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
Jackrabbit women host league home opener Saturday
12/31/2009 7:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
The South Dakota State University women's basketball team will play its first Summit League home game of the season Saturday, kicking off the new year by hosting Centenary (La.) in the annual Lamb Bonanza.
Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m. at Frost Arena. The men's game completes the first doubleheader of the season at 7:30 p.m.
The defending league champion Jackrabbits enter Saturday's matchup with a 2-0 mark in league play after road wins at Western Illinois (74-53) and IUPUI (85-77) in early December. Overall, SDSU evened its record at 6-6 with a 71-58 non-conference victory over Northern Iowa on Dec. 28.
The league's two other 2-0 teams - Oral Roberts and North Dakota State - meet in Fargo Saturday afternoon.
Centenary dropped a pair of home games to open conference play in early December, falling 81-66 to UMKC on Dec. 5 and 67-53 to Southern Utah on Dec. 7. The Ladies come into Saturday's matchup with a 1-12 overall record under first-year coach Bojan Jankovic. Centenary posted its lone victory of the season Dec. 19 at in-state rival McNeese State, 68-66. In their last outing, Centenary was defeated by Mississippi, 87-38.
Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m. at Frost Arena. The men's game completes the first doubleheader of the season at 7:30 p.m.
The defending league champion Jackrabbits enter Saturday's matchup with a 2-0 mark in league play after road wins at Western Illinois (74-53) and IUPUI (85-77) in early December. Overall, SDSU evened its record at 6-6 with a 71-58 non-conference victory over Northern Iowa on Dec. 28.
The league's two other 2-0 teams - Oral Roberts and North Dakota State - meet in Fargo Saturday afternoon.
Centenary dropped a pair of home games to open conference play in early December, falling 81-66 to UMKC on Dec. 5 and 67-53 to Southern Utah on Dec. 7. The Ladies come into Saturday's matchup with a 1-12 overall record under first-year coach Bojan Jankovic. Centenary posted its lone victory of the season Dec. 19 at in-state rival McNeese State, 68-66. In their last outing, Centenary was defeated by Mississippi, 87-38.
THE SERIES: Saturday's game marks the fifth meeting in women's basketball between South Dakota State and Centenary, a series that began when the Jackrabbits joined The Summit League at the start of the 2007-08 season.
SDSU swept the series last season, winning 63-41 at Frost Arena on Dec. 4, 2008, and 97-52 on Feb. 28, 2009.
In the first meeting, the Jackrabbits led 27-10 at halftime en route to Aaron Johnston earning his 200th career victory. Jennifer Warkenthien posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds to lead a balanced offensive attack. Kristin Rotert added 10 points. Bethany Joseph led Centenary with nine points, while Anne Farrell tallied eight points and 10 rebounds.
The two teams met again on the final weekend of the regular season in Shreveport, La. Warkenthien led five SDSU players in double figures with 18 points, while Rotert, Jill Young and Stacie Oistad each turned in 15-point efforts. Maria Boever added 13 points for the Jackrabbits. Chelsea Johnson paced Centenary with 17 points.
JACKRABBITS ONLINE: Audio and video coverage of Saturday'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 4:30 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 Saturday's game also available on WNAX 570 AM in Yankton.
JACKRABBIT INSIDER: Throughout the 2009-10 women's basketball season, head coach Aaron Johnston will be a guest on the "Jackrabbit Insider," a weekly behind-the-scenes look at South Dakota State University athletics.
The half-hour television show which features highlights of SDSU athletic events, as well as interviews with Jackrabbit coaches and student-athletes, airs Sundays at 10:35 p.m., following KSFY ActionNews. The show also can be viewed online at GoJacks.com.
LAST TIME OUT: 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 Dec. 28 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.
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.
OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY: As the calendar turned to December, the Jackrabbit offense heated up.
SDSU began the month by shooting 50 percent or better from the field in three consecutive 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 went 157-of-324, 48.5 percent, in the month of December, including 43-of-99, 43.4 percent, from three-point range. SDSU averaged 74 points per game in posting a 4-2 record in December, while also cutting its turnover average by 3.5 per game from the first month of the season to 19.7 miscues per game.
The Jackrabbits enter the weekend leading The Summit League in overall field goal percentage (44.3 percent) and three-point percentage (38.9 percent)
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.
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 wrapped up a difficult slate of non-conference games with the Dec. 28 victory over Northern Iowa.
Of SDSU's 10 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 are ranked in the top 25 of this week's Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today coaches' polls: Arizona State (17th/19th) and Virginia (21st/23rd). Gonzaga (Wash.) is receiving votes in the coaches' poll
DEPTH AND BALANCE: The Jackrabbits have had at least two players score in double figures in all 12 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, while Kristin Rotert has pace the Jackrabbits four times, including a season-high 24 points - the most by an SDSU player this season - Dec. 28 against Northern Iowa.
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)
Northern Iowa • Rotert (24), Young (10)
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 6.7 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 12 games this season.
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 108-38 mark (.740 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 757-336 (.693 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 119-13 record (.902 winning percentage) at Frost Arena, including a
64-5 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.
FOR STARTERS: 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 12 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 12 games so far this season. The trio have teamed with Ketty Cornemann and Jill Young to start the last six games, during which the Jackrabbits have posted a 4-2 record.
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 1,052 career points in 13 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 792 career points, while Rotert has 791 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 86-22.
SDSU's third member of the senior class, Alison Anderson, has played in 96 games in a Jackrabbit uniform.
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 12 games this season, the Jackrabbits have made 89 three-pointers, an average of 7.42 per game, while shooting a Summit League-best 38.9 percent (89-of-229) from beyond the arc. SDSU's opponents are 47-of-162 from behind the arc, 29 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 Saturday's matchup against Centenary with 105 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 11 of the 12 games this season and is currently shooting 35.9 percent from behind the arc, making 23-of-64 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 26 three-pointers after making three three-pointers in a game six different times this season. She upped her career total to 144 with two
second-half three-pointers in the Dec. 28 victory over Northern Iowa, breaking a tie with Rachel Halsrud (142 three-pointers from 1991-94) for ninth place. Next on the list is Andrea Verdegan, whose eighth-place total of 152 three-pointers was accumulated from 2005-08.
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.
100 3's TIMES THREE: Senior forward Ketty Cornemann enters Saturday's game five three-pointers away from becoming the third current Jackrabbit player to sink 100 career three-pointers. The Yankton native leads The Summit League in three-point shooting percentage this season, shooting at a 48.4 percent (15-of-31) clip from long range.
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.
The Jackrabbits' victory over Northern Iowa on Dec. 28 marked the first time this season SDSU won a game in which it was out-rebounded.
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 231-71 (.765 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.
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 closes out its three-game homestand Monday (Jan. 4) with a matchup against Oral Roberts.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Frost Arena.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's BasketballSaturday, March 21
Friday, March 20
Monday, March 09
Monday, March 09