Start of Three-Game Homestand Thursday

Thursday, February 2

Brookings, S.D.

7 p.m.

South Dakota State University

North Dakota State

Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen

2/1/2017 9:04:00 AM | Women's Basketball

GAME 21: South Dakota State [16-5, 7-2] vs. North Dakota State [5-17, 3-6]

When	Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017 l 7 p.m.
Where	Frost Arena l Brookings, S.D.
TV	Midco Sports Network l Tom Nieman (play-by-play) and Brad Newitt (color)
Radio	Jackrabbit Sports Network l WNAX 570 AM l Jackrabbit All-Access l Scotty Kwas
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
SDSU Links	Game Notes
NDSU Links	Game Notes
Summit League Links	Weekly Notes l Website
Social Media	Twitter l #EarsUp

The South Dakota State women's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of Frost Arena for a three-game homestand that starts with longtime rival North Dakota State Thursday at 7 p.m.

Tom Nieman will call the play-by-play, Brad Newitt will provide the color commentary and Carla Metts will be reporting from the sidelines for the Midco Sports Network. The game can also be heard live on The Jackrabbit Sports Network with Scotty Kwas on WNAX 570 AM.

The Jackrabbits enter the game ranked No. 6 in Tuesday's CollegeInsider Mid-Major poll.

SDSU is tied for first in The Summit League standings at 7-2 and with a 16-5 overall record.

The Jackrabbits are 8-1 and 4-0 in Frost Arena and have a five-game winning streak.

In its last outing, SDSU lost on a buzzer beater at Omaha, 83-82, Jan. 28. Four Jacks scored in double digits led by Ellie Thompson's career-high tying 23 points.

North Dakota State has a 3-6 league record and is 5-17 overall. It has lost its last five games, including a 70-50 decision to Oral Roberts Jan. 28. The Bison are seventh in the league standings.

Thursday's game is the 84th meeting between the Jackrabbits and the Bison. State leads the all-time series, 45-38, has won the last four games in the series and is 26-14 in Frost Arena, winning the last five.

Noteworthy

SDSU is 463-116 (.799) all-time in home games, including 72-7 (.911) in home Summit League games. It has won its last nine home league games and is 41-2 (.953) in the last five seasons.
State has won 413 of its last 500 home encounters, good for a remarkable .826 winning percentage.
The Jackrabbits are 238-82 (.743) in all-time games since joining The Summit League in 2007-08.
The Jacks have won 45 of their last 54 league games, dating to a 63-57 win over IUPUI Jan. 9, 2014.
Of its nine 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, Omaha 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 Thursday's game with a 408-138 (.747) overall record and a 134-27 (.832) 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 was sixth in Tuesday's poll.
SDSU has been ranked in the Mid-Major Top 25 Poll 95 of the last 96 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 fifth consecutive game are:

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

The starting lineup is 5-2 overall and 3-1 in league play this season.
SDSU has had three 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 15.5 points per game. Young (13.1) and Thompson (12.9) are the other Jacks averaging double digits in scoring.
SDSU averages 69.8 points per game. Four Jackrabbits have led the team in scoring this season.
State has held 15 of its 21 opponents to 65-or-fewer points, including five to less than 50.
There have been at least three Jackrabbits scoring in double digits in 15 of 21 games.
On the boards, Ober is SDSU's leading rebounder, grabbing 6.9 caroms an outing. The Jackrabbits are outrebounding opponents by 3.5 caroms.
The Jackrabbits' top 3-point threat is Guebert, who is sinking 3.1 treys per game and shooting 45.3 percent.
Young is the Jacks' top playmaker, dishing 3.1 assists per game.
The Jacks have a plus-1.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.
SDSU is shooting 43.6 percent from the field, 33.8 percent from 3-point range and 74.9 percent from the free-throw line.

Glance at North Dakota State

North Dakota State has lost seven of its last 10 games, including its last five outings.
The Bison are 1-9 on the road overall and 1-3 in the league. The last road win for NDSU was at Denver Dec. 31.
NDSU is led offensively by junior Taylor Thunstedt. The guard is averaging 16.4 points per game. North Dakota State averages 64.9 points per game.
Senior forward Brianna Jones averages a team-leading 7.8 rebounds. The Bison are outrebounding opponents by 1.7 caroms a game.
Freshman guard Sarah Jacobson is dishing 3.6 assists per game.
Thunstedt is the Bison's top 3-point threat, sinking 39.0 percent (76-195) of her shots. She ranks first in The Summit League in 3-point field goals and in 3-point field goals per game and is 10th in 3-point field goal percentage. Thunstedt also ranks first 3-point field goals and in 3-point field goals per game and is second in 3-point field goal attempts in the NCAA's latest statistics.
North Dakota State has six players averaging 5-or-more points and eight averaging 10-or-more minutes per game.
The Bison are shooting 39.2 percent from the field, 35.9 percent from 3-point range and 67.0 percent from the free-throw line.

Breaking Down the NDSU Series

Thursday's game is the 84th meeting between SDSU and NDSU and the Jacks lead the series, 45-38.
SDSU won the first game 69-66 in Fargo Dec. 28.
The teams were longtime rivals at the NCAA Division II level in the North Central Conference and now continue at the Division I level as members of The Summit League.
The Jackrabbits lead the series in the D-I era, holding a 21-5 advantage. The Bison ushered in the D-I era by sweeping the initial season series during the 2004-05 season. SDSU then won 10 consecutive meetings until NDSU recorded a 78-71 victory in the 2010-11 Summit League opener Dec. 4, 2010, at Frost Arena.

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-