The South Dakota State University women’s basketball team closed Monday’s The Summit League Championship semifinal with a 20-6 run and recorded a 59-48 win over Oral Roberts at the PREMIER Center.
There was a session-record 6,704 fans in attendance.
The Jackrabbits, now 23-8 overall, will play South Dakota in Tuesday’s 1 p.m. championship game.
Freshman guard Alexis Alexander (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) broke a 42-42 tie with a shot inside the foul line at 4:40. After an Oral Roberts turnover, senior guard Megan Waytashek (Lino Lakes, Minn.), who led the Jackrabbits with 13 points, then sank two free throws at 3:48. Following another ORU turnover, freshman forward Ellie Thompson (Chaska, Minn.) sank a three-point field goal for a 49-42 lead at 3:22.
Oral Roberts, which was led by Vicky McIntyre’s 20 points, 18 rebounds and tournament-record 12 blocked shots, committed 15 second-half turnovers. Until the Golden Eagles sank a field goal with 1:34 to play to make it 54-44, their last field goal was a three-point field goal by Dorottya Balya at 7:16.
Thompson added 12 points for the Jackrabbits while Waytashek snared a team-high seven rebounds
