Myah Selland put together one of the best performances of her career and powered the No. 9 South Dakota State women’s basketball team to a 62-57 overtime win over No. 8 Southern California Friday night in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Selland dropped 29 points for the Jacks, 17 of which came over the final 11 minute of game clock. The redshirt senior put up 16 straight Jackrabbit points over the last six minutes of regulation through the first three minutes of overtime.
“Myah was the difference for us in the game in a variety of ways, especially her scoring, especially late,” said Jackrabbit head coach Aaron Johnston. “She made a lot of tough plays and put them in foul trouble with some big-time plays for us. She got some rebounds and she was that calming presence because there were times we were rattled for sure.”
USC hit a 3-pointer with seven seconds on the clock to force overtime. From there, Selland helped the Jacks to a 9-point lead, 56-47, with less than a minute to play and defense held off the Trojans down the stretch. Tori Nelson and Paige Meyer knocked down a pair of free throws each in the last 15 seconds.
Selland finished with nine rebounds in addition to her 29 points. Meyer added 16 points – eight from the free throw line – and grabbed four boards.
Kallie Theisen was key on the defensive side, posting 10 rebounds, three steals and two blocks to go with six points.
The Jacks trailed 12-2 early before Meyer and Theisen combined for a seven-point run to end the quarter down only three. Haleigh Timmer gave State its first lead with a 3-pointer at 8:19 mark of the second and the sides traded buckets into halftime. SDSU led 23-20 following a Selland triple at the buzzer.
USC managed to take the lead back early in the fourth, then the Jacks scored six straight to go back up. Tied at 42, Selland tallied a free throw and layup before the Trojans’ trey to send it to OT.
SDSU shot 35 percent from the floor and knocked down only two of 10 3-point attempts. The Jacks went 22-for-27 from the free throw line. Despite the Trojans’ size advantage and signature defense, SDSU out-rebounded USC 45-39. The team tallied 11 steals – three each from Timmer and Theisen – a program best in the NCAA postseason. 25 SDSU points came off turnovers.
USC shot 31 percent from the floor and connected on six 3-pointers. They had a 9-4 edge in blocked shots.
South Dakota State moves to 29-5 on the season. USC ends the year 21-10.
NOTES
• Selland’s 29 points is the most for any Summit League player in the NCAA postseason. The previous best was Macy Miller’s 28 against Quinnipiac in the opening round of the 2019 tournament.
• Five team assists is a season low for SDSU.
• South Dakota State improves to 5-10 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
UP NEXT
South Dakota State will take on No. 1 Virginia Tech on the Hokies’ home floor Sunday evening. Tip is set for 4 p.m. CT. Pregame is at 3:30 on 570 WNAX.
