Postseason Begins Against NIU

Thursday, March 16

Brookings, S.D.

7 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Northern Illinois

Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen

3/15/2017 8:10:00 AM | Women's Basketball

GAME 31: South Dakota State [22-8, 11-4] vs. Northern Illinois [23-7]

When	Thursday, March 16, 2017 l 7 p.m.
Where	Frost Arena l Brookings, S.D.
TV	Midco Sports Network2 I Tom Nieman & Brad Newitt
Radio	Jackrabbit Sports Network l WNAX 570 AM l Jackrabbit All-Access l Brad Peterson
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
SDSU Links	Game Notes
NIU Links	Game Notes
Social Media	Twitter l #EarsUp

Only three Division I women's basketball teams will end their season with a win. South Dakota State begins its quest to be one of those teams when it hosts?Northern Illinois in the 20th annual Women's NIT Thursday at 7 p.m. in the friendly confines of Frost Arena.

The Jackrabbits finished the regular season in The Summit League with a 12-4 mark and are 22-8 overall. SDSU enters the 64-team single-elimination WNIT as winners in six of its last 10 games and is 11-4 in its last 15 outings.

South Dakota State hasn't played since losing to IUPUI in overtime, 65-61, in The Summit League semifinals March 6.

Northern Illinois finished the regular season with a 21-11 overall record. They lost to Toledo in the championship of the Mid-American Conference, 82-71. The Huskies have played in one other National Women's Invitational Tournament game in 1991.

The winner of Thursday's game faces the winner of the Colorado vs. UNLV game in the WNIT's second round March 18-21. Location and time are yet to be determined. The WNIT Championship is April 5 at 2:30 p.m. CT on the CBS Sports Network.

The Jackrabbits were ranked No. 12 in Tuesday's CollegeInsider Mid-Major poll.

SDSU enters the game with a nine-game home winning streak that ranks 17th in the latest NCAA rankings.

Women's NIT History

South Dakota State is making its fourth appearance in the 2017 Women's NIT.
The Jackrabbits are 6-3 overall and reached the semifinals in 2014.
State is 6-1 in the WNIT in Frost Arena and have won its last four games in the friendly confines.
Seniors Kerri Young and Clarissa Ober are the only current Jackrabbits to play in a WNIT. Ober averages 4.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in five games while Young averages 1.8 points and 1.2 rebounds.

WNIT Field

Eleven teams either won or tied for their conference title.
Three of SDSU's 2016-17 opponents—North Dakota, Iowa and South Dakota—are on the Jackrabbits' side of the bracket.
South Dakota State could meet the Coyotes, Fighting Hawks or the Hawkeyes, along with Missouri State, in the third round.

Noteworthy

The Jackrabbits recorded their 20th overall win and sixth consecutive 20-win season Feb. 18.
The Jackrabbits have limited their last five opponents to 62.2 points per game, outscoring them by 9.2 points per outing and outrebounding their foes by 10.2 caroms.
SDSU head coach Aaron Johnston, who won his 400th career game Dec. 11, enters Thursday's game with a 414-141 (.745) overall record and a 139-29 (.827) 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 12th in Tuesday's poll.
SDSU has been ranked in the Mid-Major Top 25 Poll 99 of the last 100 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 13th consecutive game are:

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

The starting lineup is 11-5 overall 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 15.0 points per game. Young (13.3), Thompson (13.3) and Ober (10.0) are the other Jacks averaging double digits in scoring.
SDSU averages 70.1 points per game. Four Jackrabbits have led the team in scoring this season.
State has held 23 of its 30 opponents to 65-or-fewer points, including eight to less than 50.
There have been at least three Jackrabbits scoring in double digits in 23 of 30 games.
On the boards, Ober is SDSU's leading rebounder, grabbing 7.7 caroms an outing. The Jackrabbits are outrebounding opponents by 5.1 caroms.
The Jackrabbits' top 3-point threat is Guebert, who is sinking 3.0 treys per game and shooting 43.8 percent.
Young is the Jacks' top playmaker, dishing 3.5 assists per game.
The Jacks have a plus-1.1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
SDSU is shooting 44.0 percent from the field, 33.6 percent from 3-point range and 75.9 percent from the free-throw line.

Glance at Northern Illinois

Northern Illinois is 2-3 in its last five games and enters Thursday's game winning five of its last 10 games.
The Huskies finished fourth in the MAC and had a 12-6 record.
NIU is led offensively by senior Ally Lehman. The guard is averaging 18.3 points per game. The Huskies rank No. 5 in the nation in scoring offense, averaging 85.1 points per game, and have scored at least 90 points 10 times.
Northern Illinois has four others averaging double digits in scoring—sophomore guard Courtney Woods (16.5), senior forward Cassidy Glenn (14.2), sophomore guard Mikayla Voight (11.4) and sophomore guard Kelly Smith (10.4)
Lehman averages a team-leading 9.7 rebounds. The Huskies are being outrebounded by opponents by 0.9 caroms a game.
Lehman is also dishing 6.5 assists per game. Two others have 60-or-more assists.
Woods is NIU's top 3-point threat, sinking 100 3-pointers and shooting 39.4 percent (100-254).
NIU finished the regular season in the top 10 in both free throws (524) and percentage (78.8).
Northern Illinois has six players averaging 5-or-more points and eight averaging 10-or-more minutes per game.
The Huskies are shooting 43.0 percent from the field and 35.0 percent from 3-point range.

Breaking Down the NIU Series

Thursday's game will be the fifth meeting between SDSU and NIU. The Jacks lead the series 4-0 and are 1-0 in the friendly confines of Frost Arena.
In the four wins, State has given up an average of 48 points per game to the Huskies.
The Jackrabbits won the first meeting Dec. 4, 2004, 67-42, in DeKalb. Seven years later, SDSU again won on the road in Illinois, 59-58, Nov. 21, 2012.
SDSU won its lone home game Dec. 17, 2013, 67-50.
The last meeting between the teams was at the UNLV Lady Rebel Round-Up in Las Vegas, Nov. 29, 2014.

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-