South Dakota State secures spot in semifinals

3/7/2020 12:00:00 AM

Press Conferences: SDSU Head Coach Aaron Johnston | SDSU Players | UND Head Coach Travis Brewster | UND Players

The Basics
Score: No. 2 South Dakota State 72, No. 7 North Dakota 43
Records: South Dakota State (22-9), North Dakota (15-15)
Location: Denny Sanford PREMIER Center - Sioux Falls, S.D.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – No. 2 seed South Dakota State capitalized on a slew of North Dakota turnovers, and the Jackrabbits dominated in the paint to secure a 72-43 win over the seventh-seeded Fighting Hawks on Saturday in The Summit League Championship quarterfinals.

South Dakota State scored the first eight points of the game and opened with a 13-2 run to take an 11-point lead midway through the first quarter. The Fighting Hawks cut that down to 15-8 on a Melissa Leet three-pointer, but the Jacks got it back to 11 points at 19-8 to end the quarter.

The Jackrabbits scored the final four points of the first quarter and the first eight in the second for a 12-0 run that put them up 27-8 four minutes into the frame. The Hawks answered that run with an 8-1 run to cut the SDSU lead to 30-18 at the half.

SDSU scored the first nine points of the third quarter, part of a 15-3 run to start the second half, which gave the Jacks a 45-21 lead less than five minutes into the quarter. South Dakota State outscored North Dakota 20-8 in the third quarter to take a 50-26 lead into the final frame, more than UND could make up.

Tagyn Larson paced the Jackrabbits with a game-high 18 points, adding eight rebounds and a trio of assists. Paiton Burckhard added 14 points, as 10 different Jackrabbit scored in the game. Seven Jackrabbits teamed up to record 18 steals, tied for third all-time in the tournament.

Olivia Lane led the Fighting Hawks with 12 points off the bench, the lone UND player in double figures.

Turning Point

South Dakota State went on a 9-0 run to start the second half. Although the Jackrabbits led 30-18 at halftime, North Dakota went into the break with momentum, but SDSU quickly took it back.

Inside the Box Score

SDSU turned 28 UND turnovers into 25 points, while the Fighting Hawks turned 12 Jackrabbit turnovers into seven points.
SDSU outscored UND 48-20 in the paint, and turned 22 offensive rebounds into 24 second-chance points, while the Hawks turned their three offensive boards into seven points.
UND's bench outscored SDSU's bench 31-30

News & Notes

South Dakota State improves to 29-2 in the tournament all-time and to 11-0 in the tournament quarterfinals.
North Dakota falls to 1-2 in the tournament all-time, with an even 1-1 mark in the tournament quarterfinals.
Saturday's game marked the 69th meeting between the SDSU and UND, but the first in The Summit League Championships.
UND leads the all-time series 41-28, with SDSU holding a 5-2 advantage in neutral site games.
SDSU and UND last met in the postseason on March 15, 2004, a 72-70 Jackrabbit win in the North Central Regional Final in St. Paul, Minn.
SDSU combined for 18 steals, tied for the third-most in tournament history with Youngstown State (3/8/1996 vs. Troy), Chicago State (3/6/1997 vs. Troy) and Oral Roberts (3/9/2010 vs. South Dakota State).

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