Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus No. 6 Washington on March 20, 2026 , Loss , 54, to, 72
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FINAL
Women's Basketball
54
vs No. 6 Washington
72
South Dakota State University Athletics
Jackrabbits open homestand with UNI
12/27/2009 4:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The South Dakota State University women's basketball team opens a three-game homestand Monday night, squaring off against the University of Northern Iowa.
Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Frost Arena.
Monday's game is the second in a row for the Jackrabbits against an opponent from the state of Iowa. SDSU lost a tough 82-69 decision at the University of Iowa on Dec. 22 to move to 5-6 on the season.
UNI, 4-6 overall, will be playing its first game since a Dec. 20 loss at Iowa State, 76-51.
THE SERIES: Monday's game will mark the fifth meeting between South Dakota State and Northern Iowa in women's basketball.
UNI won the initial meeting, 69-64, in Brookings during the 1979-80 season, then claimed a 73-43 victory over the Jackrabbits during the 1981-82 campaign.
SDSU evened the series at two games apiece by winning both matchups since joining the Division I ranks. The Jackrabbits picked up their first victory in the series during the 2007-08 season, claiming a 63-53 victory on Dec. 29, 2007, at Frost Arena. Jennifer Warkenthien led SDSU with a game-high 19 points, while Maria Boever added 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field. Stacie Oistad contributed 12 points off the bench.
Lizzie Boeck came off the bench to post team highs of 15 points and eight rebounds for UNI.
The Jackrabbits also claimed the rematch exactly a year later in Cedar Falls, winning a hard-fought 82-69 decision. Boever tallied a career-high 23 points to lead five Jackrabbit players in double figures. Kristin Rotert added 16 points, Warkenthien tallied 15, Ketty Cornemann scored 12 points and Oistad chipped in with 10 in a reserve role.
Kim Wypiszynski and K.K. Armstrong each scored 18 to lead UNI.
VERSUS THE VALLEY: Since moving to the Division I level at the start of the 2004-05 season, the Jackrabbit women's basketball team has turned in a 5-4 overall record against Missouri Valley Conference opponents, including a 2-0 mark against UNI.
SDSU is 0-1 against teams from the Valley this season, dropping a 79-67 decision at Illinois State on Nov. 19.
JACKRABBITS ONLINE: Audio and video coverage of Monday's game is scheduled to be available via subscription service at GoJacks.com, the official website of SDSU athletics. Monthly subscriptions for the Jackrabbit Extra, which includes live audio and video streaming of most Jackrabbit basketball games, are available for $9.95 per month or $79.95 on a limited-time basis for an entire year of coverage. An audio-only subscription also is available for $4.95 per month, with programming consisting only of live radio broadcasts.
Local radio coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. Central Time on the Jackrabbit Radio Network, with Tyler Merriam calling the play-by-play and former assistant coach Laurie Melum providing color commentary. Brookings-based KJJQ 910 AM will serve as the flagship station of the network, with coverage of Monday's game also available on WNAX 570 AM in Yankton and KGFX 1060 AM in Pierre.
COACHING CONNECTION: Jackrabbit assistant coach Katie (Miller) Falco will be going up against her alma mater and a former mentor in Monday's game.
Falco, who played for the Panthers from 1999-2003, still holds the UNI record for career free throws made with 411 and ranks fifth in career scoring with 1,343 points.
Current Panther head coach Tanya Warren was an assistant coach at UNI during Falco's first two seasons.
LAST WEEK: Jaime Printy scored seven consecutive points to spark a decisive 15-3 Iowa run over the final three and a half minutes of the game as the Hawkeyes outlasted South Dakota State, 82-69, in women's basketball action Dec. 22 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa improved to 7-5 overall, while the Jackrabbits dropped to 5-6 on the season.
SDSU opened the game clicking offensively as the Jackrabbits made four of their first five shots from the floor, including back-to-back three-pointers by Macie Michelson and Jill Young, to open a quick 10-2 lead.
Offensive rebounding and SDSU turnovers allowed the Hawkeyes to chip away at the deficit. Iowa tied the game at 16-all on a Morgan Johnson free throw and took is first lead at 20-18 on a jumper by Kamille Wahlin with 11 minutes, 27 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Jackrabbits continued their strong shooting, going 11-for-15 from the field as they regained and built the lead to 36-29 after a steal and layup by Michelson with just over two minutes remaining in the half.
However, Iowa closed the first stanza with an 8-2 run, capped by a three-pointer by Wahlin just before the buzzer, making the score 38-37 in favor of SDSU.
In the second half, the game would feature five more ties and nine lead changes. The Hawkeyes grabbed a momentary seven-point lead, 59-52, midway through the half, but the Jackrabbits sandwiched three-pointers by Ketty Cornemann and Kristin Rotert around a Young basket to knot the game at 60-all with 8:31 to play.
Two Young free throws with 3:34 to play pulled SDSU back to within a point at 67-66, but from there it was all Hawkeyes. Printy opened her scoring spurt with a deep three-pointer after an offensive rebound, then scored on drives on consecutive possessions to put Iowa up 74-66. The Hawkeyes later converted on six straight free throw attempts to seal the victory.
Printy, a freshman from Marion, Iowa, finished with a game-high 18 points. Wahlin added 17, while Kelly Krei contributed 12 points and Morgan Johnson added 11 points and nine rebounds.
Iowa finished with a 46-34 rebounding advantage, corralling 21 caroms on the offensive end. The Hawkeyes shot 27-of-69 from the field, 39.1 percent, including 7-for-19 from three-point range. At the line, Iowa converted 21-of-29 attempts for 72.4 percent.
For SDSU, Young finished with a season-high 16 points and tied a career high with nine rebounds. Cornemann tallied 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, while Maria Boever went 6-of-8 from the floor en route to 13 points.
The Jackrabbits cooled off in the second half to finish the game 24-of-54 from the field, 44.4 percent, and were only 5-of-18 on three-point tries. SDSU was efficient at the line, making 16-of-20 attempts for 80 percent.
SDSU also was stymied by 23 turnovers.
UP AND DOWN: As the calendar turned to December, the Jackrabbit offense has heated up.
SDSU has shot 50 percent or better in three of its last five games, including a 62 percent (31-of-50) performance against Middle Tennessee State on Dec. 13 that stands as the best shooting effort in the Division I era. Combined, the Jackrabbits have gone 135-of-269, 50.2 percent, in the month of December, including 35-of-82, 42.3 percent, from three-point range. SDSU, which shot 51 percent at Western Illinois and 50 percent at IUPUI to open the month, is averaging 74.6 points per game in posting a 3-2 record in December.
SUMMIT LEAGUE DOMINANCE: South Dakota State has built an impressive Summit League résumé as it plays its third season in the 10-team conference.
