BROOKINGS The South Dakota State women improved their win streak to five games on Saturday as the Jackrabbits blew out Denver 68-50 at Frost Arena.
SDSU fell behind 11-2 on Thursday against St. Thomas and Jackrabbit head coach Aaron Johnston talked about wanting to get off to better starts. On Saturday the Jacks did just that as they led 15-4 six minutes into the game.
I was really proud with how we started the game, Johnston said. We talked a lot about needing to start better and setting a tempo and dictating our style, and in this game we really did. I think [its about a mindset] and then you need your key players, key players meaning your returners and leaders, you need them to lead with that too. They need to play with that kind of confidence and urgency and toughness, all of that kind of coaching words. You need them to really create that feeling that everyone can live up to, Johnston said.
The Jacks eventually stretched their lead to 26-9 at the end of the first quarter. Denver (4-12, 1-2) cut the lead to 35-21 in the second quarter but SDSU outscored the Pioneers 7-3 in the final four minutes of the quarter and led 42-24 at halftime.
The Jackrabbit defense stiffened even more in the third quarter as SDSU outscored Denver 14-3 in the third. Johnston said SDSU has had to lean on its defense more this season due to the teams lack of consistency on the other end of the floor.
I feel like weve always been good defensively. I think this year thats been more important, just because weve been up and down offensively at times. Weve been a little inconsistent with turnovers at times. Just some loose ones. Not a lot, but just some loose ones. Our defense has had to weather some of the dry spells offensively. Our defense has been good and weve leaned on it more this year, just because we havent been consistent offensively, Johnston said.
Denver outscored SDSU 23-12 in the final frame but it was too little too late for the Pioneers.
The Jacks shot 51% from the field and were 3-of-10 from three. Paige Meyer led SDSU with 17 points and three assists. Madison Mathiowetz and Jenna Hopp each had 12 points. Brooklyn Meyer had 11 points and Mesa Byom had 10 points.
The Jacks held Denver to 35% shooting from the field and the Pioneers were 4-of-25 from beyond the arc. Johnston said his team did a good job of executing the game plan of staying in front of the player they were guarding.
We really thought we had to limit dribble penetration. So many of [Denvers] threes come from penetrating and kicking. We just did a great job of guarding the ball one-on-one so we didnt have to help as much as we have in some previous games,, Johnston said.
The Jacks were able to get two players into the game that joined the team during the season. SDSU was forced to add sophomore guard Isabel Aesoph and senior guard Tori Tollefson to the roster a couple games into the season because of the amount of injuries the Jacks had. This was the seventh game that Tollefson, who is also a player on the SDSU softball team, got minutes and the sixth time Aesoph entered the game.
Johnston said Tollefson and Aesoph have been nice additions to the roster.
Both Isabel and Tori have been exactly what we needed in that moment. That was a time where we had a lot of people banged up. They have great energy and are super positive and understand their role. They fit into the team really well and every minute they get out there is fun. Theyve worked incredibly hard to get here. I think the basic story of, hey theyve walked on, just doesnt get anywhere close to what theyve had to do to get to this level, Johnston said.
Denver was led by Emma Smith who had 13 points and Alaisha Brown had 11 points.
SDSU outrebounded Denver 33-28. The Pioneers had 20 turnovers and the Jacks had 14. SDSU was 15-of-21 at the free throw line and Denver was 10-of-14 at the charity stripe.
The Jacks improved to 11-5 overall and 3-0 in Summit League play. SDSU suffered back-to-back losses against No. 16 Gonzaga and No. 22 Creighton towards the middle of December and have since been on a roll. Johnston said he thinks his team continues to improve and that will be the case throughout the final two months of the season.
I think were just moving forward in every area. Everything is moving forward. I dont know if this team is going to have an aha moment that just clicks. I think were going to just be a steady climb as we go and thats a reflection of having a lot of new players and a lot of new situations and continuing to learn and grow and improve as a unit, Johnston said.
SDSU will hit the road next. The Jacks play at Omaha on Thursday at 7 p.m. and then will take on South Dakota on Saturday in Vermillion at 6 p.m.
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