Women set to host St. Cloud State in Exhibition

Wednesday, October 30

Brookings, S.D.

6 p.m.

South Dakota State University

St. Cloud State (exh.)

10/29/2019 9:40:00 AM | Women's Basketball

EXHIBITION: South Dakota State vs. St. Cloud State

When	Wednesday, Oct. 30 \| 6 p.m.
Where	Frost Arena \| Brookings, S.D.
Live Audio / Radio	Jackrabbits All-Access \| Jackrabbit Sports Network I WNAX 570 AM \| Brad Peterson
Live Video	Not Available
Live Stats	Not Available
Game Notes	South Dakota State
Social Media	Twitter I Facebook
Tickets	JackrabbitTickets.com

South Dakota State hosts St. Cloud State in an exhibition game on Wednesday at Frost Arena. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

The Jackrabbits are 32-21 all-time against the Huskies, with the history dating back to 1976. The last time the two teams met was Nov. 11, 2011, where SDSU won, 74-35.

About South Dakota State
South Dakota State enters the 2019-20 season with 10 returners, including three starters, and will look to build on the momentum of a historic season.

Tagyn Larson, a 2018-19 All-Summit League Second Team and Summit League Championship All-Tournament Team honoree, returns for her senior season. She started all 35 games for the Jackrabbits last season, leading the team in rebounding (6.4 rpg) and blocked shots (43). The senior averaged 10.5 points per game and shot 50 percent or higher from the field in 24 games. Larson shot 19-of-45 from beyond the arc to rank second on the team in 3-point field goal percentage (42.2 percent).

Myah Selland started all 33 games that she appeared in for State last season. She earned 2018-19 All-Summit League Honorable Mention honors. Selland ranked second on the team in assists (108) and blocked shots (18). The Junior averaged 12.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. She played a key role in the Jackrabbits postseason success as she averaged 15.3 points and 7.3 rebounds in NCAA Tournament games.

The final of the returning starters, Tylee Irwin, started 34 of the 35 games she played in. She shot 42.5 percent from the field on the season, including 12 games of 50 percent or higher. Irwin ranked third on the squad with 15 blocked shots and was fourth in steals (33), rebounding (3.7 rpg), and 3-pointers (22).

Rylie Cascio Jensen brings senior leadership to the squad as she looks to possibly move into a starting role for the Jackrabbits. The senior came off the bench in all 35 games, averaging 19.2 minutes per game. She ranked third on the team with 105 assists and fifth on the squad with 20 3-pointers. Cascio Jensen was also credited with five or more assists in eight games. Rounding out the Senior class is Megan Bultsma who appeared in 22 games, averaging 5.1 minutes per game.

Paiton Burckhard returns for her sophomore season. She was a standout last season among a five-member freshman class. She saw action in all 35 games, and earned the starting assignment on two occasions. Burckhard led the team in field goal percentage with a .596 clip. The sophomore was named to the Summit League All-Newcomer Team.

Another member of the sophomore class that saw playing time in all 35 games for the Jackrabbits is Lindsey Theuninck. She played a reserve roll, scoring in 22 games. Theuninck tallied five points, three assists and two rebounds in her collegiate debut, at Marquette. She average 12.1 minutes and 2.6 points a game for the Jacks.

The trio of Sydney Staleton, Addison Hirschman and Jordan Ferrand round out the sophomore class. Stapleton appeared in 23 games, while Hirschman and Ferrand each saw playing time in 17 games.

Completing Jackrabbit roster is a trio of new faces to South Dakota State and a redshirt freshman.

Lauren Rongisch readshirted last year and will make her collegiate debut in the 2019-20 season. She was a three-time All-State honorable mention selection, a second-team All-Metro pick in 2016 and honorable mention in 2015 and 2017 at Millard West High School. Rongisch finished her high school career with 595 points, averaging 2.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game while shooting 32 percent from beyond the arc and 77 percent from the free-throw line.

Kallie Theisen was a three-time All-Lake Conference selection who was honored on All-State squads three time by the Minnesota Coaches Association. The two-year team captain at Wayzata High School, Theisen reached the 1,000-point mark early in her senior season.

