Jacks welcome North Dakota State Friday

Game 22 | South Dakota State (14-7, 6-1) vs. North Dakota State (4-13, 1-4)

When	Friday, Jan. 24 \| 7 p.m.
Where	Frost Arena \| Brookings, S.D.
Live Audio / Radio	Jackrabbits All-Access \| Jackrabbit Sports Network I WNAX 570 AM \| Scotty Kwas
Live Video	Midco Sports Network \| ESPN+ \| GoJacks.com/Watch \| Tom Nieman, Brad Newitt & Elaina Lanson
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
Tickets	Purchase Tickets
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| North Dakota State
Social Media	Twitter I Facebook

South Dakota State women's basketball will host North Dakota State Friday night at Frost Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. The game is sponsored by the South Dakota State College of Natural Sciences and the associate game sponsor is Precision Planting.

The Jackrabbits (14-7, 6-1 Summit League), under the direction of head coach Aaron Johnston, return home after splitting a pair of contests last week. State defeated North Dakota 99-64 before falling at instate rival, South Dakota. The Jacks are currently second in the Summit League standings.

North Dakota State is 4-13 and 1-4 in Summit League action. The Bison snapped a four-game losing streak last Sunday as it defeated North Dakota, 92-82.

South Dakota State holds a 51-39 advantage in the all-time series over the Bison. The Jackrabbits have claimed the last seven contests against the NDSU, most recently by a score of 88-48 in Fargo, N.D. last season.

About South Dakota State
Paiton Burckhard is averaging a team-best 14.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. The sophomore scored a career-best 27 points to lead the Jacks to a win over North Dakota and has reach double-figures in 16 contests, including 20-plus points in five games. She leads SDSU and ranks third in the Summit League with a 57.1 field goal percentage on a team-high 297 total points. So far in Summit League play she has scored 130 points (18.6 ppg) and pulled down 48 rebounds. Burckhard registered her first-ever double-double in the win over Western Illinois with 10 points and a career-best 11 rebounds. The sophomore was named to the Summit League All-Newcomer Team a season ago.

Myah Selland is averaging 13.8 points and 3.0 assists per game. She is shooting 55.8 percent (48-of-86) 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.

Tagyn Larson is averaging 10.9 points on the season after reaching double figures in nine games, including a season-best 22 points against Marquette. She averages 5.4 rebounds per game, while adding 11 steals and a team-leading 19 blocks. The senior also dished a career-best nine assists in the win over Purdue Fort Wayne and is averaging 3.1 assists per game. Larson is shooting 54.3 percent from the field and ranks fourth in the Summit League with 44.7 percent from beyond the arc. 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.

Rylie Cascio Jensen has started all 21 games for the Jacks as she averages 7 points, 3.4 rebounds and a team-best 3.8 assists per game. Cascio Jensen recorded a career-best seven boards in the season opener. In the Summit League opener against Omaha, the senior turned in a career-high 14 points as she went 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. She dished a season-high seven assists against Denver. Cascio Jensen 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.

Averaging 6.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game is Tylee Irwin. The junior scored 11 points in the win over Coppin State and 10 points at No. 3 Oregon. Against North Dakota, Irwin pulled down a season-high 10 boards. She blocked a career-best three shots against Omaha and Western Illinois. 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.

Senior Megan Bultsma has appeared in 16 games and is turning in some impressive minutes off the bench for SDSU as she's averaging 6.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. In the win over Denver, the senior more than doubled her career-best (10 points) as she turned in a team-leading 24 points. Bultsma was the first player since 2015 to score 20-plus points coming off the bench. She has a total of 92 points and is shooting 59.7 percent from the field in Summit League play. She has scored 10-plus points in the last six contests. In the win over North Dakota, the senior tied a career-best nine rebounds and three blocks.

Lindsey Theuninck is averaging 24.7 minutes and 5 points per game. In the win over Chattanooga, the sophomore scored a career-high 13 points in her first-ever start as a Jackrabbit. She has now started in 11 contests. Against Denver she made a career-best three 3-pointers. She averaged 12.1 minutes and 2.6 points a game for the Jacks last season.

Sydney Stapleton is averaging 17.5 minutes and 6.2 points per game off the bench. The sophomore turned in a career performance against Coppin State, shooting 5-of-10 from the 3-point line and totaling 17 points. She leads the Jacks from beyond the arc with a total 30 3-pointers.

