FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – South Dakota State women’s basketball overcame a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Northern Arizona 110-102 in double overtime Wednesday night at Findlay Toyota Court. Paige Meyer dropped a career-high 37 in the win.
Meyer went 12-for-17 from the floor and knocked down all 11 free throw attempts. She also tallied five rebounds, two assists and two steals and drew six fouls before fouling out with less than a minute remaining in the second overtime.
Meyer is the first Jackrabbit to score at least 37 points in a game since Karla Stevenson put up 38 against North Dakota State in February 1987. Meyer’s 37 is tied for the fourth-most points in a single game in program history and is the most by a player in the Division I era. The overall program record of 39 was set by Stevenson at Augustana February of 1987.
Brooklyn Meyer added 22 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks for the Jackrabbits before exiting with five fouls with 10 seconds to play in regulation.
Trailing by 13 with less than six minutes on the regulation clock, the Jacks clawed all the way back to within three with a 10-0 run capped by two Brooklyn Meyer free throws. Brooklyn Meyer’s freebies made it 84-81 in NAU’s favor.
Following a Lumberjack bucket, Paige Meyer and Madysen Vlastuin combined for five straight points that tied the game at 86 with 36 second left in regulation. NAU went up again, then Paige Meyer tied it with a driving layup with four seconds remaining to force overtime.
Both teams were held to just five points apiece in the first overtime, then the Jackrabbits dominated the second extra period, 17-9.
In the end the contest featured 15 ties and nine lead changes.
In addition to the Meyer duo, three more Jackrabbits finished in double figures – Tori Nelson with 12 and Madison Mathiowetz and Madysen Vlastuin with 11 each. Nelson also had three assists, one block and one steal. Mathiowetz dished a career-high seven assists to go with four rebounds. Vlastuin collected five rebounds.
Mesa Byom tallied 12 rebounds and five blocks in the contest, including six boards and four rejections in the 10 minutes of overtime. She scored five points.
Jenna Hopp and Ellie Colbeck contributed seven and five points off the bench, respectively.
The Jackrabbits posted a 51-41 advantage on the glass and 9-4 edge in blocks. SDSU shot nearly 53 percent from the floor and connected on nine 3-pointers. NAU was 45 percent in field goal shooting and 48 percent from beyond the arc.
Grace Beasley finished with 23 points, nine rebounds and four steals for Northern Arizona.
NOTES
- Tori Nelson played in her 137th career game as a Jackrabbit, moving her into sole possession of fifth place all-time for SDSU.
- This is SDSU’s first overtime game since beating USC in overtime in the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
- SDSU went over the century mark for the first time since beating South Dakota 118-59 in January 2023.
- Northern Arizona had two players with at least 20 points. That is the first time an SDSU opponent has achieved the feat since December of 2020.
- This is the first time the Jackrabbits have shot above 50 percent this season.
- This is the eighth double overtime game in program history. The Jackrabbits have never played three overtimes. SDSU’s double overtime record is 6-2 all time.
- 110 points matches the mark for sixth-most points scored by the Jackrabbits in a single game.
- Paige Meyer’s 11 free throw makes is the third-most makes without a miss in program history.
UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits return home to host Montana State at 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Frost Arena.