Women return home to face Coppin State

Game 9 | South Dakota State (5-3) vs. Coppin State (0-7)

When	Thursday, Dec. 5 \| 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
Social Media	Twitter I Facebook

South Dakota State women's basketball returns home on Thursday as it welcomes Coppin State to Frost Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

The Jackrabbits (5-3), under the direction of head coach Aaron Johnston, who is in his 20th season at SDSU, return home after a trio of games at the Cancun Challenge.

Coppin State is 0-7 on the season after most recently falling to George Washington, 54-35. The Eagles are in the middle of a six-game road stand that will wrap up at South Dakota on Saturday.

Thursday marks the first meeting between the Eagles and Jackrabbits.

Last Time Out
RIVIERA MAYA, Mexico - South Dakota State women's basketball dropped a heartbreaker against Florida Gulf Coast in the final game of the Cancun Challenge on Saturday, as the Jacks fell 71-70 in the final seconds to snap a five-game winning streak.

SDSU fell to 5-3 and went 2-1 in the Cancun Challenge, while FGCU improved to 8-1 and finished the Cancun Challenge 3-0.

Myah Selland turned in another impressive performance with 20 points, five assists and four rebounds. Paiton Burckhard recorded 17 points and tied her career-best of nine rebounds. Tori Nelson posted 12 points and pulled down five boards.

The Jackrabbits outrebounded its opponent for the fifth straight game as it held a 34-26 advantage on the boards. FGCU was led by Keri Jewett-Giles with 24 points.

The Eagles held an 8-7 advantage midway through the first quarter, but a Burckhard layup and a 3-pointer by Nelson set the Jackrabbits ahead, 12-8. State held onto its lead through the remainder of the quarter, but a trio of FGCU free throws cut the Jacks' advantage to 16-15.

A 9-0 run set the Eagles ahead 27-22 with 5:17 remaining in the first half. The score reached a tie twice, but Paiton Burckhard scored on a fastbreak at the last second to put the Jacks ahead 35-33 at halftime.

SDSU outscored Florida Gulf Coast 21-16 in the third quarter. A late 6-0 run gave the Jacks its largest lead of seven points entering the final frame. State led 68-63 when a FGCU 3-pointer and a trio of free throws gave the Eagles a one-point advantage. Selland made a layup with nine second remaining to put the Jacks ahead, but Florida Gulf Coast answered with a basket of their own to seal a late 71-70 win.

About South Dakota State
South Dakota State most recently went 2-1 at the Cancun Challenge, defeating No. 21/20-ranked USF (61-50) and Notre Dame (65-59) and falling to FGCU, 71-70.

Paiton Burckhard leads the team, averaging 15.3 points per game. The sophomore scored a career-best 23 points to lead the Jacks to a win over Dakota Wesleyan. She holds a team-best 59.3 field goal percentage. Burckhard tied her career best of nine rebound last week against both South Florida and Florida Gulf Coast. She is now averaging a team-best 5.8 rebounds per game. The sophomore was named to the Summit League All-Newcomer Team a season ago.

Myah Selland is averaging 13.9 points, 5.4 rebound and 2.6 assists per game. She is shooting 53.2 percent (42-of-79) from the field. Selland turned in season-bests of seven assists in the Jacks' win over Notre Dame and 20 points against FGCU. 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 6.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game is Tylee Irwin. The junior scored nine points against Drake in the season opener. Against No. 21/20-ranked South Florida, the junior pulled down a career-best eight rebounds. 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 5.3 points per game and leads the team with 2.6 assists per game. Cascio Jensen recorded a career-best seven boards in the season opener and is averaging 3.3 rebounds per game. 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 8.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. She adds 4 steals and 4 block. Against Montana State, Larson scored 14 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 has appeared in four games, averaging 2.3 rebounds and 1.8 points per game.

Lindsey Theuninck is averaging 19.9 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 is averaging 12.7 minutes and 3.9 points per game. She is shooting 31.8 percent from long distance.

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. Nelson is averaging 23.4 minutes per game and Theisen is averaging 13.5. Nelson turned in a career performance in the win over Notre Dame as she posted the squads first double-double of the season with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Against No. 21/20 USF, Theisen recorded a career-high 10 points.

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 43.8 percent from the field, while averaging 38.4 rebounds per game. The Jackrabbit defense is holding their opponents to 56.4 points and a 36.4 FG percentage.

Scouting Coppin State
Chance Graham leads the way for Coppin State averaging 12.9 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1 block per game. Aliyah Lawson adds support with 7.5 points per game and a team-high 11 assists.

Jalynda Salley is averaging 5.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, while Alexandria Hamilton ranks second on the team with 11 steals.

The Eagles are shooting 29.4 percent from the field and 27.8 percent from the 3-point range. Coppin state is being outscored by its opponents 76.4-44.7.

DeWayne Burroughs is in his fourth season as head coach at Coppin State with a record of 24-94.

A Win Would...

Give South Dakota State a 1-0 advantage over Coppin State in the all-time series
Improve the Jackrabbits to 6-3 on the season

A Loss Would...

Give Coppin State its first win of the season

1,000 Wins on the Horizon
The Jackrabbits recently reached the milestone of 1,000 program wins as it defeated Notre Dame, 65-59, at the Cancun Challenge. The Jacks became the 14th NCAA Division I women's team to reach the mark. Head Coach Aaron Johnston is responsible for 474 of South Dakota State's 1,000 wins.

Tough Slate
The Jackrabbits faces 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. Oregon is ranked No. 3 in both the AP and Coaches polls

Notre Dame came up short in the National Championship game to Baylor, 82-81. Notre Dame is currently receiving votes in the polls

The Jackrabbits defeated Notre Dame, 65-59, at the Cancun Challenge on Nov. 29.

South Florida was ranked No. 21/20 when the Jackrabbits earned at 61-50 victory over the Bulls.

South Dakota recently entered the rankings as it ranks No. 24 in the Coaches poll and is receiving votes in the AP poll.

Florida Gulf Coast, Green Bay, Marquette, Drake and Creighton are all receiving votes.

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.
Most recently, South Dakota State defeated No. 21/20-ranked USF, 61-50.

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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