Behind a stellar night from Myah Selland and a strong defensive team effort, the South Dakota State women’s basketball team knocked off No. 10 Louisville, 65-55, Monday evening in the Jacks’ final game of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.
This is the first top-10 win for the Jackrabbits in the Division I era. Both teams are now 4-2 on the season.
Selland poured in 25 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, to go with 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks. The redshirt senior was clutch down the stretch, shooting 4-for-4 from the field and 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 10 minutes.
The defense of both teams showed out early in the contest. SDSU forced a shot clock turnover by the Cardinals on their first possession of the game, then got two blocks from Selland over the next four minutes. The Jacks led only 8-4 after more than eight minutes of action but gave up a 7-0 run over the final 80 seconds of the quarter to trail 11-8.
Louisville pushed its lead to seven in the second quarter before Selland hit a pair of free throws that sparked a 16-2 Jackrabbit run into a 26-19 halftime lead. Selland had six points in that stretch and Theisen had four while Brooklyn Meyer, Haleigh Timmer and Madysen Vlastuin added two apiece.
The Jacks pushed their lead to as many 17 with less than three minutes to play in the third quarter. The Cardinals answered with an 11-1 run to cut their deficit to seven to end the period, then made it a 3-point game following back-to-back 3-pointers at the 6:30 mark of the fourth. Selland took over from there, scoring 12 of the team’s final 15 points during the last six minutes to secure the victory.
Paiton Burckhard scored 10 points for the Jackrabbits on a 5-for-7 shooting night and had five rebounds. Vlastuin chipped in nine points and two boards. Theisen finished with six points and nine rebounds.
As a team the Jackrabbits shot 45 percent from the floor compared to 36 percent by the Cardinals. SDSU outrebounded Louisville 41-24, including 11-7 in offensive boards, and had an 11-4 edge in second chance points. Hailey Van Lith put up 26 points for Louisville.
NOTES
• SDSU’s previous highest-ranked wins were over No. 12 Syracuse in March of 2019 (75-64) and No. 12 Penn State in December of 2013 (83-79).
• The Jacks are 4-2 on the season. Both of their losses have come to teams that are now ranked in the top-20 of the latest AP poll (now-No. 16 Creighton, now-No. 20 UCLA).
• Myah Selland has 11 career double-doubles.
UP NEXT
The Jacks will be off until they take a two-game road trip next week. SDSU takes on Washington State next Monday, then Montana State next Wednesday.
