BROOKINGS South Dakota State erased a 16-point first half deficit and beat South Dakota 71-61 on Saturday afternoon at First Bank & Trust Arena.
The Jackrabbits (23-3, 13-0) trailed 22-6 early in the second quarter and then used a 21-0 run that spanned the end of the third quarter and start of third quarter to take command and they didnt look back.
It was just a raggy game for us to start, said SDSU head coach Aaron Johnston. Obviously [USD] was not guarding some people and we didnt really handle that well. We missed some shots and our defense wasnt quite as edgy as it needed to be early and we left them open more than we would like. But I thought as the game went on and in that second quarter, midway through, we started to get a little more pace in us defensively and started to make some more shots offensively, and we started to get back into the game.
The Coyotes (11-16, 5-8) got off to a fast start as they led 17-6 at the end of the first quarter and they held the Jacks scoreless for the final seven minutes of the quarter. USD then scored the first five points of the second quarter to go up 22-6.
The Yotes then led 31-18 with four minutes to play in the first half and the Jacks went on a 13-0 run to close the half. Paige Meyer then scored the first eight points of the second half and SDSU led 39-31 with 7:44 left in the third quarter.
SDSU junior guard Madison Mathiowetz said the 21-0 run was sparked by trusting their game plan and trusting each other.
We just knew we needed to trust our instincts and go from there. I think we just went back to our stuff and our game plan. We just stayed confident in each other and lifted each other up and went from there, Mathiowetz said.
The Jacks took a 54-46 lead into the fourth quarter. USD cut the lead to 63-58 with just over four minutes to play. Paige Meyer then hit a free throw and Katie Vasecka got the basket and scored a lay up to make it an eight-point game with two minutes to go and that sealed the deal for SDSU.
Paige Meyer led the way for SDSU with 23 points and six rebounds. She went 1-for-7 from three in the first half and then made five of her eight attempts from beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes. Johnston said it was just a matter of time before she got it going.
The percentages were eventually going to catch up. [Paige Meyer] is such a good player. Theres so many really good players and they may miss some shots, but percentages and ability and talent and reps, those things are going to catch up, and they did for Paige. We probably needed to find a couple easy ones for her to take the pressure off. Making a three, making a layup to get things going. Once she hit a couple shots, then you could see Paige playing like Paige, Johnston said.
Mathiowetz had 17 points. The Jacks had two other players score in double figures in Haleigh Timmer (12) and Vasecka (11).
SDSUs leading scorer, Brooklyn Meyer, had a quiet game scoring wise with just four points. However, she made an impact in other ways with five rebounds and five assists and the Jacks outscored the Coyotes by 25 points when she was on the court.
Johnston was pleased with how Brooklyn Meyer handled the way USD sent double teams her way all afternoon.
How many assists did Brooklyn have by just her presence? By having two people around her all of the time, even when she doesn’t have the ball? So, so much of our offense comes from just her presence out there. There are going to be games where she just doesn’t get as many touches or as many points, but she has a huge impact. Im really pleased with what she did, and I know that can be hard on a player, but I think she handles it well, Johnston said.
The Jacks held the Coyotes to 41.2% shooting from the field and USD was 11-of-28 from beyond the arc. Grace Larkins, who leads the Summit League in points, rebounds and assists, had 23 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Johnston said he thought his team did a good job of making Larkins work for everything and making sure that other players didnt really get it going.
I felt our [defense] was good. Early on we werent very good. Not just against [Larkins], but everybody else. We gave up five threes in the first quarter and they were from players that are stationary, catch and shoot players. As the game went on, I felt like we didnt give those up nearly as much. You know, when one team runs as much as they do through one player, theres going to be shots, theres going to be attempts and theres going to be points. But we held them to 61 points [today] and 59 [in the first meeting], and thats manageable. I thought we were in position and played well defensively, Johnston said.
With the win, the Jacks clinched at least a share of the regular season conference title and theyve now won 60-straight games against Summit League opponents. Three of the last four conference games havent been easy though as SDSU has trailed at the end of the first quarter in three of those games. Johnston said thats just the nature of the conference right now.
I thought [USD] played really hard, and weve had that happen a few times [in Brookings], where teams come out and they shoot really well first the first couple minutes and then that leads to confident game, and thats what happened here today. I think weve gotten that from a lot of teams and weve gotten that from teams in our league, and I think thats great. Our team has answered the bell every time, which is nice to see too, Johnston said.
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