Women’s Basketball Advances to Title Game

Saturday, November 19

Missoula, MT

12:45 p.m.

South Dakota State University

2-0

Montana

1-0

Montana

South Dakota State

Photo by: Mike Rasay, ISI Group

11/19/2016 3:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

IOWA CITY, Iowa—Ellie Thompson led three in double digits in scoring as the South Dakota State women's basketball team (3-0) defeated Montana 84-43 Saturday in the second semifinal game of the Hawkeye Challenge in front of 3,534 fans in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The Jackrabbits now play host Iowa at 2 p.m. Sunday in the title game.

Thompson, who had 12 first-half points, finished with 18 points and a game-high 7 rebounds. The forward also sank a personal-best three 3-pointers and added two assists and two steals.

Junior Macy Miller added 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Sophomore Madison Guebert scored 11 points and had a trio of 3-point field goals. Junior Alexis Alexander finished with game highs of seven rebounds and four assists.

McKenzie Johnston scored 12 for Montana (1-1).

After building a 27-point halftime lead, the Jackrabbits used a 12-0 run to push the score to 59-18 on a Sydney Palmer 3-pointer at 5:10. SDSU's largest lead was 47 with 2:45 left in the third quarter.

All 12 Jackrabbits scored in the game, including 11 of 12 in the fourth quarter.

The Jackrabbits opened the game with a 15-4 run fueled by three 3-pointers in a row. Guebert sank the first two and Thompson netted the third. SDSU closed the first quarter on a 9-0 run with Thompson scoring five of her eight first-quarter points.

Miller took over in the middle of the second quarter, scoring six points on a 7-0 run that put State up 36-13 at 3:32. The Jacks ended the half with the final seven points and a 43-16 lead.

Notes

Kerri Young needs 37 points to become the 35^th Jackrabbit to score 1,000 career points.
Macy Miller is 17 points shy of 32^nd on the all-time scoring list.
SDSU head coach Aaron Johnston is now five wins short of 400 career wins.
The last time the Jackrabbits opened the season 3-0 was 2008-09 when that team won its first four games.
State connected on 11 3-pointers, the most since sinking 11 vs. Omaha Mar. 7, 2016.
The Jackrabbits shot 53.1 from the field, marking the second consecutive game shooting higher than 50 percent from the floor.
The last time South Dakota State won by 40-plus points was vs. Denver Jan. 2, 2015. The Jacks won by 41.

Up Next
South Dakota State meets Iowa at 2 p.m. tomorrow in the championship game of the Hawkeye Challenge.

For more information on the South Dakota State women's basketball team, follow the Jackrabbits on Twitter (@GoJacksWBB) or like South Dakota State Basketball on Facebook.

-GoJacks.com-