South Dakota State moved to 12-0 in the Summit League Thursday night with a 75-57 win over North Dakota at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center.
The Jackrabbits led by four at the halftime break, then outscored the Hawks 25-13 in the third quarter to create some separation. SDSU pushed its lead to as many as 22 during the fourth quarter.
Haleigh Timmer turned in a 16-point performance to lead South Dakota State. She was followed by 12 points from Paiton Burckhard and 11 from Kallie Theisen, who also recorded 12 rebounds for her second double-double of the year.
The teams traded buckets through the majority of the first half. UND’s last lead came at 10-7 with five minutes to play in the opening quarter, but the Hawks kept the Jacks at least within three possessions all the way into halftime. SDSU led 35-31 at the break.
Dru Gylten connected on a 3-pointer out of the locker room, then Burckhard and Timmer combined for six to push SDSU’s lead to double digits at 44-33. An 8-0 stretch that included back-to-back Timmer 3-pointers made it 53-35. Brooklyn Meyer put away a layup in the fourth quarter that extended the Jacks’ lead to its largest of the night – 72-50.
SDSU held the advantage in most of the statistical categories. The team posted a 47-40 advantage in rebounds, led by Theisen’s 12 and then seven from Myah Selland. Burckhard and Timmer had five each.
Both teams had unusually low assist numbers. SDSU averages nearly 17 helpers per game, but finished with only nine – five from Paige Meyer. North Dakota tallied six assists. The Jacks also blocked six shots as a team while the Hawks had just one. North Dakota did have a 3-2 edge in steals.
Nakiyah Hurtst scored 16 points for UND. Kacie Borowicz, the Summit League’s leading scorer at 20.5 points per game, was held to 10 points on 3-for-12 shooting.
The Jacks were held to 34 percent shooting from the field, their third-lowest mark of the season, but grabbed 20 offensive rebounds that resulted in 17 second chance points.
South Dakota State is now 19-5 overall. North Dakota is 12-9 with a 5-6 Summit League record. Thursday’s loss was the Hawks’ first defeat at home this season.
NOTES
• Myah Selland is 10 points away from reaching 2,000 career points.
• The Jackrabbits are 43-1 in the Summit League regular season over the last three seasons.
UP NEXT
The Jacks’ road trip continues to Fargo Saturday afternoon, where SDSU takes on North Dakota State at 1 p.m.
