This is it.

No. 1.

We’ll wrap things up Friday, taking a look back to see if anything was overlooked.

No. 1

Sweet 16

2019

The 2018-19 women’s basketball season was a memorable one, as South Dakota State advanced to the Sweet 16 – the first Summit League squad to accomplish the feat.

The Jackrabbits were the No. 6 seed in the Big Dance and traveled to Syracuse.

They beat No. 11 Quinnipiac 76-65 on March 23, 2019, inside the Carrier Dome and then took down the host and third-seeded Orange 75-64 two days later.

SDSU headed to Portland for the Sweet 16, falling 63-53 to No. 2 Oregon at the Moda Center.

The Jackrabbits finished the year 28-7, winning the conference regular-season title with a 15-1 mark.

The biggest game of the regular season came on Feb. 24, as SDSU defeated South Dakota 82-78 in overtime at Frost Arena.

It overcame a 13-point deficit to beat the 23rd-ranked Coyotes.

Macy Miller scored a game-high 28 points. Her 3-pointer put the home team on top for good, 77-75, with 1:02 remaining.

SDSU rolled into the final at the Summit League Championship, drilling Purdue Fort Wayne 88-50 and Oral Roberts 86-55.

The Jackrabbits took down the Coyotes 83-71 in the rubber match to claim the crown. (USD beat SDSU 105-98 on Jan. 6 in Vermillion. The Coyotes earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.)

“It’s a great day for South Dakota State, for our women’s basketball program,” SDSU head coach Aaron Johnston said following his team’s 16th consecutive victory. “I’m just so thrilled to be a part of the championship. I’m just thrilled to be a part of a team with so many great young women that represent SDSU in such a positive, exciting way. And to see them go out there on the floor and get another championship makes me a pretty happy camper.

“USD had a phenomenal year and hopefully they continue to play the same way we get to continue to play. But I’m just really proud of what these young women did; excited to see what comes next.”

Miller, the Tournament MVP, broke the league’s career scoring record, finishing with a game-high 30 points – the most ever by a Jackrabbit in a tourney game – while adding 11 rebounds.

“It’s something special,” the Mitchell native said when asked about breaking the record in a big game. “There are a lot of great names up there. But I have to give credit to my teammates and coaches, just for finding me at the right times. And just for my coaches having the confidence in me.

“It’s obviously going to be something special winning the Summit League tournament along with it.”

Madison Guebert added 22 points for SDSU, which used a 22-2 run in the first half to move on top.

It was part of a wild stretch for me, personally.

I arrived in Sioux Falls on March 8 to avoid a potential storm – the Summit League tourney was March 9-12.

I then beat the big blizzard to Rapid City, heading west following the title game.

I was covering Brookings in the Class AA State Girls’ Basketball Tournament on March 14-16.

I ended up stopping in Fort Pierre on the way home to get a photo of the Ranger boys’ semifinal game versus Rushmore at the state tournament.

I got home the afternoon of March 17 and Selection Monday was the following day.

And then it was off to the NCAA Tournament.

Seeing the history of the Carrier Dome in Syracuse was incredible.

The basketball was great.

But what was perhaps most impressive about that experience was Original Italian Pizza – OIP. Find them on Twitter at @eatatoip.

Anyways, Miller scored a tourney career-high 28 points in the first-round win over the Bobcats.

“Well, we’re really fortunate and excited to have a chance to play again; that’s a special thing,” AJ said. “Winning in the NCAA Tournament is hard and we’ve been on both sides of that so we understand it. So we’re really, really appreciative to the fact that we get to play again on Monday.

“We beat a really good team today. Really, the game was a tale of two halves. I thought the flow and everything in the first half was more in our favor; in the second half, it probably trended more towards their favor. They just do a great job defensively, make it really hard to get good looks; and I thought their defense in the second half was outstanding.

“You don’t get to know the other team through scouting, but watching them on film you can see they’re incredibly well coached; they play really hard together; they play like they have five seniors in that starting lineup. They’re just a really experienced group so we’re really pleased and proud of the fact we were able to get a win.”

Two days later, this happened: 

The Dance continues for the Jackrabbits!

South Dakota State is heading to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history after beating the host and third-seeded Orange 75-64 in a back-and-fourth NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament second-round game Monday night at the Carrier Dome.

The No. 6 Jackrabbits – the highest seeded team in Summit League history – pushed their winning streak to 18.

“It’s a great, great, great day to be a Jackrabbit,” Johnston added. “I’m so proud of what this group has accomplished and what they’ve built on over several years. I’m excited to share it with the fans and people that were here; I’m excited to share it with people back home. Just a great step for these young women and what they’ve accomplished.”

Johnston added with a chuckle: “We’re going to have to work on our celebrations a little bit. I sustained a fat lip in our postgame locker room celebration. You can see it; that’s what happened. But other than that, everybody’s doing great and really enjoying this one.”

The Jackrabbits scored 11 consecutive points late to pull out the victory.

Miller converted two free throws to pull SDSU within 62-61.

Guebert canned a pair of huge 3-pointers, the latter resting softly on the rim before falling through the net. That put the Jackrabbits ahead 67-62 with 2:59 showing on the clock.

