Jackrabbits host Montana State in home opener

Game 4 | South Dakota State (1-2) vs. Montana State (3-0)

When	Thursday, Nov. 21 \| 7 p.m.
Where	Frost Arena \| Brookings, S.D.
Live Audio / Radio	Jackrabbits All-Access \| Jackrabbit Sports Network I WNAX 104.1 FM \| Scotty Kwas
Live Video	GoJacks.com/Watch
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| Montana State
Social Media	Twitter I Facebook

South Dakota State will welcome Montana State to Frost Arena for its home opener on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

The Jackrabbits, under the direction of head coach Aaron Johnston, who is in his 20th season at SDSU, opens its home slate after a three-game roadstand to open the season. SDSU is 1-2 on the season.

Montana State comes to Brookings with a 3-0 mark early this season. Last time out, the Bobcats defeated MSU Northern at home, 93-34. Prior to that, Montana State topped Carroll College, 67-33. This is the first road game for the team this season.

Today marks the second meeting all-time between the Bobcats and the Jackrabbits. Last season, SDSU defeated Montana State, 88-67, in Bozeman, Mont.

Last Time Out
The South Dakota State women's basketball team defeated Dakota Wesleyan, 77-46, last Friday night at the Sanford Pentagon.

The Jackrabbits improved to 1-2 after picking up their first win of the season.

Paiton Burckhard led the way with a career-best 23 points. The sophomore added four rebounds and two steals. Tagyn Larson recorded 10 points, five boards and a team-leading 5 assists. Myah Selland paced the Jacks with eight rebounds, while adding nine points and five steals. Rylie Cascio Jensen also recorded five steals and tallied four assists.

All 13 Jackrabbits saw playing time in the contest.

The Jacks got off to a quick start, leading 5-0 in the first minute of the game thanks to a 3-pointer by Selland and a basket by Burckhard. SDSU held the advantage until Dakota Wesleyan tied the game at 12-all with a layup with 2:40 left in the quarter. A quartet of free throws gave the Jackrabbits a 16-12 lead to end the first quart.

The game remained competitive in the second as the Jacks never had more than a seven-point lead. Larson gave the Jacks their largest lead of the half with a layup to make it 32-25 with 1:35 to play. The Tigers went on a 7-2 run in the remaining time to cut the Jacks lead to 34-32 at the half.

Carrying its two-point lead into the second half, a pair of free throws by Larson, two baskets from Burckhard and a Cascio Jensen 3-pointer stretched the Jackrabbit lead to 9. A 19-0 Jackrabbit scoring run broke the game open at 57-34. Tori Nelson beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer to cap off an impressive third quarter for the Jacks.

With a comfortable lead, Cascio Jensen hit another 3 and Burckhard continued an impressive showing with two layups early to help the Jacks outscore Dakota Wesleyan 13-7 in the final quarter, en route to a commanding 77-46 victory.

About South Dakota State
South Dakota State most recently defeated Dakota Wesleyan, 77-46, in a neutral site game at the Sanford Pentagon.

Paiton Burckhard has found a place in the starting lineup. Through three games, she is averaging 17.7 points, after scoring a career-best 23 points to lead the Jacks to a win over Dakota Wesleyan. She holds a team-best 61.1 field goal percentage. The sophomore was named to the Summit League All-Newcomer Team a season ago.

Myah Selland leads the rebounding efforts, averaging 7.0 board per game. She is shooting 50 percent (17-of-34) from the field. An All-Summit League Preseason First Team honoree, the junior averaged 12.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game while ranking second on the team in assists (108) and blocked shots (18) last season.

Averaging 7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game is Tylee Irwin. The junior scored nine points against Drake in the season opener. Last season Irwin ranked third on the squad with 15 blocked shots and was fourth in steals (33), rebounding (3.7 rpg), and 3-pointers (22). She was named to the All-Summit League Preseason Second team.

Rylie Cascio Jensen has quickly settled into the starting lineup early this season. She is averaging 6.7 points per game and leads the team with 4.3 assists per game. Cascio Jensen recorded a career-best seven boards in the season opener and is averaging 3.3 rebounds per game. Through two games, the senior has gone 6-of-13 from beyond the arc to lead the team with a 46.2 3-point percentage. She ranked third on the team with 105 assists and fifth on the squad with 20 3-pointers last year, averaging 19.2 minutes per game off the bench.

Tagyn Larson is averaging 5.7 rebounds and 6.3 points per game through three games. She adds 4 steals and a block. Against Dakota Wesleyan, Larson scored 10 points and grabbed five boards. A 2018-19 All-Summit League Second Team and Summit League Championship All-Tournament Team selection, Larson was named to the All-Summit League Preseason First Team. She led the team last season in rebounding (6.4 rpg) and blocked shots (43). The senior averaged 10.5 points per game.

Rounding out the senior class is Megan Bultsma who appeared in 22 games, averaging 5.1 minutes per game.

Lindsey Theuninck is averaging 21 minutes and 3.7 points per game off the bench. She averaged 12.1 minutes and 2.6 points a game for the Jacks last season.

The trio of Sydney Stapleton, 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.

Stapleton played 18 minutes off the bench for the Jacks against Dakota Wesleyan. She had three points and two rebounds in the win.

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

The duo of Kallie Theisen and Tori Nelson have been routinely playing for South Dakota State off the bench. Nelson is averaging 14.3 minutes per game and Theisen is averaging 9.7.

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.

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.
SDSU is shooting 42.9 percent from the field, while averaging 37 rebounds per game.
The Jackrabbits lead the Summit League with 17.7 assists per game and rank second in field goal percentage.

Scouting Montana State
The Bobcats have four players averaging double figures, led by Tori Martell who is averaging 12.7 points off the bench. She is burying 70 percent of her shots from the field and has gone 64.3 percent from beyond the arc.

Martha Kuderer is averaging 12.3 points per game, while Darian White and Fallyn Freije are averaging 10.3 and 10 points, respectively. White and Freije have each blocked seven shots this season.

Madeline Smith has 8 rebounds per game to pace the squad on the boards.

The Bobcats are shooting 48.8 percent as a team with 23 3-pointers. MSU is +18.7 in rebounding margin and has 47.3 boards per game.

Tricia Binford is in her 15th season as the head coach at Montana State. She holds an overall record of 228-196.

A Win Would Give...

South Dakota State its second win all-time over Montana State, keeping the Jackrabbits undefeated against the Bobcats
SDSU its 997th program win, making it just three wins away from reaching 1,000

A Loss Would...

Give Montana State its first win over the Jackrabbits

1,000 Wins on the Horizon
The Jackrabbits are rapidly approaching a large milestone in the history of their program. State is just four 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. 13 in the College Insider Mid-Major poll released earlier this week. The Jackrabbits ranked atop the final poll of the 2018-19 season.

The Jacks received 12 votes in the USA Today/WBCA Coaches preseason poll and 2 votes in the Associated Press 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 have continuously been ranked No.1 in the polls early this season.

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.

South Florida, who the Jackrabbits fill face at the Cancun Challenge next week were ranked No. 22 in this week's AP poll.

Additionally, Drake, South Dakota, 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

-GoJacks.com-

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Players Mentioned

Megan Bultsma

Paiton Burckhard

Rylie Cascio Jensen

Jordan Ferrand

Addison Hirschman

Tylee Irwin

Tagyn Larson

Tori Nelson

Regan Nesheim

Lauren Rongisch

Myah Selland

Sydney Stapleton

Kallie Theisen

Lindsey Theuninck

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