In its two-plus seasons as a league member, the Jackrabbits have compiled a 35-3 record in Summit League regular season games en route to consecutive outright league titles with records of 16-2 in 2007-08 and 17-1 during the 2008-09 season. SDSU has gone a perfect 18-0 at home and has won at least one game on every other Summit League member's home court.
SDSU also is 3-0 in Summit League postseason tournament games after winning the 2009 championship in its first year of eligibility. The Summit League Championship returns to Sioux Falls March 6-9, 2010.
PRESEASON FAVORITES: The South Dakota State University women's basketball team is a near-unanimous pick to repeat as Summit League champions, as selected by the annual preseason poll of league coaches, sports information directors and media, which was released in October.
The Jackrabbits, who return four starters, received 25 of the 27 first-place votes to tally 419 points. Oakland University (Mich.), which lost to SDSU in the Summit League Championship last season, earned one first-place vote and finished second in the poll with 365 points. North Dakota State was third with 318 points, while Oral Roberts (Okla.) picked up the other first-place vote to finish fourth with 289 points.
The Summit League opened its 18-game, double round-robin schedule Dec. 5. The Summit League slate resumes Saturday (Jan. 2), with SDSU hosting Centenary (La.).
PRESEASON HONORS: Although South Dakota State does not have a player on the preseason all-Summit League First Team, four Jackrabbit players received preseason accolades by being named to the all-league second team: senior forwards Maria Boever and Ketty Cornemann, junior guard/forward Kristin Rotert and sophomore guard Jill Young.
Boever, a 6-foot-1 senior forward from Worthington, Minn., earned honorable mention all-Summit League honors last season after averaging 10.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. She scored in double figures 14 times and added a pair of double-digit rebounding performances.
A 5-11 senior forward, Cornemann earned all-Summit League second-team recognition during the 2008-09 season. One of only two Jackrabbits to start all 35 games, she reached double figures 13 times en route to averaging 8.2 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.
Rotert, a 6-foot junior wing, was another honorable mention all-league performer after averaging 10.1 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. She ranked second on the team with 60 three-pointers and had the tendency to rise to the occasion in big games, posting double figures for scoring 17 times.
Young, a 5-7 sophomore guard, earned Summit League Sixth Woman of the Year honors and a spot on the Summit League All-Newcomer Team after ranking second on the team in scoring at 10.2 points per game. The Mitchell native established a Jackrabbit freshman record with 82 three-pointers.
UMKC guard Chazny Morris was named the Preseason Player of the Year. She was joined on the first team by North Dakota State guard Inger Hodgson, IPFW guard Chelsey Jackson, Oakland guard Melissa Jeltema, Oral Roberts guard/forward Janae Voelker and IUPUI center Julia Whitted.
DIFFICULT SCHEDULE: The Jackrabbit women's basketball team has played a difficult slate of non-conference games this season.
Of SDSU's first nine non-conference games, eight were against an opponent that played in the postseason a year ago. Seven of those games were against fellow NCAA Tournament teams as the Jackrabbits met Virginia in the second round of the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas.
Two of SDSU's opponents were ranked in the top 25 of last week's Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today coaches' polls: Arizona State (17th/18th) and Virginia (20th/23rd).
DEPTH AND BALANCE: The Jackrabbits have had at least two players score in double figures in all 10 games so far this season, and nine different players have tallied double digits for scoring.
Senior forward Maria Boever has led or shared top-scoring honors five times this season, including a season-high 21 points in the season opener against Gonzaga.
A list of double-figure scoring games follows:
Gonzaga • Maria Boever (21), Jill Young (15), Leah Dietel (12), Ketty Cornemann (10)
Arizona State • Kristin Rotert (14), Jennie Sunnarborg (11)
Illinois State • Boever (17), Rotert (15), Sunnarborg (12), Macie Michelson (10)
Western Kentucky • Rotert (16), Michelson (13), Boever (11), Cornemann (10)
Charlotte • Boever (18), Rotert (13), Young (10)
Virginia • Boever (14), Steph Paluch (14), Rotert (14)
Western Illinois • Boever (14), Cornemann (14), Rotert (13)
IUPUI • Cornemann (18), Boever (14), Sunnarborg (13), Young (11)
Middle Tennesee State • Ashley Eide (17), Boever (13), Rotert (13), Sunnarborg (12), Young (11)
Utah • Rotert (13), Boever (10), Michelson (10)
Iowa • Young (16), Cornemann (14), Boever (13)
YOUTHFUL BENCH: While the Jackrabbits return four of their five regular starters from a year ago, SDSU will rely on a number of underclassmen to fill reserve roles this season.
Of the 15 players on the roster, five are true freshmen, one is a redshirt freshman, threeare sophomores, three are juniors and three are seniors.
With reigning Summit League Sixth Woman of the Year Jill Young settling into a starting role, the next top returning scorer off the bench is sophomore Jennie Sunnarborg, who
averaged 3.3 points per game during the 2008-09 campaign, but has doubled her scoring output to 6.6 points per game so far this season.
The Jackrabbits will look for an expanded role for sophomore guard Vanessa Johnson, who missed nearly half the 2008-09 season due to injury. Johnson averaged only 0.6 points per game during the 2008-09 season, but provides the Jackrabbits with another perimeter shooting threat.
Other returning bench players include senior point guard Alison Anderson and junior forward Jennifer Schuttloffel.
Of the six players in the freshman class, four are from the state of South Dakota. Ashley Eide (Sioux Falls), Tara Heiser (Watertown) and Steph Paluch (Pierre) will fill guard slots, while Katie Lingle (Pierre) will back up in the post. Heiser is expected to redshirt this season.
Rounding out the freshman class are Jordan, Minn., native Leah Dietel at forward and redshirt freshman post player Cala Westergard. A native of Charles City, Iowa, Westergard played in her first official game since her junior year of high school in the Nov. 15 matchup at Arizona State. Westergard missed her senior year of high school due to injury.
Despite its youth, the Jackrabbit reserves have outscored their counterparts in seven of the 11 games this season, including a 38-12 margin against Middle Tennessee State on Dec. 13.
100 D-I WINS: Since moving up to the NCAA Division I ranks at the start of the 2004-05 season, the Jackrabbits have posted a winning record against D-I opponents. In its five-plus seasons competing at the Division I level, SDSU has compiled a 107-38 mark (.738 winning percentage) versus D-I opposition. The Jackrabbits have posted victories over 50 different Division I teams representing 18 conferences plus independents.
750 WINS: The Jackrabbits' victory over Oakland in the 2009 Summit League championship game was the 750th in the women's basketball program's history. Since the modern era of women's basketball at South Dakota State University began with a 6-0 mark during the 1966-67 season, the Jacks have gone on to compile an overall record of 756-336 (.692 winning percentage).