Myah Selland’s drive and dish resulted in a Tagyn Larson layup with 54.5 seconds remaining. Selland was fouled and made both freebies to push the margin to 71-62 with 35.9 seconds to play.

That pretty much sealed the deal as the Orange made just one of their final 10 shots.

“To be honest, I’m on Cloud 9 right now,” said Miller. “I don’t even have time to think about the game. The second half just went by so fast – I kind of blacked out during it. But, you know, I’m very proud of our girls and very proud we got it done. We’re excited for the Sweet 16.”

Guebert finished with six treys and scored a game-high 20 points. She corralled six rebounds.

Selland added 17 points to go with eight rebounds and five assists.

Miller posted a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds while adding five assists. She had just one turnover against the Orange’s pressure.

The Jackrabbits were loaded in 2019.

But the Ducks were stacked.

Oregon edged SDSU 87-79 on Dec. 12 in Brookings, but it controlled much of the Sweet 16 matchup.

Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard had solid games but it was the Ducks’ defense that was the story of the night in front of a heavily pro-Ducks crowd of 11,324.

SDSU shot 26.7 percent (20-of-75) from the field, including a 5-of-24 mark from long range. Oregon’s length and athleticism were big reasons for the Jackrabbits’ struggles.

Ionescu finished with 17 points and 11 assists to go with seven rebounds.

Hebard recorded game-high totals of 24 points and 14 rebounds.

Satou Sabally added 14 markers.

Miller paced the Jackrabbits with 21 points and eight boards.

Oregon went on to advance to the Final Four before falling 72-67 to eventual champion Baylor.

The Ducks were among the favorites in 2020 before the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ionescu, one of the top players in collegiate history, went No. 1 in the WNBA Draft. Sabally was picked second and Hebard eighth.

On a side note, Portland was an awesome town – Rip City – and I jumped on the Damian Lillard/Trail Blazers bandwagon after that.

Miller, my favorite Jackrabbit of all-time, finished with a Summit League and SDSU record 2,355 points in 144 career games.

Guebert ended up fourth in SDSU history and ninth in the conference ranks with 1,821 points. She hit a Summit League and SDSU record 369 3-pointers.

South Dakota State women’s basketball probably could have had 15 memories in my top 30.

It’s always been a treat to watch them play and it was a pleasure covering them for nearly a decade.

In the Division I era, the Jackrabbits are 387-133 (179-35 Summit League, including 97-10 in home conference games).

The Jackrabbits have won at least 19 games every season since beginning the transition to DI (2004-05). They topped 20 wins in 14 of the 16 seasons, including a 32-3 mark in 2008-09 when they won an NCAA tourney game in their inaugural year of eligibility.

SDSU is 11-13 in the postseason – 4-9 in the NCAA and 7-4 in the WNIT.

The Jackrabbits have six Summit League regular-season titles in 13 years. They’ve won nine postseason crowns in 12 years of eligibility, posting a 30-3 mark at the event.

Miller, who missed a majority of the 2016-17 season after tearing her ACL, got things done at the Summit League Championship. She went 12-0 and was MVP three times.

What a run…

PART I

Release date: April 21

HM. Brookings Marathon, Entringer Classic

30. Sioux Valley volleyball finishes third – Nov. 15-17, 2012

29. Nearly a 2-0 gridiron game – Oct. 31, 2016

28. Jackrabbits beat Bison – Nov. 4, 2017

27. Cossacks take third – March 13-15, 2014

26. SDGA Match Play Championship – July 11-15, 2013

PART II

Release date: April 24

25. Deubrook Area girls’ golf – 2010-present

24. Colman-Egan football – 2016-present

23. Jewett, Bobcat girls rock 2018-19

22. Dolphin three-peat (girls’ track & field) – 2016-19

21. Bobcats’ seven seniors win 20 games (boys’ basketball) – 2016-17

PART III

Release date: April 28 

20. 2020: What could have been

19. Zenner’s final game – Dec. 6, 2014

18. 2012 NCAA Tournaments (basketball)

PART IV

Release date: April 31

17. Wieneke TD buries Bison – Oct. 15, 2016

16. Seth Gross’ two-year stretch – 2016-18

15. Bobcat wrestling – 2015-present

PART V

Release date: May 4

14. Arlington VB wins crown – Nov. 18-20, 2010

13. Dolphins take FB title – Nov. 8, 2012

12. Bobcat distance dynasty – 2009-present

PART VI

Release date: May 8

11. SDSU women’s soccer wins again – Nov. 7 and 9, 2019

10. Jacks hammer Jimmy G for first postseason win – Nov. 24, 2012

9. BHS takes second (football) – 2019

PART VII

Release date: May 11

8. 2018 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament

7. Jackrabbit men win Summit League Indoor Track & Field Championship – Feb. 22-23, 2019

6. Nate Wolters

PART VIII

Release date: May 15

5. Cossack competitive cheer – 2007-present

4. The greatest high school basketball game I’ve ever covered (Sioux Valley-Flandreau boys) – March 2, 2018

PART IX

Release date: May 19

3. Mike Daum hits 3K – Feb. 23, 2019

PART X

Release date: May 22

2. Year of the Bandits – 2010

Please drop me a line if you have any questions or comments or feel like I missed anything. Thanks. Email spwelsh@brookingsregister.com or find @edgecat_ on Twitter.