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Women's Basketball
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South Dakota State University Athletics
Jackrabbits square off with ORU
1/6/2012 11:46:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The South Dakota State University women's basketball team will attempt to continue its best start in Summit League play and strengthen its hold on first place in the league standings Saturday afternoon at Oral Roberts.
Tipoff is slated for 2:05 p.m. at the Mabee Center on the ORU?campus in Tulsa, Okla.
The Jackrabbits sit alone atop the Summit League standings with a 4-0 league mark after sweeping a home series against Oakland and IPFW?last week. Overall, SDSU is 9-6.
ORU, meanwhile, suffered its first league loss of the season, falling Dec. 31 at UMKC, 92-79. The preseason favorite Golden Eagles are 2-1 in The Summit League and 8-6 overall.
SDSU (2009-11) and Oral Roberts (2007-08) have combined to win the last five Summit League tournament titles.
Tipoff is slated for 2:05 p.m. at the Mabee Center on the ORU?campus in Tulsa, Okla.
The Jackrabbits sit alone atop the Summit League standings with a 4-0 league mark after sweeping a home series against Oakland and IPFW?last week. Overall, SDSU is 9-6.
ORU, meanwhile, suffered its first league loss of the season, falling Dec. 31 at UMKC, 92-79. The preseason favorite Golden Eagles are 2-1 in The Summit League and 8-6 overall.
SDSU (2009-11) and Oral Roberts (2007-08) have combined to win the last five Summit League tournament titles.
THE SERIES: Saturday's matchup marks the 11th meeting between South Dakota State and Oral Roberts in women's basketball - a series that began when the Jackrabbits joined The Summit League at the start of the 2007-08 season.
The series is tied at five wins apiece after the Golden Eagles have won the last four regular season meetings. SDSU's last win in the series was a 79-75 overtime victory in the 2010 Summit League championship game in Sioux Falls.
In the first meeting last season, Jan. 8, 2011, at Frost Arena, Oral Roberts broke open the game with a 16-0 first-half run en route to a 77-62 victory. Kevi Luper scored a game-high 28 points to lead the Golden Eagles, followed by 11 points from Jordan Pyle and 10 each from Georgia Jones and Savanna Buck.
Jennie Sunnarborg paced SDSU with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and Macie Michelson added 10 points.
ORU remained unbeaten in Summit League play with a hard-fought 85-78 victory over the Jackrabbits in Tulsa on Feb. 7, 2011.
SDSU led 18-4 early on behind the hot shooting of Jill Young, but ORU?came back to tie the game at 44-all heading into halftime. The Golden Eagles built a 10-point lead early in the second half, but SDSU can back to knot the game at 73-all with under six minutes remaining.
ORU?then ut together one final spurt to improve to 13-0 in league play. Luper scored a game-high 26 points, with Pyle contributing 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field. Jaci Bigham added 17 points and seven assists.
Young finished the game with 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting from three-point range. Kristin Rotert also shot well from long distance, making 6-of-10 three-point tries en route to 22 points. Katie Lingle contributed a career-high 16 points and nine rebounds.
MEDIA COVERAGE: Audio and coverage of Saturday's game is scheduled to be available via the Jackrabbit Extra 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 select contests are available for $11.95 per month or $99.95 for an entire year of coverage.
Local radio coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. Central Time on the Jackrabbit Sports Network, with J.J. Hartigan calling the play-by-play. Besides network flagship WNAX 570 AM, the game can be heard on the following Jackrabbit Sports Network affiliates:
* KJJQ?910 AM-Brookings
* KRKI 99.1 FM-Rapid City
* KGFX 1060 AM-Pierre
* KSDR 1480 AM-Watertown
JACKRABBIT INSIDER: Throughout the 2011-12 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 interviews with Jackrabbit coaches and student-athletes, airs Sundays at 10:30 p.m. on Sioux Falls-based KTTW?FOX?7. The show is also broadcast on FOX Sports North at 6 p.m. Tuesdays and on FOX?College Sports Central at 9:30 p.m. Tuesdays. Online, the show can be viewed at GoJacks.com.
NEW RADIO SHOW DEBUTS: South Dakota State head coach Aaron Johnston also will be a weekly guest on the "Jackrabbit Basketball Coaches Show," a radio show which will air live from Cubby's Sports Bar and Grill in downtown Brookings and will run from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays on the Jackrabbit Sports Network.
An audio stream of the show also will be available via the Jackrabbit Extra.
OPENING SUCCESS: The Jackrabbits' 74-35 victory over St. Cloud State in the 2011-12 season opener at Frost Arena on Nov. 11 marked the 19th 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.).