SDSU has a streak of 23 consecutive winning seasons.The Jackrabbits' last losing season was an 11-16 campaign during the 1985-86 season.
OPENING SUCCESS: The Jackrabbits' 75-71 overtime victory against Gonzaga in the 2009-10 season opener on Nov. 13 marked the 17th consecutive season SDSU opened with a win.
The last time the Jackrabbits lost a season opener was during the 1992-93 season, when they fell 74-72 to Moorhead State (Minn.).
TOUGH AT HOME: SDSU's loss to Western Kentucky on Nov. 22, was a rarity during the Aaron Johnston era. In his tenure as Jackrabbit head coach, Johnston has led the Jackrabbits to a 118-13 record (.901 winning percentage) at Frost Arena, including a
63-5 mark at home during the Division I era. The Jackrabbits have put together winning streaks of 15, 15 and 22 in the process.
Since the start of the 2001-02 season, SDSU has a 108-8 home record, losing just one game at Frost Arena each full season before capping the 2008-09 regular season with a 14-0 record — a mark that stands as the first undefeated home season in school history. The loss to Western Kentucky snapped a 35-game regular season home winning streak, as well as a 15-game overall winning streak that began after the Jackrabbits lost to Creighton (Neb.) in the opening round of the 2008 Women's NIT.
SDSU is undefeated at home in Summit League play, posting an 18-0 record at Frost Arena since joining the league in 2007-08. The Jackrabbits have won their home conference games by an average of 26.7 points.
FINDING THE RIGHT COMBINATION: Despite returning four regular starters from last year's squad, the Jackrabbit women's basketball team has shaken up the starting lineup this season. Through the first 11 games, SDSU has used three different starting lineups, with seven players cracking the starting five. Maria Boever, Macie Michelson and Kristin Rotert have started all 11 games so far this season.
• Gonzaga: Cornemann, Sunnarborg, Boever, Michelson, Rotert
• at Arizona State: Cornemann, Sunnarborg, Boever, Michelson, Rotert
• at Illinois State: Dietel, Boever, Michelson, Young, Rotert
• Western Kentucky: Dietel, Boever, Michelson, Young, Rotert
• vs. Charlotte: Dietel, Boever, Michelson, Young, Rotert
• vs. Virginia: Dietel, Boever, Michelson, Young, Rotert
• at Western Illinois: Cornemann, Boever, Michelson, Young, Rotert
• at IUPUI: Cornemann, Boever, Michelson, Young, Rotert
• Middle Tennessee: Cornemann, Boever, Michelson, Young, Rotert
• Utah: Cornemann, Boever, Michelson, Young, Rotert
• Iowa: Cornemann, Boever, Michelson, Young, Rotert
BOEVER TOPS 1,000: South Dakota State senior forward Maria Boever became the 27th member of the Jackrabbit 1,000-Point Club, accomplishing the feat Dec. 7 at IUPUI.
With 14 points in the game, Boever upped her career total to 1,010 points. She has since gone on to tally 1,046 career points in 102 career games as she moved past Sarita DeBoer (1,003 points from 2002-05) for 26th place. Next on the career scoring list is Dawn Hull, who scored 1,125 points from 1993-96.
A senior from Worthington, Minn., Boever finished as the team's second-leading scorer during her sophomore season in 2007-08 with an average of 12.2 points per game, then ranked fourth last year on a balanced Jackrabbit team with 10 points per game.
Two other Jackrabbit players could reach the 1,000-point plateau later this season: senior Ketty Cornemann and junior Kristin Rotert. Cornemann has tallied 786 career points, while Rotert has 767 career points.
100 GAMES: Jackrabbit seniors and three-year starters Maria Boever and Ketty Cornemann each played in their 100th career game Dec. 13 against Middle Tennessee State.
During their three-plus seasons with the Jackrabbits, SDSU has posted a combined record of 85-22.
SDSU's third member of the senior class, Alison Anderson, has played in 95 games in a Jackrabbit uniform.
CORNEMANN RESPONDS: After coming off the bench in the four previous games, Ketty Cornmenann marked her return to the starting lineup with back-to-back strong performances to kick off Summit League action.
A senior from Yankton, Cornemann averaged 16 points and five rebounds in games at Western Illinois and IUPUI, shooting 66.7 percent (4-of-6) from three-point range. She posted season highs of 18 points and nine rebounds in the win at IUPUI on Dec. 7, then scored eight points in the Dec. 13 victory over Middle Tennessee State.
Cornemann returned to double figures Dec. 22 at Iowa with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, including 2-for-3 from three-point range.
DOUBLE DUTY: Maria Boever has posted a pair of double-doubles for points and rebounds while leading the team in both categories — 14.1 ppg and 6.9 rpg — through the first 11 games.
Boever began the season with 21 points and 11 rebounds in the season-opening overtime victory over Gonzaga, then added 11 points and 10 boards in a home loss to Western Kentucky.
THREE-POINT BARRAGE: As a team, the Jackrabbits ranked fifth among Division I women's basketball teams by making an average of 8.5 three-pointers per game last season.
SDSU tied school and NCAA Tournament single-game records with 16 trifectas in its opening-round win over Texas Christian. The Jackrabbits made 10 or more three-pointers in a game nine times.
The Jackrabbits' 291 three-pointers as a team set a new single-season school record, breaking the mark of 288 set by the 2001-02 squad, which was the first Jackrabbit team to qualify for the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.
Through 11 games this season, the Jackrabbits have made 81 three-pointers, an average of 7.36 per game, while shooting a Summit League-best 38.2 percent (81-of-212) from beyond the arc. SDSU's opponents are 46-of-148 from behind the arc, 31.1 percent.
YOUNG FOR 3: Sophomore guard Jill Young will attempt to build on a strong showing from behind the three-point arc during her first season in a Jackrabbit uniform.
The Mitchell native ranked third among NCAA Division I players during the 2008-09 season by shooting at a 46.1 percent (82-of-178) clip from three-point range. Young's 82 made three-pointers also set a Jackrabbit freshman record, eclipsing the mark of 58 set by Kristin Rotert during the 2007-08 campaign.
Young comes into Monday's matchup against Northern Iowa with 103 career three-pointers, topping the 100 mark with three triples Dec. 13 against Middle Tennessee State. She has made at least one three-pointer in 10 of the 11 games this season and is currently shooting 35 percent from behind the arc, making 21-of-60 attempts.
ROTERT CRACKS TOP 10: Junior wing Kristin Rotert joined the Jackrabbit career top 10 this season and is on pace to move up a few more spots this season.
The Salem native leads the team with 24 three-pointers so far this season and upped her career total to 142 with one three-pointer in the Dec. 22 game at Iowa. Rotert currently stands in a tie with Rachel Halsrud (142 three-pointers from 1991-94) for ninth place after making three three-pointers in a game six different times this season.
