BROOKINGS South Dakota State capped off another perfect regular season in the Summit League on Saturday afternoon as the Jackrabbit beat St. Thomas 79-46 at First Bank & Trust Arena.
It was the third-straight season that the Jacks went undefeated in conference play and theyve now won 63-straight games against Summit League opponents.
Four out of five [seasons with an undefeated conference record], said SDSU head coach Aaron Johnston. Three [years] in-a-row. We didnt talk about it [before the game]. We talked about it afterwards and celebrated it. There was some water thrown around in the locker room after the game to celebrate it. I think it meant a lot to our team. It certainly means a lot to me.
It was senior day for the Jacks and point guard Paige Meyer was playing in her final game in Brookings. She put on a show for the SDSU crowd with 27 points, six assists and six rebounds. She said it was nice to play well in her final game at First Bank & Trust Arena.
It felt really good [to have the game I had]. The crowd was really into it the whole game. Im just really grateful to be a part of this program and play the game I love with the girls I love. It was a good way to go out at First Bank & Trust, Paige Meyer said.
It was also senior day for Mesa Byom, Kallie Theisen and Madysen Vlastuin. Byom had 12 points and seven rebounds. Theisen had 5 points and three rebounds and Vlastuin had two rebounds.
Johnston said Saturday was a day to recognize how successful this group of four players have been.
You look at our seniors and what theyve accomplished throughout their careers, its pretty remarkable the amount of success that that group of four seniors has been a part of. Its almost unheard of how much theyve been able to win, both on the court and off the court. Theyre all great students and are going to graduate this spring. You look at the 4,000 people that were in that arena and theyre there for a lot of reasons, but theres no doubt that those seniors are a part of that too, with what theyve built with the energy and excitement for womens basketball, Johnston said.
SDSU led 21-15 at the end of the first quarter. St, Thomas then scored six-straight points to begin the second quarter and tied the game. SDSU outscored the Tommies 13-5 in the final seven and a half minutes of the first half and led 34-26 at halftime.
It didnt take long for the Jacks to pull away from the Tommies in the second half. They opened the second half with a 9-2 run and led 43-28 with just over seven minutes left in the third. SDSU pushed the lead to 59-38 by the end of the third quarter. The Jacks then went on a 10-0 run to make it 71-39 with five minutes to go and their largest lead of the game was the final score.
Brooklyn Meyer had 24 points and seven rebounds for SDSU. The Jacks shot 52.5% from the field and were 1-of-12 from three. Madison Mathiowetz hit a three late in the fourth quarter to extend SDSUs streak of games with at least one 3-pointer that dates back to 2006.
Johnston said he was pleased with the way his team played offensively on Saturday.
I really liked how we played offensively. I wouldnt change any of those shots. Im so glad [Mathiowetz] hit a three late for us. That would have probably been the only downer for the day. I thought we played really well. Brooklyn was dominant early and then we came back to her in the second half intentionally. Paige was really good in both halves. When those two play like that, this team is really good, Johnston said.
The Jacks held the Tommies to 30.6% shooting from the field and they were 3-of-16 from beyond the arc. SDSU held Denver to 17.9% shooting on Wednesday and Brooklyn Meyer said that the Jacks are taking some momentum into the Summit League Tournament defensively.
I feel like were really locked in our communication and our plan defensively. I feel like we really trust each other to be in different spots and weve been trying to rebound the ball well too. I feel like those are all things that we can take into next week, Brooklyn Meyer said.
SDSU will be the one-seed once again in the Summit League Tournament, which begins on Wednesday in Sioux Falls. The Jacks will play the winner of No. 8 seeded Omaha and No. 9 seeded Denver on Thursday afternoon.
The Jacks will be the dominant favorite in a tournament that theyve won 11 times in the past 15 seasons. Johnston said it helps that the players on the team have been in this position before.
I think it helps in the sense that they know we have to play well, Johnston said. I think it helps that it keeps them grounded and keeps them settled. It helps them understand that these questions are going to come up and these expectations, they’re going to be hearing about them for the next couple days. I think it helps them that none of that means anything and we have to go out and do the work.
But if youve watched our team, I think its been a mature team all year. Weve had plenty of games where it did not go well and it wouldve been easy to lose. A couple of times where it felt like it was probably the night [we were going to lose] and we just kept going with it. Thats what Ive noticed about this team, just how steady they are.
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