NEW LOWS: The Jackrabbits' 22 points in a loss to Cincinnati on Nov. 24 was by far the lowest point total by an SDSU squad during the Division I era and the lowest with a shot clock in use. The previous low was 40 points - also in a 33-point loss - at Purdue (Ind.) on Nov. 18, 2010, in the semifinals of the Preseason Women's NIT.
Overall, the 22 points were the third fewest in a game in school history. Ironically, the Jackrabbits won both of the games in which they scored fewer points:?an 18-14 decision over Buena Vista (Iowa) during the inaugural 1966-67 season and a 19-6 victory over Huron during the 1967-68 campaign.
Against Kansas State on Dec. 10, the Jackrabbits could muster a shooting percentage of only 21.6 percent - their worst shooting performance in the Division I era. SDSU missed its first 16 shots from the field and finished the first half 2-of-25 from the floor.
RECEIVING VOTES: South Dakota State received votes in two different national preseason polls. The Jackrabbits received three votes in the Nov. 15 ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll, and tallied 27 points in the Women's Mid-Major Top 25 poll conducted by collegeinsider.com.
The Jackrabbits continue to receive votes in the most recent mid-major poll, which is sprinkled with SDSU opponents. In the Jan. 3 poll, Middle Tennessee State checked in at No. 13 and Summit League favorite Oral Roberts was ranked 20th. Receiving votes among Jackrabbit opponents were Marist (N.Y) and Summit newcomer South Dakota.
801 AND?COUNTING: SDSU's victory over Oakland on Dec. 29 was the 800th 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 801-364 (.688 winning percentage).
In addition, SDSU has posted 25 consecutive winning seasons between competing at the NCAA Division II and Divsion I levels.The Jackrabbits' last losing season was an 11-16 campaign during the 1985-86 season.
150 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 seven-plus seasons competing at the Division I level, SDSU has compiled a 151-63 mark (.706 winning percentage) versus D-I opposition. The Jackrabbits have posted victories over 54 different Division I teams representing 20 conferences plus independents.
TOUGH AT HOME: The Jackrabbit women's basketball team has gained a decisive home-court advantage at Frost Arena over the past decade.
In his tenure as Jackrabbit head coach, Johnston has led the Jackrabbits to a 142-22 record (.866 winning percentage) at Frost Arena, including an 87-13 mark (.870 winning pct.) 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 131-17 home record (.885 winning percentage), losing an average of about two games at Frost Arena each full season. The Jackrabbits capped the 2008-09 regular season with a 14-0 record - a mark that stands as the first undefeated home season in school history.
A loss to Western Kentucky early in the 2009-10 campaign snapped a 35-game regular season home winning streak, as well as a 15-game overall winning streak that began after SDSU lost to Creighton (Neb.) in the first round of the 2008 Women's NIT.
SDSU's loss to Oral Roberts on Jan. 4, 2010, marked its first home loss to a Summit League opponent.
BATTLE OF THE BOARDS: The Jackrabbits enter the weekend as the top rebounding team in The Summit League, out-rebounding their opponents by 6.8 boards per game overall and 16.2 per league contest.
The Jackrabbits had their streak of holding a rebounding advantage end at seven games in the Dec. 21 loss at Nebraska, but again controlled the boards in their Dec. 29 matchup against Oakland. Overall, the Jackrabbits have out-rebounded their opponents in 12 of their 15 games this season, posting an 9-3 record when winning the battle of the boards.
The Jackrabbits have held a double-digit rebounding advantage seven times this season, including each of their first four Summit League games. SDSU put together a dominating 46-22 advantage against Western Illinois on Nov. 30 and held a 41-27 edge versus Oakland in their Dec. 29 matchup.
BENCH POINTS: South Dakota State reserves have played a key role in the Jackrabbits starting the season with a 9-6 record. A relatively young and inexperienced Jackrabbit bench has outscored the opponent's reserves in nine games this season, including six of the last seven. Overall, the Jackrabbits have outscored opposing reserves by 48 points, 242-194, thus far during the 2011-12 season.
Junior forward Leah Dietel and freshman wing Rachel Walters have been the top scorer off the bench four times each this season for the Jackrabbits. Dietel moved into the starting lineup for the games last week versus Oakland and IPFW.
SUMMIT LEAGUE SUCCESS: South Dakota State has built an impressive Summit League résumé during its tenure in the 10-team conference.
