take on the No. 2 seeded Connecticut Huskies in their own building on Monday in the second round. UConn took care of business against No. 15 seeded Arkansas State earlier on Saturday as the Huskies blew out the Red Wolves 103-34.

Johnston said it’s going to be a tough task to beat the Huskies, but this is the type of challenge that his program wants.

“We've played teams certainly at [UConn’s} level, and it is hard. It is really hard because of how good they are offensively and defensively. But there's no place I would rather be on Monday either, you know. That's why we do this. That's why we put so much into this to have those challenges. I know our players are going to feel the exact same way. We're going to take that challenge on, and we're going to play our best basketball, and we're looking forward to it,” Johnston said.