Rotert set a then-freshman record with 58 three-pointers during the 2007-08 season and ranked second on the team with 60 treys last season.
EIDE STEPS UP: Freshman guard/forward Ashley Eide has been a top reserve for the Jackrabbits in the last two weeks. After playing sparingly the first month of the season, Eide scored a career-high 17 points in 22 minutes of action in the Dec. 13 win over Middle Tennessee State, then tallied nine points in the loss to Utah on Dec. 19.
In the last three games combined, Eide is shooting 66.7 percent (10-for-15) from the field, making her only three-point attempt.
BATTLE OF THE BOARDS: The Jackrabbit women's basketball team had its streak of winning 36 consecutive games in which it has held a rebounding advantage end in the 81-74 loss Nov. 22 to Western Kentucky. SDSU won the last 10 games of the 2007-08 season, all 25 during the 2008-09 season and the first game of the 2009-10 season in which it held an edge on the boards.
Previously, the last time SDSU lost a game it won the battle of the boards was a 67-60 defeat at Western Illinois on Jan. 14, 2008.
COACH AARON JOHNSTON: Now in his 10th season as head coach of the South Dakota State University women's basketball team, Aaron Johnston has taken the Jackrabbit program to the top of NCAA Division II and is leading SDSU to national prominence at the Division I level.
Johnston, who coached his 300th game Dec. 19 at Utah, has compiled a career record of 230-71 (.764 winning percentage), ranking second on the SDSU career victories list behind his predecessor, Nancy Neiber, who compiled a 301-140 record in 16 seasons from 1985-2000. Johnston posted his 200th career victory on Dec. 4, 2008, when the Jackrabbits defeated Centenary (La.) His career totals have included a 35-3 record (.921 winning percentage) in Summit League regular season games and a 16-5 mark (.762 winning percentage) in postseason games.
The Summit League Coach of the Year in each of the Jackrabbits' first two seasons in the 10-team league, Johnston was named a finalist for the 2009 Naismith Award as the nation's top coach. SDSU tied a school record for victories in a season with 32 during the 2008-09 campaign and gained national attention by vaulting into the top 25 in December after non-conference victories over the likes of Wisconsin, Utah, Minnesota and Gonzaga (Wash.). The Jackrabbits were ranked in the final 13 USA Today/ESPN regular season coaches' polls, climbing as high as 14th in the coaches' poll and 16th in the Associated Press poll. SDSU finished the 2008-09 season ranked 19th in the coaches' poll.
NEW COACHES: The Jackrabbit coaching staff features three new faces this season with the hirings of Emilee Gusso and Chad Oletzke as full-time assistant coaches and Deb Remmerde as a graduate assistant.
Gusso had been serving as an assistant coach on an interim basis since mid-July. In addition to her on-court duties, Gusso will fill the roles of recruiting coordinator and academic coordinator for the Jackrabbits. Gusso was an assistant coach at Drake (Iowa) the past three seasons, helping guide the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament in 2007 and a WNIT appearance a year later. A 2004 graduate of the University of Nebraska-Kearney, Gusso previously served as a graduate assistant at SDSU during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons, helping guide the Jackrabbits through their first two years of transition to the Division I level.
Oletzke joins the Jackrabbit coaching staff after serving as head women's basketball coach at Northwest College in Powell, Wyo., the past five seasons. During his tenure with the junior college program, Oletzke earned coach of the year honors after lead the Trappers to a Wyoming Community College Athletic Conference championship and a North Sub-Region title. He began coaching at the collegiate level at Southwest Minnesota State University, serving as an assistant women's basketball coach for four years. While with the Mustangs, SMSU posted three 20-win seasons and made two NCAA Division II postseason appearances.
Remmerde moves to the sidelines after a record-setting playing career at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa. A four-time first-team All-American and 2008 NAIA Division II Player of the Year, she finished her career as the division's all-time scoring leader with 3,854 points, an average of 28.8 points per game. She established a single-season scoring record with 1,122 points during the 2007-08 season and also set all-time NAIA records for career (95.77 percent) and single-season (97.24 percent) free throw percentage. Her 133 consecutive made free throws are the most in competition at any level — high school to professional, men's or women's). After completing her collegiate playing career in 2008, Remmerde earned a tryout with the WNBA's Houston Comets and briefly played professionally in Germany.
Rounding out the Jackrabbit women's basketball coaching staff is second-year assistant coach Katie Falco.
ACADEMIC SUCCESS: After leading all divisions in team grade-point average each of the three previous seasons, the South Dakota State University women's basketball team was overtaken for the top spot in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll during the 2008-09 season.
With a 3.571 team GPA, the Jackrabbits, coached by Aaron Johnston, still managed a third-place showing in the NCAA Division I rankings and 15th among all divisions, which includes NCAA Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA and junior colleges. Indiana State took over the No. 1 spot in Division I with a 3.645 team GPA, earning the top ranking for the third time ( also in 2002-03 and 2004-05). The University of North Dakota ranked second at 3.580.
Dana College (Neb.) led all divisions with a 3.763 team grade-point average.
SDSU was one of seven Division I teams in the WBCA's honor roll to make an NCAA Tournament appearance during the 2008-09 campaign. Only the Jackrabbits, who finished the season with a 32-3 overall record, and Kansas State advanced past the first round.
The Jackrabbits began their run of three consecutive team GPA titles in 2005-06 with a 3.730 GPA. SDSU repeated with a mark of 3.693 in 2006-07 and claimed its third title with a 3.669 team GPA during the 2007-08 academic year. In addition, the Jackrabbits finished second among Division I programs during the 2004-05 season with a 3.567 GPA.
Also during the 2008-09 season, senior Ashlea Muckenhirn and Jennifer Warkenthien earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honors, with Warkenthien also being named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Second Team.
Warkenthien later added to her list of awards by being named The Summit League Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Additionally, 12 players on the Jackrabbit roster were recognized as members of the
Academic All-Summit League Team during the 2008-09 campaign, with nine also receiving recognition on the Commissioner's List of Academic Excellence.
THE ROSTER: The 2009-10 SDSU women's basketball roster features 15 players from three different states. Of the 15 players, nine are from South Dakota, five are from Minnesota and one is from Iowa. By class, three are seniors, three are juniors, three are sophomores, one is a redshirt freshman and five are incoming freshmen.
A LOOK AHEAD: SDSU continues its homestand with its first two Summit League home games of the season. The Jackrabbits take on Centenary (La.) in the annual Lamb Bonanza game on Saturday, Jan. 2, tipping off the doubleheader at 5 p.m.
SDSU will host Oral Roberts at 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 4, to end the homestand.
Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Frost Arena.
