Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Augustana (Exhibition) on October 29, 2025 at 6 p.m.
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6 p.m.
Women's Basketball
vs Augustana (Exhibition)
South Dakota State University Athletics
Jacks, Iowa tip off at 5 p.m. Saturday
12/17/2010 11:10:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The South Dakota State University women's basketball team closes out a brief two-game homestand against major-college opponents Saturday afternoon by hosting Iowa in the annual Shrine Game.
Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. at Frost Arena.
The Jackrabbits enter the matchup with a 4-6 overall record after dropping a 63-52 decision to Arizona State (7-2) Thursday night at Frost Arena. SDSU will attempt to avoid its second three-game losing streak of the season and its first three-game home losing streak since the 1996-97 campaign.
Iowa, which is ranked 15th in this week's ESPN/USA?Today Coaches' Poll and 16th in the Associated Press rankings, is 9-1 overall. The Hawkeyes haven't played since posting a 62-40 drubbing of nationally ranked and in-state rival Iowa State on Dec. 9.
Saturday's game marks the fourth consecutive year the Jackrabbit women's basketball team has hosted the Shrine Game. The Shrine Game held a long association with Jackrabbit football through 2005, and was a men's basketball game during the 2006-07 season. A portion of Saturday's ticket sales benefit area Shrine organizations' efforts in conjunction with Shriners Hospitals around the world.
Following are three previous women's baskeball Shrine Game results:
• Nov. 18, 2007: SDSU 78, Missouri 63
• Nov. 17, 2008: SDSU 64, Wisconsin 44
• Nov. 13, 2009: SDSU 75, Gonzaga (Wash.) 71 [OT]
Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. at Frost Arena.
The Jackrabbits enter the matchup with a 4-6 overall record after dropping a 63-52 decision to Arizona State (7-2) Thursday night at Frost Arena. SDSU will attempt to avoid its second three-game losing streak of the season and its first three-game home losing streak since the 1996-97 campaign.
Iowa, which is ranked 15th in this week's ESPN/USA?Today Coaches' Poll and 16th in the Associated Press rankings, is 9-1 overall. The Hawkeyes haven't played since posting a 62-40 drubbing of nationally ranked and in-state rival Iowa State on Dec. 9.
Saturday's game marks the fourth consecutive year the Jackrabbit women's basketball team has hosted the Shrine Game. The Shrine Game held a long association with Jackrabbit football through 2005, and was a men's basketball game during the 2006-07 season. A portion of Saturday's ticket sales benefit area Shrine organizations' efforts in conjunction with Shriners Hospitals around the world.
Following are three previous women's baskeball Shrine Game results:
• Nov. 18, 2007: SDSU 78, Missouri 63
• Nov. 17, 2008: SDSU 64, Wisconsin 44
• Nov. 13, 2009: SDSU 75, Gonzaga (Wash.) 71 [OT]
THE SERIES: Saturday's game marks the third meeting in women's basketball between South Dakota State and Iowa, a series that dates back to 73-63 Hawkeye
victory at the Jennies Classic in Warrensburg, Mo., during the 1977-78 season.
Iowa took a 2-0 series edge with an 82-69 victory on Dec. 22, 2009, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes outscored SDSU 15-3 over the final three and a half minutes of the game.
Jaime Printy led the Hawkeyes with 18 points, with Kamille Wahlin adding 17. Kelly Krei and Morgan Johnson rounded out Iowa's double-digit scorers with 12 and 11, respectively.
Three players scored in double figures for the Jackrabbits, led by Jill Young with 16. Ketty Cornemann tallied 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and Maria Boever chipped in with 11.
VERSUS THE BIG?TEN: Since moving to the Division I level at the start of the 2004-05 season, the Jackrabbit women's basketball team has compiled a 6-4 record against Big Ten Conference opponents. SDSU owns a pair of victories over both Minnesota and Wisconsin, and also has defeated Illinois and Indiana.
SDSU's loss to Iowa last season snapped a three-game winning streak against Big Ten opponents. The Jackrabbits have now lost two in a row Big Ten foes, falling 73-40 at Purdue in the semifinals of the Preseason Women's NIT on Nov. 18.
