Women head for Creighton

Tuesday, November 12

Omaha, Neb.

7 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Creighton

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia Sports Media

11/11/2019 9:55:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Game 2 | South Dakota State (0-1) at Creighton (1-0)

When	Tuesday, Nov. 12 \| 7 p.m.
Where	D.J. Sokol Arena \| Omaha, Neb.
Live Audio / Radio	Jackrabbits All-Access \| Jackrabbit Sports Network I WNAX 104.1 FM \| Brad Peterson
Live Video	GoCreighton.com/Watch
Live Stats	GoCreighton.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State
Social Media	Twitter I Facebook
Tickets	TicketMaster.com

South Dakota State will continue its opening roadstand as it travels to take on Creighton Tuesday at the D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha, Neb. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.

During the 2018-19 season, Creighton did not reach the postseason for the first time since 2007. They finished the season with an overall mark of 15-16. The Bluejays return nine letterwinners including three starters.

The Jackrabbits are coming off of a season where they were the Summit League regular season and tournament champions in addition to making its first ever appearance in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. State is under the direction of head coach Aaron Johnston who in his 20th season at the helm of the program.

Creighton leads the all-time series over the Jackrabbits, 7-4. Last season when the two teams met, State earned a 74-48 victory over the Bluejays.

In the opening week of play, the Jacks fell to Drake, while Creighton defeated cross-town foe, Omaha.

Last Time Out
The Jackrabbits were edged by Drake, 74-67, in the season opener on Friday evening at the Knapp Center.

The Jackrabbits are now 0-1, while Drake improved to 1-0 to open the season.

A pair of Jackrabbits scored in double figures led by Paiton Burckhard with a career-best 18 points. Myah Selland added 17 points, five rebound and two steals.

Rylie Cascio Jensen led the Jacks with a career-best seven rebounds while adding nine points and six assists. Tylee Irwin also recorded nine points and grabbed six boards.Tagyn Larson added five points and four rebounds.

The Jackrabbits got off to a slow start as the Bulldogs led by as many as 15 in the second quarter. Drake held a 38-26 advantage headed into halftime.

State opened the second half with an 11-2 run capped off by a 3-pointer from Cascio Jensen to cut the deficit to just three points. Drake clung to its lead for the rest of the quarter, as the Jackrabbits trailed just 51-47 headed into the final frame.

Carrying its momentum into the fourth quarter, the Jackrabbits traded short runs with the Bulldogs when a Burckhard layup and a 3-pointer by Lindsey Theuninck put the Jacks within one as they trailed just 62-61 with 3:41 to play. However, Drake answered with a 9-0 run to build its lead back up. Cascio Jensen and Selland each sank a 3-pointer in the final minute of play, but the late comeback wasn't enough as Drake claimed a 74-67 win over South Dakota State.

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 averaged 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 selcetion 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 Creighton
The Bluejays are 1-0 after the opening week of play as it defeated Omaha, 67-54. Creighton also picked up a double overtime 85-83 exhibition win over Concordia.

In the win over Omaha, Temi Carda led the Bluejays with 25 points, six rebound and four steals. Jaylyn Agnew added 14 points and six rebounds.

The 2019-20 Creighton squad will look to replace two starters, including Audrey Faber who ranked 5th on the Bluejays' all-time scoring list with 1,857 points.

Agnew, an All-BIG EAST Tournament selection, is expected to lead Creighton offensively this season. She finished last season averaging 11.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.

Carda returns after a season where she averaged 10.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Rounding out Creighton's returning starters is Olivia Elger who averaged 7.3 points per game.

Tatum Rembao and Gracey Griglione are expected to complete the starting lineup for the Bluejays. Rembao averaged 5.5 points per game last season, while Griglione appeared in 26 contests, 15 of which she started.

Creighton is under the direction of Jim Flanery who is in his 17th season at the helm of the program with a record of 327-220. He has led the team to four NCAA Tournament appearances and into postseason play on 14 different occasions.

A Win Would Give...

South Dakota State its fifth win all-time over Creighton
The Jackrabbits their second consecutive win over Creighton
SDSU its 996th program win, making it just four wins away from reaching 1,000

A Loss Would...

Improve Creighton's advantage in the all-time series to 8-4

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 team will join an elite 13 teams in NCAA Division I schools who have reached the mark.

Jackrabbits in the Polls
South Dakota State was positioned No. 6 in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major preseason poll released earlier this week. The Jackrabbits ranked atop the final poll of the 2018-19 season.

The Jacks are also receiving 12 votes in the USA Today/WBCA Coaches preseason poll and 7 votes in the Associated Press preseason poll.

Tough Slate
The Jackrabbits will face two Power Five (ACC, SEC, Big 12, Big Ten, PAC-12) opponents during the 2019-20 season, including Oregon and Notre Dame.

Oregon, who SDSU fell to in the Sweet Sixteen, made it to the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament where it fell to the 2019 National Champions, Baylor, 72-67. The Ducks were ranked No. 1 in both the USA Today/Coaches and AP preseason polls.

Notre Dame came up short in the National Championship game to Baylor, 82-81. The Fighting Irish were ranked No. 14 and No 16 in the USA Today/Coaches and AP preseason polls, respectively.

Additionally, Drake, South Dakota, South Florida, Marquette, and Florida Gulf Coast are all alongside South Dakota State receiving votes in the polls.

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 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.