| Game 2: South Dakota State vs. No. 21 Creighton | |
| Date and Time | Fri., Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. |
| Location | Brookings, S.D. |
| Site | First Bank & Trust Arena |
| TV / Stream | Midco Sports / Midco Sports Plus |
| Audio | Jackrabbit Sports Network |
| Live Stats | GoJacksLive.com |
| South Dakota State | Game Notes | Home Page |
| Creighton | Game Notes | Home Page |
South Dakota State returns to Brookings to host No. 21 Creighton in the Jacks’ home opener in their newly-renovated First Bank & Trust Arena (formerly Frost Arena). This is the 17th all-time meeting between these teams.
Friday’s meeting will the second game of the season for SDSU and the season opener for Creighton.
The Jackrabbits opened the 2024-25 slate with a 65-63 win at Rice Monday night. 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.
Creighton reached the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament and finished 26-6 last season. The Bluejays have a veteran roster with seven players listed as seniors or graduate students. Creighton returns seven of its top eight scorers from last season, including two-time All-BIG EAST selection Lauren Jensen.
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
- Head Coach Aaron Johnston, in his 25th season at the helm of the Jackrabbit program, has 599 career wins entering Friday’s contest against Creighton.
- Friday’s matchup features two of the longest tenured head coaches in the country in SDSU head coach Aaron Johnston (25th season at SDSU) and Creighton head coach Jim Flanery (23rd season at Creighton). They have a combined 1,026 head coaching victories.
- SDSU and Creighton have meet 16 times previously and in every season since 2012-13. SDSU’s last win in the series was 2020-21 at Frost Arena.
- The Jackrabbits are coming off a 65-63 win at Rice in Monday’s season opener. Haleigh Timmer, playing in her first game in 596 days, knocked down the game-winning 3-pointer with eight seconds left.
- SDSU is 17-41 against ranked opponents in the DI era. The Jacks’ last win over a ranked opponent was an 82-78 victory against No. 24/25 Kansas State on December 10, 2022 in Kansas City.
- SDSU has three ranked teams on its non-conference slate – No. 4 Texas, No. 11 Duke and No. 21 Creighton. Georgia Tech is receiving votes. The Jackrabbits are receiving votes in the AP Preseason Top 25 and the USA Today/WBCA Coaches preseason polls.
- 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.
- Led by 16.8 points per game from Brooklyn Meyer, SDSU returns eight of its top nine scorers from 2023-24 and 87 percent of its total scoring
- Eight returning Jackrabbits have started at least 10 games in their careers, led by 70 career starts for senior point guard Paige Meyer.
- The Jacks have Kallie Theisen and Haleigh Timmer back in the mix after both missed 2023-24 with injuries. Theisen was the 2023 Summit League Sixth Woman of the Year and Timmer was a 2023 second-team selection and the Summit League Tournament MVP that season.