JACKRABBITS ONLINE: Audio and video coverage of Saturday's game is scheduled to be available through the Jackrabbit Extra subscription service at GoJacks.com, the official website of SDSU athletics. Monthly subscriptions are $4.95 for audio only and $11.95 for both video and audio. A pay-per-view option also is available for $4.95 at the following web address: https://www.nmnathletics.com/PremiumVideo.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=15000
Radio coverage begins at 4:30 p.m. Central Time on the Jackrabbit Sports Network, with Tyler Merriam calling the play-by-play and former assistant coach Laurie Melum providing color commentary. Network stations carrying Saturday's game include WNAX 570 AM in Yankton, KJJQ?910 AM in Brookings, KGFX 1060 AM?in Pierre, KRKI 99.5 FM in Rapid City and KWAT?950 AM in Watertown.ROTERT ON CAREER LISTS: Senior wing Kristin Rotert continues to move up the SDSU career lists for points and three-pointers.
By tying a season high with three three-pointers in a Dec. 11 loss at Northern Iowa, the Salem native improved her third-place standing on the Jackrabbit career three-point chart with 200. Next on the list is Sherri Brende, who made 213 treys from 1998-2001.
Rotert had her streak of games with at least one made three-pointer end at 26 in the Nov. 15 victory over Hampton (Va.). She sank a trey in 32 of the team's 33 games last season, ending the 2009-10 campaign with a team-high 72 three-pointers, including 14 in three Summit League tournament games. She set a then-freshman record with 58 three-pointers during the 2007-08 season and ranked second on the team with 60 treys as a sophomore.
Also last season, Rotert became the 29th player in Jackrabbit women's basketball history to score 1,000 points, reaching the milestone in the Summit League tournament semifinal against Western Illinois. She enters Saturday's game ranked 23rd on the all-time scoring list with 1,173 points after passing Rachel Halsrud (1,154 points from 1991-94) in the Dec. 11 game at Northern Iowa. Next on the list is Lisa Kurtenbach, who scored 1,174 points from 1986-89.
YOUNG FOR 3: Junior guard Jill Young has been a top-notch long range shooter for the Jackrabbits, entering Saturday's game ranked seventh on the all-time SDSU three-point chart with 164. With three trifectas against Illinois State on Nov. 24, Young moved past both Heather Sieler (154 three-pointers from 2003-06) and Stacie Cizek (155 three-pointers from 2001-04).
SDSU's representative on the Preseason WNIT All-Tournament Team, Young was the lone Jackrabbit to score double figures in all three games, tallying 15 against Utah Valley, 13
versus Hampton and 12 at Purdue. For the tournament, she shot 54.5 percent (12-of-22) from the field, including 9-for-17 from three-point range. She finished with 13.3 points and 2.3 assists per game.
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.
For her career, Young is shooting 41.7 percent from three-point range, 164-of-393, including . She enters Saturday's game with 699 career points.
SUNNARBORG RISES UP: Junior forward Jennie Sunnarborg has performed well on both ends of the floor in the early part of the 2010-11 season.
A native of Osseo, Minn., Sunnarborg leads the Jackrabbits in scoring with an average of 13.4 points per game. She entered the week shooting a Summit League-best 59.1 percent (50-of-83) from the field, a figure which ranked 16th among Division I players. Sunnarborg also leads the team with 21 blocked shots (2.1 bpg) this season as she has moved into a tie with Angie Loken (1998-2001) for ninth place on the Jackrabbit career charts with 76 career blocked shots.
Sunnarborg set a career high with 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field in the win over Hampton on Nov. 15. She has reached the 20-point mark two other times, scoring 21 in a Nov. 25 win over Illinois State and 20 versus North Dakota State on Dec. 4.
In a season-opening win over Utah Valley on Nov. 12, Sunnarborg tallied 12 points and tied a career-high with six blocked shots in the win over Utah Valley.
COACH AARON JOHNSTON: Now in his 11th 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 enters Saturday's matchup against Iowa with a career record of 251-82 (.754 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, against Centenary (La.) and No. 250 on Nov. 24, 2010, versus Illinois State. His career totals have included a 47-8 record (.855 winning percentage) in Summit League regular season games and a 16-6 mark (.727 winning percentage) in postseason games.
A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits' next two games will both be in the state of Utah, but nine days apart. SDSU will travel to Logan, Utah, on Monday (Dec. 20) for a matinee against Utah State. Tipoff is slated for noon Mountain (1 p.m. Central).
SDSU resumes Summit League play Dec. 29 at Southern Utah.
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