BROOKINGS, S.D. – The South Dakota State women’s basketball team secured at least a share of the Summit League regular season title Saturday afternoon with a 71-61 win over South Dakota at First Bank & Trust Arena.
The Jackrabbits have won at least a share of the conference crown for the fifth straight season. In total, SDSU has won 11 Summit League regular season titles since joining the conference in the 2007-08 season.
After a slow start that had them down 22-6 early in the second quarter, SDSU worked all the way back to tie the game at 31 at the halftime break. The teams battled through the second half and the Coyotes were within five at the 4:03 mark in the fourth, then the Jacks finished the game with eight of the last 11 points.
Paige Meyer had another big second half for the Jackrabbits. She scored 20 of her game-high 23 after the halftime break and went 6-for-9 in that stretch with five 3-pointers. Meyer finished the game with six 3-pointers, six rebounds and three assists.
Madison Mathiowetz was 7-of-10 for the game with a trio of treys and ended up with 17 points, six assists, three rebounds and two steals. Haleigh Timmer and Katie Vasecka also reached double figures, scoring 12 and 11 points, respectively. Timmer played more than 35 minutes and recorded four rebounds, three steals and three assists with a plus/minus of 22.
In the opening minutes of the game, Mathiowetz and Timmer connected on 3-pointers to give the Jacks a 6-3 lead, then SDSU went scoreless over the last 7:13 of the first quarter to trail 17-6. The Jackrabbits committed five turnovers and went 2-for-15 in the period while USD went 5-for-10 from the 3-point line.
The Coyotes scored the first five points of the second quarter to extend their lead to 16 at 22-16. Timmer and Paige Meyer combined for the next seven points, cutting the deficit to nine, and the Jacks ended the first half on a 13-0 run to tie the game 31-all at the break.
Timmer had 10 points at halftime, followed closely by Mathiowetz with nine. The duo had five of the Jackrabbits’ seven 3-pointers in the first half.
Paige Meyer put together an 8-0 personal run to start the third quarter, pushing the Jacks ahead 39-31. The Coyotes scored nine of the next 11 points to make it a one-point game at 41-40. Mathiowetz answered for SDSU with six points during a 10-1 run that gave the Jackrabbits their largest lead of the game, 51-41, with 60 seconds to play in the third quarter. SDSU led 54-46 after three periods.
The Jacks scored the first five of the final quarter to go ahead by 13, but USD worked back to within five with 4:03 left to play. From there, Paige Meyer scored six of the next eight to help the Jacks hold off the Coyotes.
Brooklyn Meyer was held to four points on five shot attempts, but tallied five rebounds and five assists. For the game, she had a plus/minus of 25 in the 10-point win. Mesa Byom grabbed four rebounds and blocked three shots.
As a team, the Jacks knocked down 13 3-point baskets, matching their season high. They tallied 20 assists on 27 made field goals.
Grace Larkins had a near-triple-double for USD with 23 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Alexi Hempe added 15 points for the Coyotes.
NOTES
- SDSU improves to 68-35 all-time over USD and has won seven straight and 10 of the last 12 meetings.
- SDSU has won 60 straight Summit League regular season games.
- Paige Meyer finishes the game with 451 career assists. She needs 452 to tie Myah Selland for fifth on SDSU’s career assists chart. That would also make her SDSU’s career assists for the Division I era.
- Paige Meyer has 1,284 career points, moving her into the top 30 on SDSU’s career scoring chart. She is in 27th for career scoring at SDSU.
UP NEXT
SDSU takes on Kansas City next Saturday, February 22, in Kansas City. Tip against the Roos is set for 2 p.m.