Women turn attention to Wyoming

Game 5 | South Dakota State (2-2) vs. Wyoming (2-2)

When	Saturday, Nov. 23 \| 6 p.m.
Where	Frost Arena \| Brookings, S.D.
Live Audio / Radio	Jackrabbits All-Access \| Jackrabbit Sports Network I WNAX 104.1 FM \| Brad Peterson
Live Video	GoJacks.com/Watch
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| Wyoming
Social Media	Twitter I Facebook

South Dakota State will host Wyoming on Saturday at Frost Arena. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

The Jackrabbits, under the direction of head coach Aaron Johnston, who is in his 20th season at SDSU, is now 1-0 at Frost Arena and 2-2 on the season after opening its home slate with a win over Montana State on Thursday.

Wyoming comes to Brookings with a 2-2 mark early this season. Last time out, the Cowgirls fell to Colorado, 66-56. Prior to that, Wyoming fell at Denver 71-57.

Wyoming holds a 3-1 lead in the all-time series over South Dakota State. Last season, the Jackrabbits defeated the Cowgirls, 77-70, at Wyoming.

Last Time Out
The South Dakota State women's basketball team topped Montana State, 60-50, on Thursday night at Frost Arena.

The Jackrabbits improved to 2-2, as the Bobcats suffered their first loss of the season, falling to 3-1.

A pair of Jacks scored in double figures led by Paiton Burckhard with 15 points, closely followed by Tagyn Larson with an early season-high off 14 points. Tylee Irwin led the rebounding efforts as she grabbed a career-best seven boards. Myah Selland held a team-best three assists, while adding six rebounds.

Neither team really got off to a quick start in the game, but Montana State held a 7-2 advantage midway through the first quarter. A 3-pointer by Irwin kicked off a 12-2 Jackrabbit run to take a 14-10 lead at the end of the opening frame.

Play was even through the remainder of the half has the Jackrabbits held just a 13-12 advantage in second quarter points. Back-to-back baskets by Larson and Tori Nelson gave State an eight-point lead, but the Bobcats outscored the Jacks 5-2 in the final three minutes of the quarter to cut State's lead to 27-22 at the half.

The Jackrabbits came out swinging in the second half as a 3-pointer from Larson started a quarter where State would put up 24 points. Montana State made a layup at the 5:25 mark of the second quarter, but that was the last basket they would see for nearly four minutes as the Jackrabbits went on a 10-0 run to extend their lead to 46-27. The Bobcats hit a pair of free throws with 1:52 remaining in the quarter, but a layup from Larson followed by a second chance shot and free throw by Burckhard closed out the quarter with the Jacks leading 51-29.

A second-chance 3-pointer from Tori Nelson gave the Jackrabbits their largest lead of 24 points in the final frame. The Bobcats would outscore the Jackrabbits 19-5 throughout the remainder of the game, but the advantage was enough to push State to a 60-50 victory.

About South Dakota State
South Dakota State opened its home schedule with a 60-50 win over Montana State on Thursday.

Paiton Burckhard has found a place in the starting lineup. Through four games, she is averaging 17.7 points, after reaching double figures in all four games, including a career-best 23 points to lead the Jacks to a win over Dakota Wesleyan. She holds a team-best 59.5 field goal percentage. The sophomore was named to the Summit League All-Newcomer Team a season ago.

Myah Selland is shooting 48.7 percent (19-of-39) from the field as she averages 11 points per game. The junior leads the team on the boards, averaging 6.8 rebounds per game. 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.

After an early season-best of 14 points in the win over Montana State, Tagyn Larson is averaging 8.3 points per game. The senior holds a team-best four blocks, three of which came against Montana State, and is averaging 5.5 rebounds per game. 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.

Averaging 7.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game is Tylee Irwin. The junior scored nine points against Drake in the season opener and led the Jacks on the boards with a career-best seven rebounds in the home opener victory over Montana State. 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 6.3 points per game and leads the team with 3.8 assists per game. Cascio Jensen recorded a career-best seven boards in the season opener and is averaging 3.3 rebounds per game. Through four games, the senior has gone 7-of-18 from beyond the arc to lead the team with a 38.9 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.

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

Lindsey Theuninck is averaging 20.3 minutes and 2.8 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 18 minutes per game and Theisen is averaging 10.3. Nelson recorded nine points and went 2-of-2 from the 3-point range in the win over Montana State.

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. The squad averages 63.0 points per game and holds its opponents to 57.8

Scouting Wyoming
Alba Sanchez Ramos leads the way for Wyoming averaging 10.3 points, while Quinn Weidemann follows closely behind averaging 10.0 points per game.

Tereza Vitulova leads the squad with 6.3 rebounds per game while also averaging 9.5 points per game. Vitulova also holds a team-best thee blocks.

Off the bench, McKinley Bradshaw is averaging 18.8 minutes, 8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.

The Cowgirls are shooting 36.4 percent from the field and 34 percent from the 3-point range. As a team, Wyoming is averaging 63 points per game, while holding its opponents to 58.8 points. The Cowgirls average 12.0 assists and 13.3 turnovers per contest.

Gerald Mattinson is in his first season as head coach of the Cowgirls, however he has been at Wyoming since 2003 and served as the associate head coach for the past 13 years.

A Win Would Give...

South Dakota State its second win all-time over Wyoming
SDSU its 998th program win, making it just two wins away from reaching 1,000 all-time wins

A Loss Would...

Give Wyoming its fourth 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 three 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.

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 weeks 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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