Andrew Holtan | The Brookings Register
BROOKINGS – South Dakota State won its third-straight game on Saturday and did it in convincing fashion as the Jackrabbits topped Kansas City 93-40 at First Bank & Trust Arena.
The Jacks (20-6, 10-2) scored a season-high 32 points in the first quarter and made seven 3-pointers in the opening quarter. It was the first time in a long time that SDSU held a double-digit lead at the end of the opening quarter as they were up 32-10 after the opening 10 minutes and head coach Aaron Johnston said a start like that was much needed.
“The start was fantastic. … I thought it was really important. You know, we have to get back to starting, starting games, starting halves better. You have to. You don’t necessarily win the games with that chunk of time, but you have to start to really establish a tempo, tone, aggressiveness, and today’s game really flowed from those first few minutes,” Johnston said.
Madison Mathiowetz was 4-of-4 from three in the first quarter and Hadley Thul was 2-for-2. Emilee Fox also hit a triple. Mathiowetz said the Jacks emphasized getting off to a good start and that led to the hot shooting in the first quarter.
“We really talked about coming out with that strong start, both offensively and defensively, and setting the tone for the game and the pace of the game, and I thought we did a really great job of that today. … We just moved the ball really well as a team, and we were catching and shooting confidently. Everybody was firing on all cylinders, and it made it tough to guard,” Mathiowetz said.
SDSU led 10-7 four minutes into the game. The Jacks then outscored Kansas City 16-3 the rest of the quarter. They opened the second with a 12-4 run and stretched the lead to 44-14 with 5:30 to go in the first half. In total SDSU outscored Kansas City 22-7 in the second and took a 54-17 lead into halftime.
The 54 points were the most points in a first half for SDSU this season. In the second quarter Fox was 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. She finished with a career-high 26 points and she said her confidence grew as more shots went in.
“I feel like I just kind of got flowing, and then obviously our ball movement was really good, and that kind of set me up. … I feel like if I was open, I was just going to shoot it, and that’s what I normally do. Just try to do what I’m supposed to, and they just happened to go in,” Fox said.
SDSU pushed the lead 70-28 by the end of the third. The Jacks’ largest lead of the game came with 1:20 left in the game as they were up 93-38. The 53-point final margin was the largest victory for SDSU this season.
The Jacks shot 59.6% from the field and were 15-of-25 from three. Mathiowetz finished with 18 points and Hadley Thul had a career-high 13 points. Brooklyn Meyer had 11 points, 13 rebounds and career-high seven assists.
SDSU was without sophomore forward Katie Vasecka on Saturday. She was not dressed and was using crutches. Vasecka missed five games in December with a foot injury and Johnston said he doesn’t know yet how long Vasecka will be out.
Johnston said he’s going to need more from players like Fox and Thul moving forward whether Vasecka’s injury is long term or not.
“We need others [besides Mathiowetz and Meyer] to find ways to be exerted. I think when Emilee plays that way, and that just makes seven threes, but she just was so much more in control and deliberate and intentional about her decisions, getting us into certain actions. She’s just really good.
“And then Hadley kind of goes from, like I said, being a role player who’s trying to fit in to somebody that can be a difference maker. Because I think there’s plenty of time left in the season for her to take some big steps forward.”
SDSU has four games left in the regular season. The Jacks will play three-straight road games as they play at Oral Roberts on Feb. 19 and at Denver on Feb. 21. They then will travel to North Dakota State on Feb. 25 and close out the regular season at home against South Dakota on Feb. 28.
Fox said SDSU is going to approach these final two weeks of the season day by day.
“I think for us right now, it’s just taking it day by day, getting better at practice every day, and then just taking it game by game. What matters is the next game, and so we aren’t looking any further than that. We just got to focus on the next one,” Fox said.
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