SIOUX FALLS, SD (GoJacks.com) [WBB] – The South Dakota State women’s basketball team secured its second straight Summit League tournament championship Tuesday afternoon with a 67-54 victory over North Dakota State at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center. The Jackrabbits have won 11 Summit League tournament titles in 16 tries and will make their 12th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

A 14-0 run over more than four minutes of game clock in the final period sealed the game for the Jacks. Tournament MVP Paige Meyer sparked the run with a fast-break layup, followed by an and-one bucket from Mesa Byom. Tori Nelson knocked down a 3-pointer that made it at 10-point game during a personal 7-0 stretch. Meyer capped the run with a pair of makes from the foul line with 1:43 to play.

Meyer led all players with 18 points and tallied seven rebounds and five assists for the Jacks. She finished the tournament averaging 20.7 points, 5.3 assists and 5.0 rebounds across three wins.

Brooklyn Meyer added 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and three blocks in the title game. Madison Mathiowetz tallied 12 points and six boards. Both joined Paige Meyer on the all-tournament team.

Neither side was able to find much of a rhythm in the opening half as the Jacks led 11-10 after 10 minutes and 22-20 at halftime. The offense picked up in the second half. Byom opened the third with one of her two 3-pointers in the period and both teams took their turn making big shots. The Jacks trailed by two, 37-35, when Jenna Hopp sank a floater to tie it and Paige Meyer hit a trey to take the lead back for the final time with 1:39 remaining in the third. NDSU worked its way back to within one at 47-46 before the Jackrabbits’ 14-0 run.

Byom chipped in 11 points and nine rebounds. Nelson finished with nine points, three blocks, three boards and two assists in her final game against a Summit League foe. SDSU out-rebounded NDSU 38-33 and had a 7-3 advantage in blocks.

Heaven Hamling paced North Dakota State with 16 points, six rebounds and three assists. Elle Evans added 13 points. The Jackrabbits held the Bison to 33 percent shooting from the floor with droughts of 0-for-11 and 1-for-11 in the second and third quarter, respectively. The Bison held a 15-10 edge on the offensive glass and a 15-5 advantage in second-chance points.

NOTES

• South Dakota State has won a league-leading 11 Summit League tournament titles.
• SDSU is 38-5 all-time in the Summit League tournament.
• The Jackrabbits have won 21 straight games, the second-longest streak in program history.
• Tori Nelson started her 145th career game Tuesday night, the most of any Jackrabbit in program history.

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SIOUX FALLS, SD (GoJacks.com) [MBB] – South Dakota State jumped out to a double-digit lead just over seven minutes into The Summit League championship game and never trailed as the Jackrabbits defeated Denver, 76-68, en route to their seventh Summit League tournament title on Tuesday, March 12, at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.

South Dakota State recorded the first two field goals of the contest before a Denver 3-pointer by Touko Tainamo made it 4-3. SDSU followed with a 13-2 run to push the score to 17-5 with 12:55 on the clock.

The margin wouldn’t get into single digits again until less than two minutes remaining in the matchup.

The Jackrabbits had a 27-7 edge as SDSU scored 23 of the game’s 28 points during a stretch leading into it. The Pioneers cut the deficit to 12 on a Tommy Bruner 3-pointer with 5:46 remaining in the opening half, but a corresponding six-point scoring spree extended the SDSU advantage again. The Jackrabbits went into halftime up 37-23 by outshooting the Pioneers by a 50-36% clip from the field.

SDSU extended its lead to as many as 23 in the second half. A Luke Appel layup with 8:33 remaining pushed the Jackrabbits ahead 63-40.

The Pioneers used a late run to get the score down to a 10-point margin at 65-55 with 3:24 to go. After a pair of Kalen Garry free throws for the Jackrabbits, Denver’s Jaxon Brenchley hit a 3-pointer with 1:55 remaining to cut the deficit to single digits for the Pioneers.

The Jackrabbit edge got to as low as five after another Brenchley trey made it 67-62 as the clock dipped under a minute. SDSU eventually had Garry and Matt Mims combine to make nine free throws over the last 52 seconds to close the contest out.

South Dakota won its seventh all-time Summit League Championship. The Jackrabbits earned their second Summit League title in the previous three seasons. SDSU will be making their seventh NCAA Tournament appearance at the Division I level.

The Jackrabbits improved to 22-12 overall this season with the win, while Denver’s slate ended with a 17-17 record.

Five different Jackrabbits scored in double digits. Appel and Zeke Mayo led SDSU with 16 points apiece. Appel had eight rebounds and four assists while Mayo had six rebounds and three assists. William Kyle III recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Mims and Garry each scored 11 points with the latter dishing our four assists. Charlie Easley had six rebounds for the Jacks.

Notes

• The Jackrabbits are now 28-9 all-time at The Summit League tournament. SDSU is now 7-1 all-time in the conference title game. The Jackrabbits have won the Summit crown previously in 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022.
• Named to the conference’s All-Tournament Team were Appel, Kyle III and Mayo. Kyle III was honored as the Tournament MVP.

Up Next
The Jackrabbits await to hear their name called on the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Selection Show. The men’s tournament will be revealed at 5 p.m. CT on CBS. Watch party location details will be announced when finalized.