Monday's game is the second in a row for the Jackrabbits against an opponent from the state of Iowa. SDSU lost a tough 82-69 decision at the University of Iowa on Dec. 22 to move to 5-6 on the season.
UNI, 4-6 overall, will be playing its first game since a Dec. 20 loss at Iowa State, 76-51.
THE SERIES: Monday's game will mark the fifth meeting between South Dakota State and Northern Iowa in women's basketball.
UNI won the initial meeting, 69-64, in Brookings during the 1979-80 season, then claimed a 73-43 victory over the Jackrabbits during the 1981-82 campaign.
SDSU evened the series at two games apiece by winning both matchups since joining the Division I ranks. The Jackrabbits picked up their first victory in the series during the 2007-08 season, claiming a 63-53 victory on Dec. 29, 2007, at Frost Arena. Jennifer Warkenthien led SDSU with a game-high 19 points, while Maria Boever added 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field. Stacie Oistad contributed 12 points off the bench.
Lizzie Boeck came off the bench to post team highs of 15 points and eight rebounds for UNI.
The Jackrabbits also claimed the rematch exactly a year later in Cedar Falls, winning a hard-fought 82-69 decision. Boever tallied a career-high 23 points to lead five Jackrabbit players in double figures. Kristin Rotert added 16 points, Warkenthien tallied 15, Ketty Cornemann scored 12 points and Oistad chipped in with 10 in a reserve role.
Kim Wypiszynski and K.K. Armstrong each scored 18 to lead UNI.
VERSUS THE VALLEY: Since moving to the Division I level at the start of the 2004-05 season, the Jackrabbit women's basketball team has turned in a 5-4 overall record against Missouri Valley Conference opponents, including a 2-0 mark against UNI.
SDSU is 0-1 against teams from the Valley this season, dropping a 79-67 decision at Illinois State on Nov. 19.
JACKRABBITS ONLINE: Audio and video coverage of Monday's game is scheduled to be available via subscription service at GoJacks.com, the official website of SDSU athletics. Monthly subscriptions for the Jackrabbit Extra, which includes live audio and video streaming of most Jackrabbit basketball games, are available for $9.95 per month or $79.95 on a limited-time basis for an entire year of coverage. An audio-only subscription also is available for $4.95 per month, with programming consisting only of live radio broadcasts.
Local radio coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. Central Time on the Jackrabbit Radio Network, with Tyler Merriam calling the play-by-play and former assistant coach Laurie Melum providing color commentary. Brookings-based KJJQ 910 AM will serve as the flagship station of the network, with coverage of Monday's game also available on WNAX 570 AM in Yankton and KGFX 1060 AM in Pierre.
COACHING CONNECTION: Jackrabbit assistant coach Katie (Miller) Falco will be going up against her alma mater and a former mentor in Monday's game.
Falco, who played for the Panthers from 1999-2003, still holds the UNI record for career free throws made with 411 and ranks fifth in career scoring with 1,343 points.
Current Panther head coach Tanya Warren was an assistant coach at UNI during Falco's first two seasons.
LAST WEEK: Jaime Printy scored seven consecutive points to spark a decisive 15-3 Iowa run over the final three and a half minutes of the game as the Hawkeyes outlasted South Dakota State, 82-69, in women's basketball action Dec. 22 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa improved to 7-5 overall, while the Jackrabbits dropped to 5-6 on the season.
SDSU opened the game clicking offensively as the Jackrabbits made four of their first five shots from the floor, including back-to-back three-pointers by Macie Michelson and Jill Young, to open a quick 10-2 lead.
Offensive rebounding and SDSU turnovers allowed the Hawkeyes to chip away at the deficit. Iowa tied the game at 16-all on a Morgan Johnson free throw and took is first lead at 20-18 on a jumper by Kamille Wahlin with 11 minutes, 27 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Jackrabbits continued their strong shooting, going 11-for-15 from the field as they regained and built the lead to 36-29 after a steal and layup by Michelson with just over two minutes remaining in the half.
However, Iowa closed the first stanza with an 8-2 run, capped by a three-pointer by Wahlin just before the buzzer, making the score 38-37 in favor of SDSU.
In the second half, the game would feature five more ties and nine lead changes. The Hawkeyes grabbed a momentary seven-point lead, 59-52, midway through the half, but the Jackrabbits sandwiched three-pointers by Ketty Cornemann and Kristin Rotert around a Young basket to knot the game at 60-all with 8:31 to play.
Two Young free throws with 3:34 to play pulled SDSU back to within a point at 67-66, but from there it was all Hawkeyes. Printy opened her scoring spurt with a deep three-pointer after an offensive rebound, then scored on drives on consecutive possessions to put Iowa up 74-66. The Hawkeyes later converted on six straight free throw attempts to seal the victory.
Printy, a freshman from Marion, Iowa, finished with a game-high 18 points. Wahlin added 17, while Kelly Krei contributed 12 points and Morgan Johnson added 11 points and nine rebounds.
Iowa finished with a 46-34 rebounding advantage, corralling 21 caroms on the offensive end. The Hawkeyes shot 27-of-69 from the field, 39.1 percent, including 7-for-19 from three-point range. At the line, Iowa converted 21-of-29 attempts for 72.4 percent.
For SDSU, Young finished with a season-high 16 points and tied a career high with nine rebounds. Cornemann tallied 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, while Maria Boever went 6-of-8 from the floor en route to 13 points.
The Jackrabbits cooled off in the second half to finish the game 24-of-54 from the field, 44.4 percent, and were only 5-of-18 on three-point tries. SDSU was efficient at the line, making 16-of-20 attempts for 80 percent.
SDSU also was stymied by 23 turnovers.
UP AND DOWN: As the calendar turned to December, the Jackrabbit offense has heated up.
SDSU has shot 50 percent or better in three of its last five games, including a 62 percent (31-of-50) performance against Middle Tennessee State on Dec. 13 that stands as the best shooting effort in the Division I era. Combined, the Jackrabbits have gone 135-of-269, 50.2 percent, in the month of December, including 35-of-82, 42.3 percent, from three-point range. SDSU, which shot 51 percent at Western Illinois and 50 percent at IUPUI to open the month, is averaging 74.6 points per game in posting a 3-2 record in December.
SUMMIT LEAGUE DOMINANCE: South Dakota State has built an impressive Summit League résumé as it plays its third season in the 10-team conference.
In its two-plus seasons as a league member, the Jackrabbits have compiled a 35-3 record in Summit League regular season games en route to consecutive outright league titles with records of 16-2 in 2007-08 and 17-1 during the 2008-09 season. SDSU has gone a perfect 18-0 at home and has won at least one game on every other Summit League member's home court.
SDSU also is 3-0 in Summit League postseason tournament games after winning the 2009 championship in its first year of eligibility. The Summit League Championship returns to Sioux Falls March 6-9, 2010.