Since joining the league at the start of the 2007-08 season, the Jackrabbits have compiled a 63-13 record (.829 winning percentage) in Summit League regular season games en route to outright league titles with records of 16-2 in 2007-08 and 17-1 during the 2008-09 season. In addition, SDSU has gone 33-5 at home against league foes and has won at least one game on every other Summit League member's home court.
YOUNG REACHES MILESTONES: Senior guard Jill Young has reached a pair of milestones during the 2011-12 season.
The Mitchell native became the 30th member of the Jackrabbit Women's Basketball 1,000-Point Club when she sank a first-half three-pointer during South Dakota State's win over Washington State on Nov. 20.
Young enters Saturday's game against Oral Roberts in 28th place on the Jackrabbit career scoring chart with 1,118 points, after passing former Ketty Cornemann (1,042 points from 2007-10) in the Dec. 6 game at Arkansas-Little Rock. Young is poised to move up several spots on the career scoring chart over the next few games as she trails Dawn Hull, who scored 1,125 points from 1993-96, by seven points, Lisa Kannegieter (1,130 points from 1991-94) by 12 points and Lori Fish (1,133 points from 1987-90) by 15 points for the 25th spot.
Young has been a top-notch long range shooter throughout her collegiate career and has set a new Jackrabbit standard with 257 career three-pointers, breaking the previous record of 250 held by both Brenda Davis (2001-04) and Kristin Rotert (2008-11) in the Dec. 29 game against Oakland.
Through the first 15 games of the season, Young leads the squad with 35 three-pointers. She tied a career high with seven three-pointers in the Nov. 11 season opener against St. Cloud State and sank six three-pointers in a Dec. 31 victory over IPFW.
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.
For her career, Young is shooting 41 percent from three-point range, 257-of-627, including a team-best 78-of-188 - 41.4 percent - last season to rank 21st nationally for three-point percentage.
Young also has been an 82 percent (180-of-230) career shooter from the free throw line. She has shot well above her career average this season, making 91.9 percent (34-of-37) of her attempts.
SUNNY SIDE UP: Senior forward Jennie Sunnarborg has led the Jackrabbits in scoring throughout much of the 2011-12 season. A native of Osseo, Minn., Sunnarborg has upped her scoring average to a team-best 12.4 points per game after averaging 19 points over the last three games. She also is shooting 81.3 percent (52-of-64) from the free throw line and contributing a team-best 5.9 rebounds per game.
In her best outing of the season, Sunnarborg recorded a season-high 23 points and added five rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot in an SDSU victory at IUPUI on Dec. 2. Sunnarborg also compiled a 22-point, four-rebound performance against Washington State on Nov. 20, in which she made the go-ahead basket with 1:05 remaining in the game. She also was 12-for-14 at the free throw line in the Jackrabbit victory.
Sunnarborg broke out of a four-game slump with a 20-point, seven-rebound performance against nationally ranked Nebraska on Dec. 21, followed by a 21-point, six-rebound night against Oakland on Dec. 29. Her latest performance marked the fourth time this season and 13th time in her career she reached the 20-point mark in a game.
In four Summit League games, Sunnarborg is averaging 19 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest, while shooting 50 percent (28-of-56) from the field.
On the career charts, Sunnarborg ranks seventh in blocked shots at South Dakota State with 102. She also is on pace to reach the 1,000-point mark, entering Sautrday's game with 944 career points.
EIDE ON THE MARK: Junior guard Ashley Eide has put together a strong season for the Jackrabbit women's basketball team, leading the team in field goal percentage (53.1 percent), tying for first in assists (2.27 apg) and ranking second on the squad in both scoring (11.1 points per game) and rebounding (5.1 rpg).
Eide was named Summit League Player of the Week following her 21-point, five-rebound performance at nationally ranked Nebraska on Dec. 21. She was 9-of-14 from the field, including 3-for-3 from three-point range as she reached the 20-point mark for the second time this season. Eide added two assists and two steals in 30 minutes of action.
She tallied double figures for the fifth consecutive game with 12 points in the Dec. 31 win over IPFW. Eide made a pair of three-pointers, while adding nine rebounds and a career-high seven assists.
The Sioux Falls native was impressive in the season opening weekend, tying a career high with six assists in the season-opening win over St. Cloud State on Nov. 11, then pouring in a career-high 27 points with eight rebounds in the Jackrabbits' victory over Utah State. Eide did not miss a two-point shot in the two games, going a combined 11-for-11. She also was 3-of-8 on three-point attempts to finish the weekend 14-of-19 (73.7 percent) overall from the field.
