Hot-shooting Jacks down Middle Tennessee

Sunday, December 13

Frost Arena

Noon

South Dakota State University

Middle Tennessee State

12/13/2009 4:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

By: SDSU Sports Info

South Dakota State put together its best shooting performance in the Division I era, connecting at a 62 percent clip from the field, en route to an 87-61 victory over Middle Tennessee State in women's basketball action Sunday afternoon at Frost Arena.

Five players scored in double figures for the Jackrabbits, who improved to 5-4 overall. Middle Tennessee State evened its record at 4-4.

SDSU grabbed control of the game early, erasing a 4-0 deficit with a 17-0 run over nearly an eight-minute span. Kristin Rotert's three-pointer with 17:52 remaining in the first half gave the Jackrabbits the lead for good at 5-4, while Jill Young capped the run with a three-pointer of her own.

"I just appreciate the effort that we put in on the defensive end," Jackrabbit head coach Aaron Johnston said. "That's something that had been lacking and I was really proud how they came out and battled on that side."

The Blue Raiders, who made 20 three-pointers in their last outing, Wednesday at Louisville, missed their first nine attempts from long range on Sunday and were only 5-fo-29 for the game.

Middle Tennessee trimmed the Jackrabbit lead to single digits only once the remainder of the first half, 21-12, on a three-pointer by Brandi Brown, before SDSU built the lead back to 15 on a couple occasions.

Jackrabbit reserves played a key role as SDSU took a 40-28 halftime lead. Freshman Ashley Eide scored 10 of her career-high 17 points in the opening 20 minutes.

Middle Tennessee opened the second half with a 10-4 run to pull to within six at 44-38 with just over 17 minutes remaining, but Maria Boever ended the run with five consecutive points to keep the Blue Raiders at bay.

Alysha Clark, who led the nation in scoring last season, did her best to keep the Blue Raiders in the game as she scored13 of her game-high 22 points in the second half before fouling out.

SDSU put together one more decisive run down the stretch as it scored 10 consecutive points to turn a 12-point advantage into a 22-point lead, 76-54, at the 4:55 mark on Rotert's third three-pointer of the day.

The Jackrabbits, who set a season high with their 87 points, shot 68 percent from the field in the second half to finish the game 31-for-50. SDSU was 9-of-15 from three-point range and 16-for-19 on free throws, 84.2 percent.

Eide's 17 points led the Jackrabbits, while Boever and Rotert each tallied 13. Jennie Sunnarborg chipped in with 12 points off the bench, with Young adding 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds to pace SDSU's 32-29 rebounding advantage.

MTSU was limited to 35.6 percent shooting from the floor, 21-of-59, including the struggles from behind the arc. The Blue Raiders converted 14-of-19 free throw attempts, 73.7 percent.

Clark finished with a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds. Brown posted 13 points.

The Jackrabbits continue non-conference play Saturday at Utah. Tipoff is set for noon Mountain Time (1 p.m. Central) in Salt Lake City.

NOTES: SDSU leads the all-time series 3-1 ... Sunday marked the first time the home team won a game in the series ... the Jackrabbits improved to 5-4 against Sun Belt Conference opponents ... SDSU's previous best shooting performance in the Division I era - since the start of the 2004-05 season - was a 60.7 percent (37-of-61) effort against IPFW on Jan. 10, 2007 ... it also was the best team shooting effort in 10 years, since going 34-of-54 (63 percent) against Southwest Minnesota State on Dec. 1, 1999 ... Eide's previous career high was four points, set Dec. 5 at Western Illinois ... Boever and Ketty Cornemann each played in their 100th career game on Sunday ... Rotert and Young each were 3-for-4 from three-point range ... Young connected on her 100th career three-pointer in the first half, finishing the game with 102 in her two seasons at SDSU ... the Jackrabbits held a 38-10 advantage in bench points ... SDSU has had two double-digit scorers in every game this season and has had at least three players score in double figures the seven games ... SDSU improved to 118-13 at Frost Arena under head coach Aaron Johnston ... Middle Tennessee's three previous losses this season were against teams currently ranked in the top 10 (Tennessee, Louisiana State, Xavier) ... SDSU committed 25 turnovers, while forcing Middle Tennessee into 22 miscues ... the Jackrabbits' 21 assists were a season high