PRESEASON FAVORITES: The South Dakota State University women's basketball team is a near-unanimous pick to repeat as Summit League champions, as selected by the annual preseason poll of league coaches, sports information directors and media, which was released in October.
The Jackrabbits, who return four starters, received 25 of the 27 first-place votes to tally 419 points. Oakland University (Mich.), which lost to SDSU in the Summit League Championship last season, earned one first-place vote and finished second in the poll with 365 points. North Dakota State was third with 318 points, while Oral Roberts (Okla.) picked up the other first-place vote to finish fourth with 289 points.
The Summit League opened its 18-game, double round-robin schedule Dec. 5. The Summit League slate resumes Saturday (Jan. 2), with SDSU hosting Centenary (La.).
PRESEASON HONORS: Although South Dakota State does not have a player on the preseason all-Summit League First Team, four Jackrabbit players received preseason accolades by being named to the all-league second team: senior forwards Maria Boever and Ketty Cornemann, junior guard/forward Kristin Rotert and sophomore guard Jill Young.
Boever, a 6-foot-1 senior forward from Worthington, Minn., earned honorable mention all-Summit League honors last season after averaging 10.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. She scored in double figures 14 times and added a pair of double-digit rebounding performances.
A 5-11 senior forward, Cornemann earned all-Summit League second-team recognition during the 2008-09 season. One of only two Jackrabbits to start all 35 games, she reached double figures 13 times en route to averaging 8.2 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.
Rotert, a 6-foot junior wing, was another honorable mention all-league performer after averaging 10.1 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. She ranked second on the team with 60 three-pointers and had the tendency to rise to the occasion in big games, posting double figures for scoring 17 times.
Young, a 5-7 sophomore guard, earned Summit League Sixth Woman of the Year honors and a spot on the Summit League All-Newcomer Team after ranking second on the team in scoring at 10.2 points per game. The Mitchell native established a Jackrabbit freshman record with 82 three-pointers.
UMKC guard Chazny Morris was named the Preseason Player of the Year. She was joined on the first team by North Dakota State guard Inger Hodgson, IPFW guard Chelsey Jackson, Oakland guard Melissa Jeltema, Oral Roberts guard/forward Janae Voelker and IUPUI center Julia Whitted.
DIFFICULT SCHEDULE: The Jackrabbit women's basketball team has played a difficult slate of non-conference games this season.
Of SDSU's first nine non-conference games, eight were against an opponent that played in the postseason a year ago. Seven of those games were against fellow NCAA Tournament teams as the Jackrabbits met Virginia in the second round of the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas.
Two of SDSU's opponents were ranked in the top 25 of last week's Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today coaches' polls: Arizona State (17th/18th) and Virginia (20th/23rd).
DEPTH AND BALANCE: The Jackrabbits have had at least two players score in double figures in all 10 games so far this season, and nine different players have tallied double digits for scoring.
Senior forward Maria Boever has led or shared top-scoring honors five times this season, including a season-high 21 points in the season opener against Gonzaga.
A list of double-figure scoring games follows:
Gonzaga • Maria Boever (21), Jill Young (15), Leah Dietel (12), Ketty Cornemann (10)
Arizona State • Kristin Rotert (14), Jennie Sunnarborg (11)
Illinois State • Boever (17), Rotert (15), Sunnarborg (12), Macie Michelson (10)
Western Kentucky • Rotert (16), Michelson (13), Boever (11), Cornemann (10)
Charlotte • Boever (18), Rotert (13), Young (10)
Virginia • Boever (14), Steph Paluch (14), Rotert (14)
Western Illinois • Boever (14), Cornemann (14), Rotert (13)
IUPUI • Cornemann (18), Boever (14), Sunnarborg (13), Young (11)
Middle Tennesee State • Ashley Eide (17), Boever (13), Rotert (13), Sunnarborg (12), Young (11)
Utah • Rotert (13), Boever (10), Michelson (10)
Iowa • Young (16), Cornemann (14), Boever (13)
YOUTHFUL BENCH: While the Jackrabbits return four of their five regular starters from a year ago, SDSU will rely on a number of underclassmen to fill reserve roles this season.
Of the 15 players on the roster, five are true freshmen, one is a redshirt freshman, threeare sophomores, three are juniors and three are seniors.
With reigning Summit League Sixth Woman of the Year Jill Young settling into a starting role, the next top returning scorer off the bench is sophomore Jennie Sunnarborg, who
averaged 3.3 points per game during the 2008-09 campaign, but has doubled her scoring output to 6.6 points per game so far this season.
The Jackrabbits will look for an expanded role for sophomore guard Vanessa Johnson, who missed nearly half the 2008-09 season due to injury. Johnson averaged only 0.6 points per game during the 2008-09 season, but provides the Jackrabbits with another perimeter shooting threat.
Other returning bench players include senior point guard Alison Anderson and junior forward Jennifer Schuttloffel.
Of the six players in the freshman class, four are from the state of South Dakota. Ashley Eide (Sioux Falls), Tara Heiser (Watertown) and Steph Paluch (Pierre) will fill guard slots, while Katie Lingle (Pierre) will back up in the post. Heiser is expected to redshirt this season.
Rounding out the freshman class are Jordan, Minn., native Leah Dietel at forward and redshirt freshman post player Cala Westergard. A native of Charles City, Iowa, Westergard played in her first official game since her junior year of high school in the Nov. 15 matchup at Arizona State. Westergard missed her senior year of high school due to injury.
Despite its youth, the Jackrabbit reserves have outscored their counterparts in seven of the 11 games this season, including a 38-12 margin against Middle Tennessee State on Dec. 13.
100 D-I WINS: Since moving up to the NCAA Division I ranks at the start of the 2004-05 season, the Jackrabbits have posted a winning record against D-I opponents. In its five-plus seasons competing at the Division I level, SDSU has compiled a 107-38 mark (.738 winning percentage) versus D-I opposition. The Jackrabbits have posted victories over 50 different Division I teams representing 18 conferences plus independents.
750 WINS: The Jackrabbits' victory over Oakland in the 2009 Summit League championship game was the 750th in the women's basketball program's history. Since the modern era of women's basketball at South Dakota State University began with a 6-0 mark during the 1966-67 season, the Jacks have gone on to compile an overall record of 756-336 (.692 winning percentage).
SDSU has a streak of 23 consecutive winning seasons.The Jackrabbits' last losing season was an 11-16 campaign during the 1985-86 season.
OPENING SUCCESS: The Jackrabbits' 75-71 overtime victory against Gonzaga in the 2009-10 season opener on Nov. 13 marked the 17th consecutive season SDSU opened with a win.
