Rotert leads Jackrabbits past UNI

Monday, December 28

Frost Arena

7 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Northern Iowa

12/28/2009 10:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

By: SDSU Sports Info

Kristin Rotert scored 22 of her game-high 24 points in the second half, lifting South Dakota State to a 71-58 victory over Northern Iowa in non-conference women's basketball action Monday night at Frost Arena.

The Jackrabbits returned to the .500 mark, improving to 6-6 on the season. UNI dropped to 4-7 overall.

Rotert, a junior wing from Salem, tallied 10 of SDSU's first 12 points of the second half as the Jackrabbits turned a seven-point halftime edge into a 43-27 advantage with 16 minutes and 26 seconds remaining in the game.

"I thought defensively we played well the whole game, but in the second half we really had some players go out and make some good plays," SDSU head coach Aaron Johnston said. "Obviously, I thought Kristen had a really good game the second half after having a quiet first half. In the second half she was much more assertive and kind of got herself involved in what was going on."

UNI trimmed the deficit back to single digits, 47-39, on a basket by Nicole Clausen at the 11:30 mark, but the Jackrabbits responded with a 12-4 run over the next four and a half minutes to build the lead back to 16.

The Panthers made one last run as they got back to seven points after two K.K. Armstrong free throws with 4:33 to play.

However, Rotert stemmed the tide with her second three-pointer of the game a minute later to give SDSU a double-digit lead which it maintained the rest of the way.

SDSU trailed only once in the game as UNI scored the first basket of the game. Jill Young followed with consecutive three-pointers to give the Jackrabbits a 6-2 lead with 17:10 remaining in the opening frame. Steph Paluch's three-pointer with 9:36 left in the half gave SDSU its largest lead of the first half at nine points, 18-9.

After attempting only two free throws in the first half, the Jackrabbits continually attacked the basket in the final 20 minutes, leading to 23 free throw attempts. For the game, SDSU was 19-of-25 at the stripe, 76 percent, led by Rotert's 10-for-12 performance.

From the field, SDSU was 22-of-55, 40 percent, including an efficient 8-for-17 from three-point range. Rotert, Young and Ketty Cornemann each drained a pair of trifectas. Young reached double figures with 10 points, while freshman Leah Dietel was a point shy of a double-double with nine points and a career-best 10 rebounds.

UNI, meanwhile, struggled from behind the arc, making only 1-of-14 long-range attempts. Overall, the Panthers finished 20-of-56 from the field, 35.7 percent, and 17-of-22 at the line, 77.3 percent.

Armstrong led UNI with 18 points off the bench. Kim Wypiszynski scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half and Jacqui Kalin added 10 points.

Erin Brocka shared game-high honors with 10 rebounds as UNI held a 41-36 edge on the boards.

SDSU returns to Summit League play Saturday (Jan. 2), hosting Centenary (La.) in the annual Lamb Bonanza. Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m. at Frost Arena, with the men's game to follow at 7:30 p.m.

Northern Iowa opens Missouri Valley Conference play Thursday at Wichita State (Kan.).

NOTES: SDSU leads the all-time series, 3-2, and has won the last three meetings ... the Jackrabbits improved to 6-4 against Missouri Valley Conference opponents since moving to the Division I ranks at the start of the 2004-05 season ... SDSU improved to 119-13 at Frost Arena under head coach Aaron Johnston ... Rotert broke a tie with Rachel Halsrud (142 three-pointers from 1991-94) to take over sole possession of ninth place on the Jackrabbit career three-point chart with 144 ... Rotert's 24 points, 10 free throws and 12 free throw attempts all were season highs for a Jackrabbit player this season ... the Jackrabbits won for the first time this season when being outrebounded (1-4) ... SDSU is 5-2 this season when leading at the half ... the Jackrabbits posted a 4-2 record in December ... attendance was 1,651