Winter storms aren’t the only thing gathering strength on the Plains. 
 
After last week you can add South Dakota State to that list, which is certainly ominous as high winds and hail for the rest of the Summit League. The Jackrabbits dominated the North Dakota schools in Frost Arena in a pair of wins that boosted what had been – by their lofty standards – an underwhelming start to league play. 
 
“I think we recognized we hadn’t played really great basketball going into [last week] and we had areas we had to improve in,” Aaron Johnston said in a press conference earlier this week. “We hadn’t played poorly, but certainly hadn’t played anywhere close to what we felt our potential was.”
 
At 6-0, and having dispatched two good teams that seem destined to finish toward the top of the league standings, the Jackrabbits have the commanding lead on the conference that was expected coming into the year. But more importantly, the team showed a glimpse of what it can ultimately become in those back-to-back blowout wins over the Bison and Fighting Hawks.
 
“It’s still pretty early, you’re not just who you are the rest of the way,” Johnson said.
 
What SDSU has been this season is, predictably, very good. The Jackrabbits are undefeated in league play, as much a lock for the number one seed in Sioux Falls as one can be in mid January and holding a viable at-large resume. But there have been a few minor wobbles along the way. 
 
The Jackrabbits have not shot the ball as well as they likely expected at times this season, particularly from the outside. And on the opposite end, they’ve let opponents shoot nearly 40 percent (38.7%) from three thus far during league play. Oral Roberts put a real scare into them at home and St. Thomas did the same on the road. 
 
Last weekend, however, the powerhouse Jackrabbits were in full force. 
 
Myah Selland played some of the best basketball of her iconic career over the two-game sweep, averaging 27.0 points per game while making 18 of 24 shots from the field. They held a pair of quality offenses in check, and Johnston praised an improved three-point defense. Among other things, Dru Gylten threw no-look passes into the post, Paige Meyer lit it up from the outside and Pation Burckhard rarely missed (16-20 FG). 
 
“These are the games we’ve been working for this whole season, we’ve been working on consistency,” Gylten said after the UND win. “I think this is Jackrabbit basketball.” 
 
After the pair of 30-plus point victories, SDSU’s average margin of victory in league play this season in league play (21.9 points per game) is approaching what it was a year ago (22.8 points per game). Selland and Burckhard, augmented by Kallie Theisen and Brooklyn Meyer, have been powerhouses rebounding the basketball, while the team has maintained its free-flowing, assist-heavy attack that has been a staple under Johnston. 
 
The Jackrabbits are averaging 16.4 assists per game against Division I competition this season, the 32nd-best rate in the country per herhoopstats.com. And yet somewhat counterintuitively, it’s been a more bullish Selland that has shone lately within that selfless offensive structure.
 
The redshirt senior undeniably had a great season a year ago, but her production has begun approaching the levels it did prior to her injury in late 2021. The reigning Summit League player of the week has averaged 11.5 shots per game this year, up over a shot per game from last year’s figure (10.3 FGA), and that number has been even higher over the past even games (12.5 FGA). 
 
That stood out to Johnston. 
 
“What I was really impressed with was just how assertive Myah was,” the SDSU coach said. “She was back in the mode of hunting up shots and trying to make plays, and not just fitting into a talented team. She really played like the best player on the team, and that’s a good thing.”
 
Whether it’s Selland’s transcendent week or any number of superlatives up and down the SDSU roster, Johnston’s team looks to be firing on all cylinders. The Summit race should be fascinating with teams jockeying for position throughout, but the Jackrabbits have continued to show that 2022-23 could be a particularly special year for them.