South Dakota State Surges in 2H, Takes Down OK State

The 10th-seeded South Dakota State Jackrabbit Women faced off with the 7th-seeded Oklahoma State Cowgirls in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon.

The two teams were meeting for just the second time ever, with the first coming back in the 2004-05 season.

The Jackrabbit Women once again claimed the Summit League regular season and conference titles this season, and entered Saturday's game with a mark of 29-3.

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Early on, it was a sluggish start for both teams, but particularly the Jackrabbits. SDSU managed just nine points in the second quarter, and entered halftime trailing 31-24.

The second half was a different story, as the seven point Cowgirl lead quickly evaporated. The Jackrabbits were down as many as 11 points midway through the third when they began their rally.

The Jacks outscored the Cowgirls 28-19 in the third quarter, which included a 18-8 run to end the quarter.

In the fourth, SDSU took command, knocking down big shots and making 6 of 8 free throws in the final minute to secure the impressive 74-68 win.

Per usual, the Jackrabbit scoring was well distributed. Brooklyn Meyer led SDSU with 19 points on 7 of 15 shooting. Madison Mathiowetz had 17 and Paige Meyer finished with 16 points. Mesa Byom only had 4 points, but was a force on the glass, finishing with 12 total rebounds.

The Jackrabbits finished with a 47-29 rebounding advantage in the win. It was far from the best shooting day for the Jacks, as the team was 44.4% from the field and just 22.2% from 3. SDSU also managed to pick up the win despite 16 turnovers, well above their season average of 12.7.

The 10th-seeded Jackrabbits move on to face 2-seed UConn in second round action in Storrs on Monday. Tip off between the Jackrabbits and Huskies is still to be determined at this time.

With Saturday's win, the Jackrabbit women collected their 3rd 30 win season in program history.