| GAME 11: South Dakota State [8-2] at No. 8/8 Louisville [8-2] |
The South Dakota State women's basketball team plays its second nationally ranked team on the road this season when it travels east to take on No. 8/8 Louisville Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the KFC Yum! Center.
Â
SDSU improved to 4-1 in the friendly confines of Frost Arena Dec. 11 with a hard-fought 60-55 win over George Washington. Four Jackrabbits were in double figures in scoring, led by
Ellie Thompson and
Kerri Young who had 13 points each.
Â
Louisville won its second in row, defeating Western Kentucky, 68-61, Dec. 11.
Â
Wednesday's game is the first meeting between the Jackrabbits and Cardinals.
Â
Noteworthy
- South Dakota State sports a 3-1 road record, winning at Iowa, Northern Iowa and North Dakota and falling to then-No. 13/12 Oklahoma.
- The Jackrabbits are 13-14 in away nonleague games in the last five years.
- The Jackrabbits slipped to third in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major Poll after falling to then second-ranked Green Bay Dec. 9. Gonzaga is second in the Dec. 13 poll.
- South Dakota State is ranked second behind Green Bay in Graham Hays' espnW mid-major poll Dec. 9.
- 17th-year head coach Aaron Johnston won his 400th career game Dec. 11 and now ranks second in The Summit League in overall career victories (230).
Â
Poll Positions
- SDSU dropped out of both The Associated Press and USA Today Sports Coaches polls this week.
- The Jackrabbits received 5 votes in the AP preseason poll and 28 in the preseason Coaches poll.
- The last time the Jacks were ranked in either preseason poll was Nov. 9, 2009.
- The Jackrabbits' votes are the first since the Jackrabbits received votes in the Jan. 11, 2016, AP poll and April 6, 2016, Coaches polls.
- The highest SDSU has ever been ranked is 16th in the AP poll March 9, 2009, and 14th in the Coaches poll March 2, 2009.
Â
Jackrabbits in Mid-Major Poll
- South Dakota State was ranked first in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major poll for the fourth consecutive week Dec. 6 after earning the top spot in the preseason poll.
- SDSU has been ranked in the Mid-Major Top 25 Poll 86 of the last 87 weeks.
- With its 26 first-place votes in the preseason poll, SDSU is the first team in The Summit League history to earn a top national preseason ranking.
- The Jackrabbits were ranked first in the final 2015-16 poll, their highest-ever ranking.
Â
A Quick Glance at South Dakota State
- Seventeenth-year head coach Aaron Johnston's probable starters for the second consecutive year are:
           -
Alexis Alexander point guard
           -
Madison Guebert, guard
           -
Kerri Young, guard
           -
Ellie Thompson, forward
           -
Clarissa Ober, forward
- The starting lineup is 1-0 this season.
- The starting lineup is shooting 44.2 percent from the field, 33.7 percent from 3-point range and 74.7 percent from the free-throw line.
- Macy Miller is SDSU's leading scorer, averaging 14.9 points per game. Miller was injured in the Green Bay game Dec. 9 and missed the George Washington game Dec. 11.
- Guebert (13.7), Thompson (11.0) and Young (10.2) are the other Jacks averaging double digits in scoring.
- SDSU averages 70.5 points per game. Four different Jackrabbits have led the team in scoring this season.
- State has held 7 of its 10 opponents to less than 65 points, including four to less than 50.
- There have been at least three Jackrabbits scoring in double digits in 7 of the 10 games.
- On the boards, Ober grabs a team-leading 8.1 caroms an outing and ranks second in the league. SDSU is outrebounding opponents by 2.6.
- The Jackrabbits' top 3-point threat is Guebert, who is sinking 3.2 treys per game and shooting 47.8 percent.
- Young is the Jacks' top playmaker, dishing 3.2 assists per game.Â
- The Jacks have a plus-1.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.
- SDSU is shooting 43.7 percent from the field, 32.3 percent from 3-point range and 71.3 percent from the free-throw line.
Â
Louisville
- Louisville is 8-2 on the season after defeating Western Kentucky, 68-61, Dec. 11. It had its six-game winning streak snapped with back-to-back losses to then-No. 3 South Carolina and then-No. 5 Maryland before taking down Kentucky in overtime Dec. 4.
- The Cardinals have three players averaging double digits in scoring. Sophomore guard Asia Durr leads the team, averaging 18.2 points per game while junior forwards Mariya Moore and Myisha Hines-Allen are scoring 12.0 and 11.8 points per game, respectively.
- Hines-Allen averages a team-leading 8.3 rebounds. Louisville is outrebounding opponents by 2.7 caroms a game.
- Senior guard Briahanna Jackson and Moore are dishing 5.0 and 4.6 assists per game, respectively.
- Durr is the Cardinals top 3-point threat, sinking 44.8 percent (39-87) of her shots.
- Louisville has six players averaging 5-or-more points and 10 averaging 10-or-more minutes per game.
- The Cardinals are shooting 45.2 percent from the field, 32.8 percent from 3-point range and 61.9 percent from the free-throw line.
Â
Louisville Series
- Wednesday's game marks the first meeting between South Dakota State and Louisville.
- The Jackrabbits are 4-2 vs. teams from Kentucky and 1-3 against Atlantic Coast Conference members.
- Notre Dame was the last ACC team SDSU played.
For more information on the South Dakota State women's basketball team, follow the Jackrabbits on Twitter (
@GoJacksWBB) or like
South Dakota State women's basketball on Facebook.
Â
-GoJacks.com-