Warkenthien leads Jacks past IPFW

Thursday, March 1

Fort Wayne, Ind.

7 p.m. ET

South Dakota State University

IPFW

1/1/1970 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- Jennifer Warkenthien matched a career high with 20 points and added career highs of 12 rebounds and five blocked shots to lead the South Dakota State University women’s basketball team to its 11th consecutive victory, 70-58, Thursday night at IPFW.

The Jackrabbits improved to 22-5 overall, moving one step closer to a possible WNIT berth later this month. IPFW dropped to 12-16 this season.

In the opening minutes, SDSU used the three-pointer to grab the lead. Ashlea Muckenhirn hit back-to-back threes and Warkenthien added a triple with 13 minutes, 45 seconds left in the first half to put the Jackrabbits ahead 14-10.

IPFW went on a 5-0 run to grab its first lead of the game at 15-14, but Ketty Cornemann put the Jackrabbits in the lead for good, 19-18, on a basket with 7:03 remaining in the half. SDSU eventually built an eight-point lead on two different occasions despite leading scorer Megan Vogel being held scoreless and on the bench with foul trouble.

Warkenthien scored the final five SDSU points of the half as the Jackrabbits led 33-28 at intermission.

SDSU began to pull awy early in the second half, building a double-digit lead for the first time, 44-33, on a pair of Cornemann free throws at the 14:48 mark. The Jackrabbits led by as many as 15, 64-49, as late as the 3:26 mark.

The Mastodons made one last run as the backcourt tandem of Johnna Lewis-Carlisle and Ashley Johnson scored nine straight points to pull IPFW to within 64-58 with 1:52 remaining. An Andrea Verdegan three-pointer stemmed the tide as the Jackrabbits scored the final six points of the game to seal their 17th consecutive victory over a Division I independent.

Warkenthien was the only player in double figures for the Jackrabbits. Cornemann and Maria Boever each contributed eight points off the bench and Verdegan added eight. Vogel was held to six points, 12 below her season average.

SDSU finished the night 22-of-61 from the field, 36.1 percent, including 8-of-29 from three-point range. The Jackrabbits uncharacteristically struggled at the free throw line, making 18-of-31 attempts, 58.1 percent.

The Jackrabbits held a 49-42 rebounding advantage. IPFW was led on the glass by Johnson with nine rebounds.

Lewis-Carlisle tallied 17 points, followed by 13 from Johnson. Nanyamka Moore added 11 points off the bench for the Mastodons, who host North Dakota State on Saturday.

IPFW shot 20-of-61 from the floor, 32.8 percent, and was 5-of-16 from behind the arc. At the line, the Mastodons converted 13-of-18 tries, 72.2 percent.

The Jackrabbits close out the regular season Saturday afternoon at NJIT. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. Eastern Time (1 p.m. Central) in Newark, N.J.

SDSU Notes: The Jackrabbits are 19-0 when leading at the half ... SDSU leads the all-time series between the future Mid-Continent Conference opponents 5-0 ... Warkenthien previously scored 20 points this season against San Jose State (Calif.) on Dec. 20 ... all 10 Jackrabbit players to see action scored and grabbed at least one rebound ... Warkenthien’s double-double was her team-leading second of the season as she also took over the team lead in rebounding with 159 (5.9 rpg) ... SDSU’s average margin of victory in its 11-game winning streak is 23.5 points per game

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 70 (22-5)
Andrea Verdegan 3-12 0-2 8, Megan Vogel 2-6 2-3 6, Ashlea Muckenhirn 2-5 1-2 7, Jennifer Warkenthien 8-12 3-5 20, Courtney Grimsrud 3-7 1-2 7, Alison Anderson 1-5 1-2 4, Ketty Cornemann 2-5 3-5 8, Morgan Meier 0-0 1-2 1, Maria Boever 1-7 5-6 8, Laura Nielsen 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 22-61 18-31 70.
IPFW 58 (12-16)
Ashley Johnson 5-15 3-4 13, Johnna Lewis-Carlisle 6-17 2-3 17, Liesolot Malfait 0-2 3-5 3, Hilary O’Connell 1-1 0-0 3, Samantha Edwards 0-4 0-0 0, Hannah Thieke 0-4 2-2 2, Courtney Reed 0-1 1-2 1, Starla Williams 1-2 0-0 2, Nanyamka Moore 5-9 0-0 11, Tina Moen 0-2 0-0 0, Juliane Hohne 2-4 2-2 6. Totals 20-61 13-18 58.
Halftime: South Dakota State 33, IPFW 28. 3-point goals--South Dakota State 8-29 (Muckenhirn 2-5, Verdegan 2-8, Cornemann 1-2, Warkenthien 1-3, Anderson 1-3, Boever 1-4, Vogel 0-4), IPFW 5-16 (Lewis-Carlisle 3-7, O’Connell 1-1, Moore 1-3, Johnson 0-1, Reed 0-1, Thieke 0-3). Fouled out--South Dakota State-none; IPFW-Lewis-Carlisle. Rebounds--South Dakota State 49 (Warkenthien 12), IPFW 42 (Johnson 9). Assists--South Dakota State 10 (Muckenhirn 3), IPFW 7 (Lewis-Carlisle 4). Blocked Shots--South Dakota State 6 (Warkenthien 5), IPFW 8 (Malfait 3). Steals--South Dakota State 9 (Boever 4), IPFW 10 (Johnson, Lewis-Carlisle 3). Turnovers--South Dakota State 17, IPFW 17. Total Fouls--South Dakota State 15, IPFW 22. Technical Fouls--none. A-220.