SIOUX FALLS South Dakota State will be playing in the championship game of the Summit League Tournament again as the Jackrabbits routed North Dakota 84-55 on Saturday afternoon at the Denny Sanford Premier Center.
The top-seeded Jackrabbits seized control late in the first quarter and never looked back as they outscored the No. 5 seeded Fighting Hawks in all four quarters.
It was a good day for us, SDSU head coach Aaron Johnston said. I thought we played very well. Defensively, I thought we were very sharp and made it hard for [UND] to have looks that make them a good team. So, I thought defensively we were really locked in. We had a lot of players play well with four players [scoring] in double figures and I thought we rebounded very well.
SDSU led 11-9 with 5:25 to go in the opening quarter and then outscored UND 11-2 the rest of the quarter to take a 22-11 lead into the second. The two teams went back-and-forth in the second frame and the Jacks had a 34-21 lead at halftime.
The Jacks then fully pulled away early in the third. SDSU went on a 16-3 run to push its lead to 53-28 with 5:39 to go in the quarter. The Jacks would lead 60-40 heading into the fourth and their largest lead of the game came 1:42 to play in the game as they led 81-59.
This was the fifth-straight game that the Jacks won by 20 or more points. Senior forward Mesa Byom said the Jackrabbits are playing their best basketball at the right time of the year.
I think were playing at a really high level right now, and thats really important because [every opponent] is going to give it their all. I just think the last few games of the regular season we were playing really well and we carried that [into the tournament], knowing that everyone was going to give us their best, Byom said.
SDSU has specifically been getting things done on the defensive side of the floor. The Jacks held UND to 29% shooting from the field on Saturday and have now held their last four opponents to under 40% shooting.
Johnston said he thinks the defensive success over the past two weeks have been a product of his team not fouling as much and being connected.
When we play well defensively, one, we dont foul a lot. We have the tendency to challenge a lot of shots and challenge a lot of drives, and staying out of foul trouble is a big part of it. We rebound really well. We do a good job of switching. Not just the first switch, but the second and the third. Just multiple things that we try to do defensively to keep good matchups and keep someone on the ball. Awareness is a big part of what we do. But really to me, it just always starts with how we guard the ball without fouling, Johnston said.
SDSU shot 44% from the field and was 9-of-26 from three. The Jacks had a lot of success down low as Brooklyn Meyer led the Jacks with 22 points and 10 rebounds and Byom had 11 points and six boards. SDSU had a 42-12 advantage in points in the paint and Byom said thats a big emphasis for the Jacks to be successful.
I think its really important [that we can impose our will down low]. Its a big part of our identity as a team, rebounding and being big down low. I think that gets us going and then when were not hitting shots from the outside, thats just our steady and we did a really good job of that today, especially against a really good team, Byom said.
Haleigh Timmer had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Jacks. Senior point guard Paige Meyer continued to play well as she finished with 17 points, four assists and four rebounds. Johnston said that when Paige Meyer plays at that level, the rest of the team follows.
I just think Paige is elite, Johnston said. Shes one of the best point guards around and shes been doing it forever. All four years of watching her play has been a gift. Theres just nothing she cant do. She can finish, she can make jump shots, she defends really well, she rebounds really well and is just such a good passer.
You can see that when she plays well, our team plays well. Shes such a catalyst to what we do. Its not always just stats and numbers. Its her presence, its her confidence, its her personality and her joy that she plays with. When she plays with all of those things, our team feeds off of that.
SDSU will play the winner of No. 2 seeded Oral Roberts and No. 6 seeded Kansas City on Sunday at 3 p.m. You can watch Sundays championship game on the CBS Sports Network.
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