Balanced Jacks dump Western Illinois

Saturday, December 5

Macomb, Ill.

4:30 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Western Illinois

12/5/2009 9:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

By: SDSU Sports Info

MACOMB, Ill. - The South Dakota State University women's basketball team shot 61 percent in the second half and employed a balanced scoring attack to pull away from Western Illinois for a 74-53 victory in the Summit League opener for both teams Saturday.

The defending Summit League champion Jackrabbits improved to 3-4 overall. WIU dropped to 2-5 on the season.

SDSU led wire to wire, opening the scoring on a three-pointer by Kristin Rotert. The Jackrabbits extended the lead to 15-4 seven and a half minutes into the game after a basket by Maria Boever.

The Fighting Leathernecks responded with a 9-2 run to get to within four, but SDSU quickly built the lead back to double digits on three-pointers by Pierre freshmen Katie Lingle and Steph Paluch.

SDSU took the momentum into halftime as Jill Young beat the first-half buzzer with a layup. However, Young missed the free throw to complete the three-point play, keeping the score 31-24 at intermission.

In the second half, the Jackrabbits put the game away early with a 17-6 spurt in the first five minutes of the stanza. The SDSU lead grew to 22, 60-38, on a Ketty Cornemann three pointer with 7:40 to play and the Jackrabbits built their largest lead of the night, 26 points, in the closing minutes.

Boever and Cornemann each tallied 14 points to lead the Jackrabbits, with Rotert contributing 13. SDSU's two other starters, Young and Macie Michelson, each scored eight points.

SDSU finished the game 26-of-51 from the field, 51 percent, including 9-of-17 from three-point range. The Jackrabbits converted 13-of-18 free throws, 72.2 percent.

Boever pulled down a team-high six rebounds to pace the Jackrabbits 36-32 rebounding advantage.

Erica Lewis posted game highs of 17 points and seven rebounds to lead Western Illinois. The Fighting Leathernecks made only 17-of-53 shots from the floor, 32.1 percent, including 3-of-13 from behind the arc. WIU fared better at the line, making 16-of-22 attempts, 72.7 percent.

Each team committed 24 turnovers in the game.

SDSU closes out its road trip Monday at IUPUI. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Eastern (6 p.m. Central) from The Jungle (IUPUI Gymnasium) in Indianapolis.

NOTES: SDSU leads the all-time series by a 4-1 count, winning each of the last four meetings ... the Jackrabbits improved to 34-3 in Summit League regular season games since joining the 10-team league at the start of the 2007-08 season, winning 15 in a row ... Boever upped her career point total to 996 ... Cornemann returned to the starting lineup after coming off the bench the last four games ... SDSU held a 17-13 advantage in bench points, led by Lingle with five in her collegiate playing debut ... Young and Rotert set single-game career highs with four steals and five assists, respectively ... the Jackrabbits' 19 assists as a team were a season high ... attendance was listed at 682 at Western Hall