BROOKINGS After getting through a tough non-conference schedule, the South Dakota State womens basketball team will begin conference play on Thursday night at Oral Roberts.
The Jackrabbits went 10-3 in a schedule that ranked as the eighth-hardest non-conference schedule in the country. The Jackrabbits notched wins over Rice, No. 21 Creighton, Wisconsin, No. 21 Oregon, Ball State, Eastern Washington, Montana and Northern Iowa. They lost to Texas, Georgia Tech and Duke, who are ranked fifth, 13th and 14th, respectively in the AP Top 25 poll.
The Jacks closed out the non-conference with a 103-57 loss to Texas. SDSU head coach Aaron Johnston said that was a tough way to end the non-conference portion of the schedule, but he learned in the non-conference that his team is versatile.
I thought our ability to adapt to different games [was great]. Our schedule in November and December was challenging for sure, just with competition, but the bigger piece of it was it varied in terms of styles of play and how teams were going to attack us and how we were going to attack them. We really learned how versatile our team could be. What we did against Rice [in the season opener] was very different from what we did against Wisconsin, which was different from what we did against Oregon or whoever it may be. So, just being able to adapt to different styles based on what we had to do in different games was important, Johnston said.
Junior guard Haleigh Timmer returned this season after missing all of last year with a knee injury. Shes SDSUs second-leading scorer, averaging 12.9 points per game and is also averaging 4.2 rebounds.
Johnston said Timmer adds a different wrinkle to the SDSU offense because she can create her own shot and its something that the Jackrabbits missed last year.
She just brings such a different offensive presence to our team, Johnston said. Last year, I thought we played well on the perimeter, but we really played off of Brooklyn [Meyer] on the perimeter. We had a lot of good spot up shooters on the perimeter that made threes. Paige [Meyer] was certainly capable of putting it on the floor and getting to the basket, but a lot of our other players played off of Brooklyn.
Where I think Haleigh is someone who can go out there and create her own offense. Shes a good shooter so she can play off other people, but she can also go out there and create some shots, whether its in transition or in the half court or cutting without the ball, shes just more of a dynamic scorer.
SDSU is looking to win the Summit League regular season title for the fourth-straight season and make the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time in the past 16 seasons.
The Jacks will open Summit League play with the second-best team in the conference in Oral Roberts. The Golden Eagles are 10-3 and have wins over Tulsa, Arkansas, Montana State, Missouri and Wichita State. Their losses were to Oklahoma State, Northern Arizona and No. 10 ranked Oklahoma.
ORU is the top scoring team in the Summit League, averaging 83.7 points per game. Johnston said the Golden Eagles are tough to go against because they play fast and chaotic at times.
Theyre talented. Theyre talented and deep. They bring some good players off of the bench. Its really a similar style and approach as last year. They play with a lot of pace and get up and down the floor. They run, they trap. They just put a lot of pressure on you all the time. Its never a team where youre going to just feel comfortable. Were going to have to handle their style and be really good with that, Johnston said.
Tip off between the Jacks and Golden Eagles is scheduled for 7 p.m. You can watch the game on the Summit League Network.
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