The last time the Jackrabbits lost a season opener was during the 1992-93 season, when they fell 74-72 to Moorhead State (Minn.).
TOUGH AT HOME: SDSU's loss to Western Kentucky on Nov. 22, was a rarity during the Aaron Johnston era. In his tenure as Jackrabbit head coach, Johnston has led the Jackrabbits to a 118-13 record (.901 winning percentage) at Frost Arena, including a
63-5 mark at home during the Division I era. The Jackrabbits have put together winning streaks of 15, 15 and 22 in the process.
Since the start of the 2001-02 season, SDSU has a 108-8 home record, losing just one game at Frost Arena each full season before capping the 2008-09 regular season with a 14-0 record — a mark that stands as the first undefeated home season in school history. The loss to Western Kentucky snapped a 35-game regular season home winning streak, as well as a 15-game overall winning streak that began after the Jackrabbits lost to Creighton (Neb.) in the opening round of the 2008 Women's NIT.
SDSU is undefeated at home in Summit League play, posting an 18-0 record at Frost Arena since joining the league in 2007-08. The Jackrabbits have won their home conference games by an average of 26.7 points.
FINDING THE RIGHT COMBINATION: Despite returning four regular starters from last year's squad, the Jackrabbit women's basketball team has shaken up the starting lineup this season. Through the first 11 games, SDSU has used three different starting lineups, with seven players cracking the starting five. Maria Boever, Macie Michelson and Kristin Rotert have started all 11 games so far this season.
• Gonzaga: Cornemann, Sunnarborg, Boever, Michelson, Rotert
• at Arizona State: Cornemann, Sunnarborg, Boever, Michelson, Rotert
• at Illinois State: Dietel, Boever, Michelson, Young, Rotert
• Western Kentucky: Dietel, Boever, Michelson, Young, Rotert
• vs. Charlotte: Dietel, Boever, Michelson, Young, Rotert
• vs. Virginia: Dietel, Boever, Michelson, Young, Rotert
• at Western Illinois: Cornemann, Boever, Michelson, Young, Rotert
• at IUPUI: Cornemann, Boever, Michelson, Young, Rotert
• Middle Tennessee: Cornemann, Boever, Michelson, Young, Rotert
• Utah: Cornemann, Boever, Michelson, Young, Rotert
• Iowa: Cornemann, Boever, Michelson, Young, Rotert
BOEVER TOPS 1,000: South Dakota State senior forward Maria Boever became the 27th member of the Jackrabbit 1,000-Point Club, accomplishing the feat Dec. 7 at IUPUI.
With 14 points in the game, Boever upped her career total to 1,010 points. She has since gone on to tally 1,046 career points in 102 career games as she moved past Sarita DeBoer (1,003 points from 2002-05) for 26th place. Next on the career scoring list is Dawn Hull, who scored 1,125 points from 1993-96.
A senior from Worthington, Minn., Boever finished as the team's second-leading scorer during her sophomore season in 2007-08 with an average of 12.2 points per game, then ranked fourth last year on a balanced Jackrabbit team with 10 points per game.
Two other Jackrabbit players could reach the 1,000-point plateau later this season: senior Ketty Cornemann and junior Kristin Rotert. Cornemann has tallied 786 career points, while Rotert has 767 career points.
100 GAMES: Jackrabbit seniors and three-year starters Maria Boever and Ketty Cornemann each played in their 100th career game Dec. 13 against Middle Tennessee State.
During their three-plus seasons with the Jackrabbits, SDSU has posted a combined record of 85-22.
SDSU's third member of the senior class, Alison Anderson, has played in 95 games in a Jackrabbit uniform.
CORNEMANN RESPONDS: After coming off the bench in the four previous games, Ketty Cornmenann marked her return to the starting lineup with back-to-back strong performances to kick off Summit League action.
A senior from Yankton, Cornemann averaged 16 points and five rebounds in games at Western Illinois and IUPUI, shooting 66.7 percent (4-of-6) from three-point range. She posted season highs of 18 points and nine rebounds in the win at IUPUI on Dec. 7, then scored eight points in the Dec. 13 victory over Middle Tennessee State.
Cornemann returned to double figures Dec. 22 at Iowa with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, including 2-for-3 from three-point range.
DOUBLE DUTY: Maria Boever has posted a pair of double-doubles for points and rebounds while leading the team in both categories — 14.1 ppg and 6.9 rpg — through the first 11 games.
Boever began the season with 21 points and 11 rebounds in the season-opening overtime victory over Gonzaga, then added 11 points and 10 boards in a home loss to Western Kentucky.
THREE-POINT BARRAGE: As a team, the Jackrabbits ranked fifth among Division I women's basketball teams by making an average of 8.5 three-pointers per game last season.
SDSU tied school and NCAA Tournament single-game records with 16 trifectas in its opening-round win over Texas Christian. The Jackrabbits made 10 or more three-pointers in a game nine times.
The Jackrabbits' 291 three-pointers as a team set a new single-season school record, breaking the mark of 288 set by the 2001-02 squad, which was the first Jackrabbit team to qualify for the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.
Through 11 games this season, the Jackrabbits have made 81 three-pointers, an average of 7.36 per game, while shooting a Summit League-best 38.2 percent (81-of-212) from beyond the arc. SDSU's opponents are 46-of-148 from behind the arc, 31.1 percent.
YOUNG FOR 3: Sophomore guard Jill Young will attempt to build on a strong showing from behind the three-point arc during her first season in a Jackrabbit uniform.
The Mitchell native ranked third among NCAA Division I players during the 2008-09 season by shooting at a 46.1 percent (82-of-178) clip from three-point range. Young's 82 made three-pointers also set a Jackrabbit freshman record, eclipsing the mark of 58 set by Kristin Rotert during the 2007-08 campaign.
Young comes into Monday's matchup against Northern Iowa with 103 career three-pointers, topping the 100 mark with three triples Dec. 13 against Middle Tennessee State. She has made at least one three-pointer in 10 of the 11 games this season and is currently shooting 35 percent from behind the arc, making 21-of-60 attempts.
ROTERT CRACKS TOP 10: Junior wing Kristin Rotert joined the Jackrabbit career top 10 this season and is on pace to move up a few more spots this season.
The Salem native leads the team with 24 three-pointers so far this season and upped her career total to 142 with one three-pointer in the Dec. 22 game at Iowa. Rotert currently stands in a tie with Rachel Halsrud (142 three-pointers from 1991-94) for ninth place after making three three-pointers in a game six different times this season.
Rotert set a then-freshman record with 58 three-pointers during the 2007-08 season and ranked second on the team with 60 treys last season.
EIDE STEPS UP: Freshman guard/forward Ashley Eide has been a top reserve for the Jackrabbits in the last two weeks. After playing sparingly the first month of the season, Eide scored a career-high 17 points in 22 minutes of action in the Dec. 13 win over Middle Tennessee State, then tallied nine points in the loss to Utah on Dec. 19.
