The South Dakota State women’s basketball team’s historic run in the NCAA Tournament came to an end Friday night as the Jackrabbits suffered a 63-53 loss to No. 2 seed Oregon in the Portland Region.
The Jackrabbits, who were the first Summit League team to reach the Sweet Sixteen, saw their 18-game win streak snapped. South Dakota State, which ends the season 28-7, was led by Macy Miller’s 21 points and eight rebounds. Miller closed her career with 2,355 points. Myah Selland added 13 points, five rebounds and four assists.
Oregon (32-4), which is ranked No. 7/7, was led by Ruthy Hebard’s 24 points and 14 rebounds. Sabrina Ionescu added 17 points and 11 assists.
After Madison Guebert sank a 3-point field goal with 4:22 left in the first quarter, the Jackrabbits held a 12-8 lead. However, Oregon closed the quarter on a 10-0 run for an 18-12 lead.
Rylie Cascio Jensen cut the lead to three, 18-15, with a 3-point field goal. Selland later brought the Jackrabbits within one, 20-19, but Oregon responded with a 9-0 run for a 29-19 lead. The Ducks led 31-22 at halftime.
Oregon opened the third quarter with a 9-2 run for a 40-24 lead. After the Ducks took a 47-28 lead, the Jacks went on a 6-2 run to trail, 49-34, after three quarters. Miller scored all six of South Dakota State’s points in that run.
The Jackrabbits outscored Oregon 19-14 in the fourth quarter, including the final six points of the game.
Notes:
The Jackrabbits outrebounded the Ducks 47-44, including 20-8 on the offensive glass.
Miller recorded her 15th 20-plus point game of the season and 40th of her career.
SDSU held Oregon to its second-lowest scoring total on the season.
Guebert sank 103 3-pointers this season, falling short of passing the single-season mark of 107 set by Lisa Kurtenbach in 1988-89.
The attendance of 11,324 was the highest attended NCAA Regional game since 14,002 at the 2012 East Regional final in Louisville.