Tori Nelson established career school records for points (2,516), rebounds (1,112), blocked shots (397) and steals (260) at Henry Sibley High School. She was honored as Metro East Conference Player of the Year as a senior and was an All-Metro selection by both the Minneapolis Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press after averaging 23.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.1 steals, 2.3 assists and 1.6 blocks per game.

Regan Nesheim helped lead Johnston High School to three consecutive state tournament appearances. She earned second-team all-state recognition as a senior after averaging 13.1 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocked shots per game.

South Dakota State led the Summit League in field-goal percentage with a 47.4 clip. 10 members of last years Jackrabbit squad shot 40 percent from the field or higher.

State finished the season ranked among the top 10 in the nation in five statistic categories, including eighth in assist turnover ratio (1.44), total assists (631), and assists per game (18.0) and 10th in field-goal percentage (47.4) and scoring margin (16.4)

Scouting St. Cloud State
St. Cloud State is coming off of a season where it went 19-10 overall with a 14-8 mark in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play. The Huskies won two games in the NSIC Tournament before falling in the semifinals. Finishing sixth in the conference last year, the Huskies were projected to finish in the same position this season.

A top returner for SCSU, who was voted NSIC Preseason Player to Watch, is Tori Wortz. She started in all 28 games for the Huskies, averaging 12.2 points and grabbing a total of 119 rebounds.

Nikki Kilboten returns as the NSIC's leader in total blocks with (66) and also came away with (145) defensive rebounds for a top 10 finish in the NSIC.

Lori Fish begins her 11th season as head coach of the St. Cloud State women's basketball team in 2018-19, and her 15th overall as a collegiate coach. Fish has compiled an 10-year career record of 149-125 at SCSU. In her overall career as a head coach at the collegiate level, Fish owns a 211-178 record.

A former Jackrabbit, Fish earned First Team All-Conference honors as a junior and senior. She played for the Jacks from 1986-90. Fish is a member of South Dakota State's 1,000 point club with a total of 1,133 career points. She also joined the SDSU coaching staff for a period of time as a graduate assistant coach.

1,000 Wins on the Horizon
The Jackrabbits are rapidly approaching a large milestone in the history of their program. State is just five wins away from 1,000 program wins. The squad will join an elite 12 teams in NCAA Division I schools who have reached the mark. Notre Dame is also just one win away from reaching 1,000 program wins.

Preseason Recognition
Tagyn Larson and Myah Selland were named to the All-Summit League Preseason First Team, while Tylee Irwin earned All-Summit League Preseason Second Team accolades.

Jacks Tabbed Second In Preseason Poll
The Jackrabbits were tabbed to finish second as they claimed a total of 496 points and 13 first place votes in the preseason poll. South Dakota was voted the favorite with 20 first place votes and 527 points, while Denver rounded out the top three with 394 points and a lone first place vote.

2019-20 Summit League Preseason Poll
Rk        Team                           Votes (1st)
1          South Dakota              527 (20)
2          South Dakota State     496 (13)
3          Denver                         394 (1)
4          Oral Roberts                 370
5          Western Illinois           332
6          North Dakota              213
7          North Dakota State    181
8          Omaha                         147
9          Purdue Fort Wayne    85

Summit League Titles

South Dakota State won its Summit League-leading sixth regular-season title in the program's 12 years in the league with a 15-1 record.
The Jackrabbits last won the regular-season title in 2013-14, finishing the league schedule 13-1.
SDSU also claimed titles in 2007-08, 2008-09, 2011-12 and 2012-13.
State has claimed nine Summit League tournament titles in the past 11 years.

Against Ranked Opponents

South Dakota State is 10-28 vs. ranked foes since 2006-07. It is 6-5 in Frost Arena, 3-14 on the road and 1-9 at neutral sites.
The Jackrabbits' 75-67 win over 12th-ranked Syracuse ties for the highest ranked team they have beaten in program history.
Syracuse was also the highest team South Dakota State has defeated on the road.
SDSU faced its highest-ranked opponent Jan. 2, 2014, when it played then-No. 2 Notre Dame (L, 94-51) in South Bend.

Postseason Awards

Three returning Jackrabbits earned Summit League postseason awards.
Tagyn Larson picked up second-team accolades and Myah Selland was on the honorable mention team.
Rookie Paiton Burckhard was named to The Summit League All-Newcomer Team.
At The Summit League Championship, Larson was named to the all-tournament team.