Four Jackrabbits scored in double figures Friday night as the South Dakota State women’s basketball team beat Lehigh 91-73 at Frost Arena. Both teams move to 1-1 on the season.
Myah Selland paced the Jackrabbits with 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block. All marks either led the team or tied the team high. Tori Nelson tallied 16 points while Ellie Colbeck and Kallie Theisen recorded 12 apiece to round out the Jacks in double digits. Colbeck went 4-for-5 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw line.
The Jackrabbit defense held Lehigh scoreless from the field over the final 7:25 of the first half and used a 22-6 run in that stretch to take a 49-32 lead into the halftime break.
Selland kicked off the run with a jumper, then added a layup following two Lehigh free throws. Another Selland layup pushed SDSU’s lead to seven points. Later, Theisen put away a layup and a pair of free throws to make it a 13-point game. Dru Gylten notched her first Jackrabbit assist, layup and 3-pointer in consecutive possessions to end the half with a 17-point advantage.
The Mountain Hawks fought back to within 11 during the fourth quarter but the Jacks held off the comeback effort and ended the game with an 18-point margin.
Haleigh Timmer and Paiton Burckhard chipped in nine points each. Brooklyn Meyer went 3-for-3 from the field and knocked down two free throws to add eight points.
SDSU had a 43-27 advantage in rebounding over the Mountain Hawks, including a 13-3 edge in offensive boards. Theisen matched Selland’s eight rebounds, Nelson added six and Meyer grabbed five.
The Jackrabbits recorded 19 assists on 35 made baskets. Meyer’s four assists matched the SDSU lead and Timmer gave out three helpers.
Gylten and Timmer had one steal each while Meyer and Theisen both recorded a block.
The Jackrabbits finished the night 52 percent in field goal shooting, 29 percent from beyond the arc and 67 percent from the free throw line.
Lehigh’s Frannie Hottinger led all players with 25 points. She opened the contest with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the first quarter but cooled off to finish 10-for-17. Mackenzie Kramer had 21 points for the Hawks. Lehigh shot 44 percent from the field, 33 percent from the 3-point line and 86 percent from the free throw line.
NOTES
• The Jackrabbits also had four players in double figures against Creighton Monday night.
• The last time SDSU shot better than 50 percent from the floor was against Alabama in the quarterfinal found of the WNIT last season.
• The Jacks’ 91 points is their most since scoring 94 against Kansas City on February 26 of last season.
• SDSU starts the year 1-1 for the second straight season.
UP NEXT
SDSU will play its third straight game at Frost Monday night when it hosts Mississippi State. The Jacks will then travel to Paradise Island, Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament starting next Saturday.
-GoJacks.com-
