The Basics
Score: No. 1 South Dakota State 87, No. 5 Oral Roberts 60
Records: South Dakota State (27-5, 18-0 SL), Oral Roberts (12-19; 8-10 SL)
Location: Denny Sanford PREMIER Center - Sioux Falls, S.D.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – No.1 South Dakota State extended its winning streak to 20 games in style, beating No. 5 Oral Roberts 87-60 to advance to the Summit League Tournament title game. The victory gives the Jackrabbits sole possession of the nation’s third-longest active winning streak.
Haleigh Timmer led the Jackrabbits with a career-high 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Paige Meyer chipped in 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists, while Tori Nelson scored 14 points.
“I thought our team was really locked in and played so well defensively in that game,” SDSU head coach Aaron Johnston said. “We had to play well against a good team.”
It was a jittery start for the regular season champions as the Golden Eagle’s press forced the Jackrabbits into six turnovers over the game’s first five minutes. That kept things tight early, but a high-scoring ORU team was not able to capitalize.
Myah Selland ignited a mini-rally with a three pointer late in the first quarter, which was followed by a fastbreak layup by Madison Mathiowetz to give SDSU a 10-point advantage. From there, the SDSU momentum would grow. The Jackrabbits went on a 16-0 run beginning at the end of the first quarter which coincided with a dry offensive spell from the Golden Eagles. ORU would not score its first point of the second quarter until under the three-minute mark.
That extended a lead that SDSU would not relinquish, despite a better offensive showing out of the break from ORU, which went 4-5 from the 3-point line in the third quarter.
The Jackrabbits were dominant in the paint throughout the game, finishing with a 48-29 advantage on the glass. They also moved the ball effectively after a slow start, ending the game with 23 assists. This ruthless efficiency, coupled with foul trouble from Hannah Cooper (14 points) and Tirzah Moore (3 points, 4 rebounds), proved too much for the Golden Eagles to overcome.
“The first couple of minutes we were flying down the floor so we knew we just had to get composed, find the open teammate and pass it,” Meyer said after the game.
The Jackrabbits advance to their second consecutive Summit League Tournament championship game at 1 p.m. CT on Tuesday.
Turning Point
The Jackrabbits jumped on some sloppy play from the Golden Eagles early in the second quarter to break the game open. Selland scored two layups off turnovers while Timmer pitched in one of her own over a two-minute stretch early in the second quarter. By the time ORU scored its first point of the quarter the SDSU lead had grown to 24.
Inside the Box Score
- SDSU recorded 20 assists or more for the 12th time this season.
- Led by Kallie Theisen (6 blocks), the Jackrabbits swatted 11 shots, one off the tournament team record set by ORU in 2015.
- Graduate student Lauren Ramey scored 12 points, her second-best scoring output of the season.
News & Notes
- The win put the Jackrabbits in sole possession of the nation’s third longest active winning streak, bettered only South Carolina (38 games) and Gardner-Webb (21 games). UNLV, which opens Mountain West Conference Tournament play on Monday, has a 19-game winning streak.
- The Golden Eagles finished their first season under Kelsi Musick tied with the Jackrabbits as the highest scoring offense in the league, averaging 78.7 points per contest.
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