SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Behind a career-high 25 points from Haleigh Timmer and two others in double figures, No. 1 South Dakota State topped No. 5 Oral Roberts 87-60 Monday to advance to the Summit League championship game.
Timmer’s 25 points, including five 3-pointers, led all players. The sophomore also had six rebounds, three assists and a steal. Tori Nelson posted 14 points on 4-of-6 shooting and dished three assists, grabbed three boards and tallied a steal and a block. Paige Meyer rounded out the top scorers with 11 points to go with eight rebounds, five assists and a steal.
The teams went back-and-forth through the opening five minutes and the Jacks led 9-8 at the first-quarter media break. Out of the timeout, Madison Mathiowetz put away a layup following a textbook press break, sparking an 11-point Jackrabbit run over the next three minutes. Also during the run, Timmer went 2-for-2 at the line, Selland knocked down a triple, Mathiowetz put up another two and Meyer sealed the run with two from the charity stripe. State ended the period up 10, 24-14.
Oral Roberts did not score until under the three-minute mark of the second quarter as the Jacks opened the period with 14 straight points capped by a Timmer 3-pointer that extended the lead to 38-14. Following consecutive threes by the Eagles, another eight-point run made it 46-20. SDSU led 46-22 at halftime. SDSU maintained its lead through the second half, but ORU did cut its deficit to 16 before Timmer scored eight straight to push the lead back to 24.
Selland scored nine points, plus recorded seven boards and three assists. Mathiowetz and Dru Gylten chipped in eight and seven points, respectively. Gylten also had six rebounds and four assists.
Kallie Theisen blocked a career-best six shots in the contest, leading SDSU to 11 rejections as a team. The team mark ranks second in a single-game in program history, one off the high of 12 set by Oral Roberts against SDSU in 2016.
The Jackrabbit team notched 13 assists on their first 13 field goals of the contest and finished the game with 23 assists on 26 made baskets. SDSU out-rebounded ORU 48-29.
State shot 47 percent from the floor and 36 percent from the 3-point line. Oral Roberts was 48 percent from deep but shot only 30 percent from the field. The Jacks also went 26-for-32 from the free throw line, compared to 8-for-10 by the Eagles.
Hannah Cooper paced Oral Roberts with 14 points, four rebounds and four assists.
NOTES
- SDSU moves to 34-5 all-time in the Summit League tournament. The Jacks will play in their fifth championship game in six seasons and 12th overall.
- The Jacks have posted at least 20 assists in 12 contests this season
- SDSU has won 20 consecutive contests, setting a new all-time program record. They own the third-longest active streak in the nation behind South Carolina (32) and Gardner-Webb (21).
- The Jacks have won each of their last eight games by at least 20 points.
UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits take on No. 6 Omaha Tuesday afternoon at 1 p.m. at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.