On the Road Again

Wednesday, January 18

Denver, Colo.

8 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Denver

Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen

1/17/2017 2:33:00 PM | Women's Basketball

GAME 19: South Dakota State [14-4, 5-1] at Denver [4-14, 1-4]

When	Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017 l 8 p.m.
Where	Magness Arena l Denver, Colo.
TV	Altitude Sports
Radio	Jackrabbit Sports Network l WNAX 104.1 FM l Jackrabbit All-Access l Brad Peterson
Live Stats	GoJacks.com
SDSU Links	Game Notes
DU Links	Game Notes
Summit League Links	Weekly Notes l Website
Social Media	Twitter l #EarsUp

The Mile High City looms for the South Dakota State women's basketball team as it plays at Denver Wednesday in a Summit League game at 8 p.m. in Magness Arena.

The Jackrabbits enter the game ranked No. 6 in the Jan. 10 CollegeInsider Mid-Major poll.

SDSU is in a three-way tie for first in the Summit League standings at 5-1 and with a 14-4 overall record.

The Jackrabbits improved to 6-3 and 2-1 on the road this season with a 78-57 win at Oral Roberts Jan. 14. Ellie Thompson led four Jacks in double digits in scoring with a team-high 17 points.

Denver has lost its last eight of nine games, including a 71-49 decision at IUPUI Jan. 14. The Pioneers are 4-14 overall and 1-4 in the league and tied for seventh in The Summit League standings.

Wednesday's game is the 11th meeting between the Jackrabbits and the Pioneers. State leads the all-time series, 9-1, has won the last two games in the series and is 4-1 on the road vs. Denver.

Noteworthy

South Dakota State sports a 6-3 overall road record and is 2-1 in Summit League play. The Jacks won at Oral Roberts and North Dakota State, but lost at South Dakota.
South Dakota State is 59-19 (.756) all-time in Summit League road games and has won 10 of its last 14 road contests. Last year, it went 6-2 in league road contests.
In three road games, Madison Guebert is averaging 19.0 points, while shooting 41.5 percent from the field, 43.8 percent from long range and 90 percent from the foul line.
Three other Jackrabbits average double digits in scoring on the road—Kerri Young (15.0), Clarissa Ober (12.0) and Ellie Thompson (11.0).
The Jackrabbits are 236-81 (.744) in all-time games since joining The Summit League in 2007-08.
The Jacks have won 43 of their last 51 league games, dating to a 63-57 win over IUPUI Jan. 9, 2014.
Of its eight Summit League opponents in the last 10 years, SDSU has five losses to IUPUI, four to South Dakota, two to North Dakota State and one each to Denver, Fort Wayne and Western Illinois. The most losses have been to Oral Roberts (6).
SDSU head coach Aaron Johnston, who won his 400th game Dec. 11, enters Wednesday's game with a 406-137 (.747) overall record and a 132-26 (.835) league mark.

Jackrabbits in Mid-Major Poll

After spending the first four weeks of the season atop the CollegeInsider Mid-Major poll, South Dakota State is sixth in the Jan. 10 poll.
SDSU has been ranked in the Mid-Major Top 25 Poll 92 of the last 93 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.

A Quick Glance at South Dakota State

Seventeenth-year head coach Aaron Johnston's probable starters for the second consecutive game are:

            Alexis Alexander, point guard
            Madison Guebert, guard
            Kerri Young, guard
            Ellie Thompson, forward
            Clarissa Ober, center

The starting lineup is 3-1 this season.
SDSU has had three different starting lineups after the Jackrabbits' leading scoring Macy Miller (Dec. 9) and leading rebounder Clarissa Ober (Dec. 21, return Jan. 11) suffered injuries that forced them from the starting five.
Guebert is currently SDSU's leading scorer, averaging 14.1 points per game. Young (13.0) and Thompson (11.7) are the other Jacks averaging double digits in scoring.
SDSU averages 68.8 points per game. Four different Jackrabbits have led the team in scoring this season.
State has held 13 of its 18 opponents to 65-or-less points, including five to less than 50.
There have been at least three Jackrabbits scoring in double digits in 13 of 18 games.
On the boards, Ober is SDSU's leading rebounder, grabbing 7.0 caroms an outing. Thompson averages 6.7 caroms a game. The Jackrabbits are outrebounding opponents by 3.5 caroms.
The Jackrabbits' top 3-point threat is Guebert, who is sinking 3.0 treys per game and shooting 42.9 percent.
Young is the Jacks' top playmaker, dishing 3.0 assists per game.
The Jacks have a plus-1.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.
SDSU is shooting 43.1 percent from the field, 33.2 percent from 3-point range and 74.7 percent from the free-throw line.

Glance at Denver

Denver is 1-4 in its last five games and enters Wednesday's game 3-3 at home, but on a three-game losing streak in Magness Arena.
DU is led offensively by freshman Lauren Loven. The guard is averaging 12.8 points per game. The Pioneers are averaging 64.7 points per game.
Senior guard Jacqlyn Poss and sophomore guard Samantha Romanowski are also averaging double digits, scoring 12.7 and 10.9 points per game, respectively.
Senior forward Jesse Spittel averages a team-leading 5.0 rebounds. The Pioneers are being outrebounded by 6.2 caroms a game.
Freshman guard Briana Johnson is dishing 2.0 assists per game.
Loven is Denver's top 3-point threat, sinking 63 3-pointers and shooting 43.4 percent overall.
Denver has five players averaging 5-or-more points and 10 averaging 10-or-more minutes per game.
The Pioneers are shooting 41.1 percent from the field, 38.1 percent from 3-point range and 72.2 percent from the free-throw line.

Breaking Down the Denver Series

Wednesday's game will be the 11th meeting between SDSU and Denver and the Jacks lead the series, 9-1.
SDSU has won the last three games and is 4-1 in Denver.
Last year, the Jackrabbits closed 2015 with a 76-39 win in Denver Dec. 30. State won its home game in Frost Arena, 80-52.
The Pioneers lone win in the series came Feb. 11, 2015, when they surprised the Jackrabbits with a 77-72 win in Denver.

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.

-GoJacks.com-