SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – It was déjà vu for South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits ran the table in the regular season once again to become the first team in Summit League history to finish off back-to-back unblemished regular seasons. Achieving the historic feat earned the Jacks the No. 1 seed at the Summit League Women’s Basketball Championship for the fourth straight season.
The journey for the postseason trophy in the nine-team field starts Friday, March 8 at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.
The Jackrabbits (24-5, 16-0 SL) secured the top seed after capturing sole possession of their fourth consecutive regular season crown with a win over North Dakota on Feb. 29. With the top seed, South Dakota State earned a first-round bye and will face the winner of the No. 8 Kansas City and No. 9 Omaha matchup in Saturday’s second quarterfinal at 3 p.m. CT.
This marks the third time South Dakota State finished a regular season unbeaten since joining the Summit League and is only the fifth team to do so in Summit League history.
North Dakota State (19-10, 13-3 SL) earned the No. 2 seed for the second consecutive season. The Bison will play in Saturday’s opening quarterfinal at 12:30 p.m. CT and take on No. 7 seed Denver (8-21, 5-11 SL). North Dakota State and Denver are both aiming for their first championship title.
Sunday’s quarterfinal sessions will start with No. 3 seed Oral Roberts (20-9, 11-5 SL) against No. 6 seed North Dakota (9-20, 5-11 SL) at 12:30 p.m. CT. No. 4 South Dakota (20-11, 9-7 SL) faces No. 5 St. Thomas (15-15, 7-9 SL) at 3 p.m. CT to close out the quarterfinals. The Golden Eagles, who own their highest seed since also being the No. 3 in 2015, have won five Summit League Tournaments but none since 2008. The Fighting Hawks and Tommies are also seeking their first tournament conquests, while South Dakota has won four, including three straight from 2020-22.
Monday’s semifinals begin with the winner of Saturday’s first quarterfinal (NDSU/DU) facing the winner of the Oral Roberts-North Dakota clash at 12:30 p.m. CT and will be followed up by the winner of Saturday’s second quarterfinal (SDSU/G1 winner) playing the South Dakota-St. Thomas winner at 3 p.m. CT.
The first round game and all four quarterfinals will be televised on Midco Sports and be streamed on the Summit League Network powered by the Midco Sports Plus app.
The semifinals and Tuesday’s championship game set for 3:30 p.m. CT will be televised live on CBS Sports Network.
For complete information on this year’s tournament, visit The Summit League’s Women’s Basketball Championship website.