In the last three games combined, Eide is shooting 66.7 percent (10-for-15) from the field, making her only three-point attempt.
BATTLE OF THE BOARDS: The Jackrabbit women's basketball team had its streak of winning 36 consecutive games in which it has held a rebounding advantage end in the 81-74 loss Nov. 22 to Western Kentucky. SDSU won the last 10 games of the 2007-08 season, all 25 during the 2008-09 season and the first game of the 2009-10 season in which it held an edge on the boards.
Previously, the last time SDSU lost a game it won the battle of the boards was a 67-60 defeat at Western Illinois on Jan. 14, 2008.
COACH AARON JOHNSTON: Now in his 10th season as head coach of the South Dakota State University women's basketball team, Aaron Johnston has taken the Jackrabbit program to the top of NCAA Division II and is leading SDSU to national prominence at the Division I level.
Johnston, who coached his 300th game Dec. 19 at Utah, has compiled a career record of 230-71 (.764 winning percentage), ranking second on the SDSU career victories list behind his predecessor, Nancy Neiber, who compiled a 301-140 record in 16 seasons from 1985-2000. Johnston posted his 200th career victory on Dec. 4, 2008, when the Jackrabbits defeated Centenary (La.) His career totals have included a 35-3 record (.921 winning percentage) in Summit League regular season games and a 16-5 mark (.762 winning percentage) in postseason games.
The Summit League Coach of the Year in each of the Jackrabbits' first two seasons in the 10-team league, Johnston was named a finalist for the 2009 Naismith Award as the nation's top coach. SDSU tied a school record for victories in a season with 32 during the 2008-09 campaign and gained national attention by vaulting into the top 25 in December after non-conference victories over the likes of Wisconsin, Utah, Minnesota and Gonzaga (Wash.). The Jackrabbits were ranked in the final 13 USA Today/ESPN regular season coaches' polls, climbing as high as 14th in the coaches' poll and 16th in the Associated Press poll. SDSU finished the 2008-09 season ranked 19th in the coaches' poll.
NEW COACHES: The Jackrabbit coaching staff features three new faces this season with the hirings of Emilee Gusso and Chad Oletzke as full-time assistant coaches and Deb Remmerde as a graduate assistant.
Gusso had been serving as an assistant coach on an interim basis since mid-July. In addition to her on-court duties, Gusso will fill the roles of recruiting coordinator and academic coordinator for the Jackrabbits. Gusso was an assistant coach at Drake (Iowa) the past three seasons, helping guide the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament in 2007 and a WNIT appearance a year later. A 2004 graduate of the University of Nebraska-Kearney, Gusso previously served as a graduate assistant at SDSU during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons, helping guide the Jackrabbits through their first two years of transition to the Division I level.
Oletzke joins the Jackrabbit coaching staff after serving as head women's basketball coach at Northwest College in Powell, Wyo., the past five seasons. During his tenure with the junior college program, Oletzke earned coach of the year honors after lead the Trappers to a Wyoming Community College Athletic Conference championship and a North Sub-Region title. He began coaching at the collegiate level at Southwest Minnesota State University, serving as an assistant women's basketball coach for four years. While with the Mustangs, SMSU posted three 20-win seasons and made two NCAA Division II postseason appearances.
Remmerde moves to the sidelines after a record-setting playing career at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa. A four-time first-team All-American and 2008 NAIA Division II Player of the Year, she finished her career as the division's all-time scoring leader with 3,854 points, an average of 28.8 points per game. She established a single-season scoring record with 1,122 points during the 2007-08 season and also set all-time NAIA records for career (95.77 percent) and single-season (97.24 percent) free throw percentage. Her 133 consecutive made free throws are the most in competition at any level — high school to professional, men's or women's). After completing her collegiate playing career in 2008, Remmerde earned a tryout with the WNBA's Houston Comets and briefly played professionally in Germany.
Rounding out the Jackrabbit women's basketball coaching staff is second-year assistant coach Katie Falco.
ACADEMIC SUCCESS: After leading all divisions in team grade-point average each of the three previous seasons, the South Dakota State University women's basketball team was overtaken for the top spot in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll during the 2008-09 season.
With a 3.571 team GPA, the Jackrabbits, coached by Aaron Johnston, still managed a third-place showing in the NCAA Division I rankings and 15th among all divisions, which includes NCAA Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA and junior colleges. Indiana State took over the No. 1 spot in Division I with a 3.645 team GPA, earning the top ranking for the third time ( also in 2002-03 and 2004-05). The University of North Dakota ranked second at 3.580.
Dana College (Neb.) led all divisions with a 3.763 team grade-point average.
SDSU was one of seven Division I teams in the WBCA's honor roll to make an NCAA Tournament appearance during the 2008-09 campaign. Only the Jackrabbits, who finished the season with a 32-3 overall record, and Kansas State advanced past the first round.
The Jackrabbits began their run of three consecutive team GPA titles in 2005-06 with a 3.730 GPA. SDSU repeated with a mark of 3.693 in 2006-07 and claimed its third title with a 3.669 team GPA during the 2007-08 academic year. In addition, the Jackrabbits finished second among Division I programs during the 2004-05 season with a 3.567 GPA.
Also during the 2008-09 season, senior Ashlea Muckenhirn and Jennifer Warkenthien earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District honors, with Warkenthien also being named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Second Team.
Warkenthien later added to her list of awards by being named The Summit League Women's Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Additionally, 12 players on the Jackrabbit roster were recognized as members of the
Academic All-Summit League Team during the 2008-09 campaign, with nine also receiving recognition on the Commissioner's List of Academic Excellence.
THE ROSTER: The 2009-10 SDSU women's basketball roster features 15 players from three different states. Of the 15 players, nine are from South Dakota, five are from Minnesota and one is from Iowa. By class, three are seniors, three are juniors, three are sophomores, one is a redshirt freshman and five are incoming freshmen.
A LOOK AHEAD: SDSU continues its homestand with its first two Summit League home games of the season. The Jackrabbits take on Centenary (La.) in the annual Lamb Bonanza game on Saturday, Jan. 2, tipping off the doubleheader at 5 p.m.
SDSU will host Oral Roberts at 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 4, to end the homestand.
Players Mentioned
PLAYER
/ Women's Cross Country
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G/F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballWomen's Basketball Postgame Press Conference (03.20.2026)
Saturday, March 21
Women's Basketball Pregame Press Conference (03.19.2026)
Friday, March 20
Women's Basketball Postgame Press Conference vs North Dakota State (03.08.2026)
Monday, March 09
North Dakota State Women's Basketball Press Conference (03.08.2026)
Monday, March 09