Eide continued her strong play by averaging 11 points and 3.5 rebounds during the opening week of Summit League play. She scored nine points at Western Illinois on Nov. 30, then went 5-of-7 from the field en route to 13 points in the Dec. 2 victory at IUPUI.
Over the last nine contests, Eide is averaging 12.7 points and 4.7 rebounds over the last nine contests. She is shooting 56.3 percent (40-of-71) from the field in that span.
PALUCH AT THE POINT: Junior Steph Paluch has handled the bulk of the point guard duties for the Jackrabbits through the first half of the 2011-12 season.
A Pierre native, Paluch shares the team lead with 34 assists (2.27 apg), including recording a career-high eight assists in SDSU's 63-58 win over Washington State on Nov. 20. Paluch also has contributed averages of 6.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. Her five steals Dec. 2 at IUPUI established a new career high and are the most by a Jackrabbit player this season.
Paluch scored a season-high 13 points in SDSU's victory over Utah State on Nov. 13, making all six free throw attempts.
DIETEL CLEANS THE GLASS: Junior forward Leah Dietel recently set a season high for rebounds in back-to-back games to help the Jackrabbits lead The Summit League in the category this season.
A native of Jordan, Minn., Dietel grabbed seven rebounds in a losing effort at Nebraska on Dec. 21. In her first start of the season, Dec. 29 against Oakland, Dietel pulled down nine rebounds and tied a career high with two blocked shots in a Jackrabbit victory.
Dietel currently ranks fourth on the squad with an average of 3.9 rebounds per game.
COACH AARON JOHNSTON: Now in his 12th full 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 game against Oral Roberts with a career record of 275-96 (.741 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 63-13 record (.829 winning percentage) in Summit League regular season games and a 16-7 mark (.696 winning percentage) in postseason games. He is 5-5 against Oral Roberts.
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.
Along the way to a 32-3 overall record, the Jackrabbits received national media coverage from CBS Sports, USA Today, ESPN.com, Sports Illustrated and The New York Times.
A native of Pine Island, Minn., "A.J." earned a bachelor's degree in health and physical education from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn. After serving one year as an assistant coach at North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, he moved on to SDSU as a graduate assistant for the Jackrabbit men's basketball team for two seasons before becoming assistant women's coach. He also coached the SDSU golf teams one year.
ACADEMIC SUCCESS: The South Dakota State women's basketball team continued to make the grade during the 2010-11 season.
For the fourth time in its six-year history at the Division I level, the Jackrabbits posted the highest grade-point average in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's Academic Top 25 Honor Roll, topping the chart with a 3.666 team GPA. Overall, SDSU ranked second across all divisions of women's college basketball.
"This is a really exciting accomplishment for the team," Jackrabbit head coach Aaron Johnston said. "This group has talked about getting back to that top spot over the past couple years and it is good to see this group of new players help us reach that goal. I'm proud of all the sacrifice and effort the players have put forward to accomplish this goal."
Individually, 11 Jackrabbit women's basketball players were honored on the all-Summit League Academic Team.
To be honored on the Academic All-Summit League Team, student-athletes must have a 3.0 or better grade-point average in the semester of their championship event and must use a year of eligibility. Student-athletes are recognized as a Distinguished Scholar by compiling a 3.6 GPA or higher, with nine Jackrabbit players earning that distinction.
Overall, Jackrabbit student-athletes garnered a conference-best 148 Academic All-Summit League awards during the spring semester.
In addition, eight Jackrabbits players were honored on the Commissioner's List of Academic Excellence by The Summit League. With the eight selections — 64 percent of the squad — the Jackrabbits were honored with a Team Academic Achievement Award from the league.
In order for a student-athlete to be selected to the Commissioner's List of Academic Excellence, he or she must carry at least a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average, achieve sophomore academic standing at the institution, have used a year of eligibility and be on the squad list in the sport in which he or she is nominated. Transfers, graduate students and junior college graduates must have completed one academic year at the nominating institution. True freshmen, redshirt freshmen and first-year transfers are not eligible for the award.
THE ROSTER: The 2011-12 SDSU women's basketball roster features 13 players from two different states. Of the 13 players, seven are from Minnesota and six are from South Dakota. By class, two are seniors, four are juniors, three are sophomores, one is a redshirt freshman and three are incoming freshmen.
A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits close out their two-game road trip Jan. 9 at Southern Utah. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Mountain Time (8 p.m. Central) at the Centrum Arena in Cedar City, Utah.
SDSU's next home game is slated for Jan. 14 against UMKC in the annual Lamb Bonanza game. Tipoff for the opening game of the doubleheader is 5 p.m. at Frost Arena, followed by the men's game at 7:30.
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