South Dakota State pulled away from Western Illinois in the fourth quarter to win 81-58 Saturday afternoon at Frost Arena. The Jacks remain unbeaten in Summit League action at 11-0 and move to 18-5 overall.
After going back-and-forth in the first three quarters, SDSU outscored the Leathernecks 32-15 over the final 10 minutes to secure the home win. The Jacks shot 58 percent and went 6-for-8 from long range in the final stretch.
Myah Selland posted a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. She put up 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting during the Jacks’ fourth-quarter push.
Paiton Burckhard played limited minutes due to an early injury but came back to finish the night with 12 points and four boards in 15 minutes of action. Paige Meyer also had 12 (six in the fourth quarter) and led the squad with four assists.
Haleigh Timmer rounded out the Jacks’ double-digit scorers with 11 points to go with seven boards and matched Meyer’s four assists. Timmer only connected on three field goals but was perfect a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe. Six of Timmer’s rebounds came on the offensive end, helping SDSU register a 31-6 advantage in second chance points.
SDSU shot 21 percent from the floor in the first quarter and slightly improved that mark to 27 percent by halftime. The Jacks turned things around in the second half, however, shooting 49 percent out of the break, including a blistering 58 percent in the fourth.
Dru Gylten sparked the Jacks’ fourth-quarter surge with a 3-pointer at the 9-minute mark, then Selland drained another to make it a 10-point game. Later, Selland and Meyer connected on consecutive triples to extend SDSU’s lead to 70-51. Paige Meyer hit yet another three at 1:31 and Brooklyn Meyer gave the Jacks its largest lead – 23 points – in the final seconds of the contest.
Tori Nelson tallied nine points, six rebounds and a whopping four blocked shots on the afternoon. Gylten had seven points and three steals. Kallie Theisen set a new career high with 14 rebounds.
As a team, SDSU dominated on the boards, 58-31, and had a 23-5 advantage in offensive rebounds. The Jacks also had the edge in points in the paint (32-20), blocks (7-4), and assists (19-10).
Western Illinois led SDSU 9-6 in steals. Jada Thorpe and Elizabeth Lutz scored 12 and 10 points, respectively, for the Leathernecks.
NOTES
• Myah Selland averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds for SDSU this week. She has three double-doubles this season and 12 for her career.
• SDSU has won nine of its 11 conference games by double digits.
• The Jacks have recorded more rebounds than their opponent in 17 of 23 games this season.
UP NEXT
SDSU goes on the road next week to take on North Dakota Thursday night and North Dakota State Saturday afternoon.
