BROOKINGS The South Dakota State womens basketball team is riding a five-game win streak as it heads into this week of play.
The Jackrabbits, who are now 10-5 overall and 3-0 in Summit League play, will play at Omaha on Thursday at 7 p.m. During their five-game win streak the Jacks have won by an average of 15 points. They come into Thursdays game with the top defense in the Summit League, holding opponents to 60 points per game and 36.9% shooting from the field.
SDSU head coach Aaron Johnston has said that his team needs to lean on its defense more this year because of the inconsistency on offense. He said the Jacks have played so well on defense because theyve done a good job with their on-ball defense and protecting the paint.
Defensively, weve defended a lot of different ways with a lot of different styles, he said. Weve adjusted a lot. Weve played a little more zone this year and adjusted our ballscreen coverages, so a lot of different things. I think [Madison] Mathiowetz has really grown as a defensive player. College basketball revolves around guards and you have to be sound around the perimeter if you want to be good. I cant emphasize this enough, but Tori Nelsons ability to guard several positions on the floor helps us immensely. And then this years group, we just block a few more shots.
The anchor of the Jackrabbit defense is sophomore forward Brooklyn Meyer. Meyer has 37 total blocks this season and is three blocks away from moving into third place for blocks in a single season for SDSU. Her 2.3 blocks per game rank 20th in the country and she had a career-high six blocks against St. Thomas on Saturday.
Johnston said he was hopeful that Meyer would have this kind of impact on the defensive end in her second season, but you never know because it takes longer to develop on defense than it does on offense.
I always feel like the defensive side of this level of basketball is much harder to pick up than the offensive side, Johnston said. Just the amount of information you have to process. Are we switching this [screen] or not switching it. Is this a stationary or a moving hand off because we handle those differently. Those are a couple of pieces, but there are so many things that go into being a good college defensive player at this level against the teams we play.
Its great to see Brooklyn be as good as she is this early in her career and I think it speaks to her ability to think about basketball and to see things process and her ability to process. Certainly her strength, athleticism and ability to block shots are part of it too, but shes just a really bright basketball player.
Despite the inconsistency on offense, SDSU is still second in field goal percentage in the Summit League (43.3%). One of the sparks for the Jackrabbit offense has been sophomore guard Madison Mathiowetz. The Minnesota native is one of three players scoring in double figures as shes averaging 10.8 points per game.
Johnston said Mathiowetz has been making the most of her opportunity as she has gotten more minutes after the season-ending injury to Haleigh Timmer in the offseason.
I think when players take steps, its a lot of hard work. Shes put a lot of stuff into her game outside of practice. We think shes a really good scoring guard and we thought that way last year. Last year we were really deep on the perimeter as we had a lot of talent on the perimeter, and her role wasnt as big last year more so because of the people in front of her, not because of her ability. This year she has had that opportunity and shes making the most of it, Johnston said.
Omaha will enter Thursdays game having lost seven-straight games. The Mavericks are 4-13 overall and 0-4 in the Summit League. SDSU has won five-straight meetings against Omaha and 13 of the last 15 against the Mavericks. Johnston pointed out that some of the games in Omaha over that stretch have been close and the Jacks wont be overlooking the Mavericks on Thursday.
I think its a growing piece. We talk a lot about being a mature team. A mature team is thinking about what our best game is and what we have to do to play well. Were not necessarily preparing for what the other team is going to bring to the table other than scouting report stuff. We want to be a mature team and we understand our history with Omaha and how many tough games weve had there, Johnston said.
SDSU will see in-state rival South Dakota (12-6, 1-2) for the first time this season on Saturday at 6 p.m. in Brookings. Normally the Jacks and Coyotes would have a full week off before they play but this season theyll have just one day. Johnston said its very different but his team and the Jackrabbit fans will be ready for the womens basketball portion of the Interstate Series on Saturday.
I think its different for sure, he said. Because it was a rivalry you could spend four days [preparing for]. It gave us time to add some things that you couldnt in other games because you had time to actually practice it rather than game plan, and this year you dont have that. I dont think it takes away from the emotion or intensity of the game or the rivalry nature or the fan interest.
You can watch Thursdays game on the Summit League Network. Saturdays game will be televised on both the Summit League Network and Midco Sports.
Leave a Reply