South Dakota State hosts Wisconsin Wednesday night at First Bank & Trust Arena in the second of a three-game homestand for the Jackrabbits.
This is the fifth all-time meeting between these teams. The last matchup was a season ago in Madison, where a buzzer-beater by the Badgers ended the game 66-64 in their favor.
SDSU enters Wednesday night 2-0 on the year with wins over Rice and No. 21 Creighton. Both games have been won with big four-quarter pushes by the Jacks.
Last season, SDSU went 27-6 and made the program’s 12th trip to the NCAA Tournament via a repeat Summit League tournament championship. The Jackrabbits were picked to repeat at the top of the Summit League preseason poll. Brooklyn Meyer was named the Preseason Player of the Year and is joined on the preseason first team by Paige Meyer. Haleigh Timmer was a preseason second team selection.
SDSU returns 87 percent of its scoring from the 2023-24 season, including 93 percent of its 3-point buckets, and 85 percent of its rebounds from 2023-24.
Wisconsin is also 2-0 on the year with wins over Wright State and Georgetown, both at home at the Kohl Center. 12 different players have scored for the Badgers through two games with three players averaging at least 10 points.
JACKRABBIT SUMMARY
South Dakota State is coming off a 27-6 record in 2023-24 and a fourth consecutive Summit League regular season title. SDSU returned to the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time in program history via its 11th Summit League Tournament Championship.
The Jackrabbits finished the Summit League slate with a 16-0 record, going unbeaten for the third time in four seasons. They were the first team in conference history to run the table in consecutive seasons.
SDSU’s Brooklyn Meyer (POY, first team), Paige Meyer (first team) and Haleigh Timmer (second team) picked up preseason recognition from the Summit League.
Brooklyn Meyer, a junior, is the reigning Summit League Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year after a breakout sophomore season. She averaged 16.8 points on the season and shot .588 from the floor. Her 7.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per contest in 2023-24 also led the Jackrabbits. Meyer scored at least 20 points nine times last season, including a career-high 29 twice – vs. South Carolina State and North Dakota State.
Paige Meyer, a senior, was a Summit League First Team selection last season and is the reigning Summit League Tournament MVP. She was second on the team in 2023-24 with 15.2 points per game while dishing a team-best 4.0 assists per contest. Meyer was .503 from the floor and .422 from the 3-point line on the season. She set a new career high and SDSU Division I record with 37 points at Northern Arizona.
Haleigh Timmer returns for her redshirt junior season after missing 2023-24 with an injury. She was a Summit League second team selection as a sophomore in 2023 and was the Summit League Tournament MVP that year. Timmer was the Jackrabbits’ second-leading scorer as a sophomore with 12.1 points per contest to go with 3.6 rebounds per game.
Madison Mathiowetz and Mesa Byom are also back from the 2023-24 starting lineup. Mathiowetz scored 11.5 points per game as a sophomore and played more than 30 minutes per game. She was deemed honorable mention all-Summit League. Byom contributed 6.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game, both second on the team, and added 7.7 points, on average.
Kallie Theisen is back for her sixth and final season as a Jackrabbit. She also missed 2023-24 with an injury but was the Summit League Sixth Woman of the Year as a junior in 2022-23. Theisen tallied 6.1 points, 6.4 rebounds (team high) and 1.3 blocks (team high) that season.
Ellie Colbeck and Jenna Hopp played in all 33 games a season ago, scoring 4.9 and 4.8 points per game, respectively.
Madysen Vlastuin appeared in 21 contests as a junior in 2023-24 before a season-ending injury. Prior to her injury, Vlastuin played a team-high 30.9 minutes per game with 7.2 points and 5.0 rebounds her game. Her .413 clip from 3-point range was second on the team.
Hilary Behrens is a redshirt-freshman after missing her first season on campus with an injury. Five true freshmen join the Jackrabbit roster – Mahli Abdouch, Jaidyn Dunn, Emilee Fox, Claire Sheppard and Katie Vasecka. All five are South Dakota natives with a lot of success in their high school careers.
KEY STORYLINES
- South Dakota State head coach Aaron Johnston won the 600th game of his 25-year career at South Dakota State Friday night against then-No. 21 Creighton. Johnston’s 600 career wins is 15th in the country among active DI head coaches.
- The Jacks host Wisconsin Wednesday in the second game of a three-game homestand. SDSU topped No. 21 Creighton in the first game of the stretch, hosts Wisconsin Wednesday, then takes on No. 16 Duke Sunday afternoon.
- SDSU looks to start 3-0 for the first time since the 2020-21 season. The Jackrabbits topped two ranked opponents – Iowa State and Gonzaga – in that 3-0 start.
- SDSU is ranked No. 25 in the latest WBCA USA Today Coaches Poll and is receiving votes in the AP Poll. SDSU has three AP Top 25 teams remaining on its non-conference slate – No. 4 Texas, No. 16 Duke and No. 25 Oregon.
- Brooklyn Meyer has picked up right where she left off a season ago, averaging 17.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks while shooting 54 percent through two games.
- Paige Meyer is doing a little bit of everything for SDSU, averaging 11.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals per contest.
- Six Jackrabbits have scored at least 10 points at least once over the last two games. Five players have tallied at least five rebounds in a game this season.
- Wisconsin also enters the contest with a 2-0 mark. The Badgers topped SDSU 66-64 last season on a buzzer beater in Madison.
- South Dakota State returns 10 players from last season’s NCAA Tournament team, including 2024 Summit League Player of the Year Brooklyn Meyer and Summit League Tournament MVP Paige Meyer.
- Eight returning Jackrabbits have started at least 10 games in their careers, led by 71 career starts for senior point guard Paige Meyer.