Sophomores Jordan Ferrand and Addison Hirschman have appeared in 10 and nine games, respective, while redshirt freshman Lauren Rongisch has played in seven.

Completing the Jackrabbit roster is a trio of new faces to South Dakota State.

The duo of Kallie Theisen and Tori Nelson have been routinely playing for South Dakota State. Nelson is averaging 22.1 minutes per game and Theisen is averaging 15.9. Nelson posted the squads first double-double of the season in the win over Notre Dame. She also scored a career-best 23 points against Coppin State, while Theisen led the team with a career-best 12 rebounds in the contest.

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. Nesheim will be redshirting this season.

SDSU is shooting 45.1 percent from the field, while averaging 37.5 rebounds per game. The Jackrabbit defense holds their opponents to 60.8 points and a 38 FG percentage. State averages 16.9 assists per game, while holding an assist/turnover ratio of 1.2.

Scouting North Dakota State
North Dakota State is led offensively by Michelle Gaislerova who is averaging 13.5 points per game. Emily Dietz and Sofija Zivaljevic are averaging 12.6 and 9.4 points per game, respectively.

Dietz paces the defensive efforts with 8.2 rebounds per game and a total seven blocks as she has started all 17 contests for the Bison. The junior is also shooting a team-high 53.8 percent from the field.

Zivaljevic averages a team-best 3.4 assists per game.

North Dakota State averages 67.8 points per game while its opponents score 71.2. The Bison are outrebounding their opposition, 38.8-37.1. NDSU is shooting 40.5 from the field and 27.8 from long distance.

Jory Collins is in his first season as head coach at North Dakota State.

Jackrabbits' Last Time Out
VERMILLION -- South Dakota State women's basketball fell to No. 25/21 South Dakota on Sunday afternoon in the South Dakota Showdown Series, presented by South Dakota Corn.

The Jackrabbits fell to 14-7 overall and 6-1 in Summit League play after dropping its first conference contest of the season. The Coyotes improved to 17-2, 6-0 Summit League.

Megan Bultsma led the way for the Jackrabbits with 12 points as she shot 57.1 percent from the field. Paiton Burckhard followed closely with 11 points, while Tori Nelson and Rylie Cascio Jensen each pulled down a team-best four rebounds.

Tylee Irwin added nine points, three rebounds and three assists to the Jackrabbits' efforts.

State shot 36.7 percent from the field, compared to USD at 53.4 percent. The Coyotes also won the rebounding battle, 38-21. Ciara Duffy led the way for South Dakota with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

SDSU got off to a slow start with the Coyotes holding a 26-6 advantage at the end of the first. Tagyn Larson, Buckhard and Nelson each had a basket for the Jacks on the frame.

The teams traded punches throughout the second quarter with an Irwin 3-pointer cutting the deficit to 15. Although SDSU outscored South Dakota 18-16 on the quarter, the Coyotes still led 42-24 at the half.

South Dakota carried its momentum out of the locker room on a 9-4 run to build upon its lead. South Dakota's Duffy opened the final quarter with a 3-pointer to increase its advantage to 32 points. State battled until the end, but a trio of Coyote 3's sealed the contest at 83-48.

Opponent Last Time Out
FARGO, N.D. - The North Dakota State women's basketball team used a 10-1 run in the final 2:23 Sunday afternoon, as the Bison beat rival North Dakota 92-82 at the Scheels Center.

NDSU improved to 4-13 on the year and 1-4 in Summit League play with the victory, while North Dakota dropped to 12-7 overall and 3-3 in league play. NDSU will face defending Summit League Champion South Dakota State on Friday night. The Jackrabbits (14-7, 6-1 Summit) had a seven-game winning streak snapped on Sunday, when 21st-ranked South Dakota defeated the Jackrabbits 83-48. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday night in Brookings.

Michelle Gaislerova and Ryan Cobbins led the Bison with a season-high 22 points apiece. It was the 11th career 20-plus point game for Gaislerova, while she moved into a tie for third in school history with 156 career 3-pointers. Sofija Zivaljevic had 15 points, while Rylee Nudell had 11. Zivaljevic was 11-for-11 at the free throw line, becoming the 16th player in school history to be perfect at the line with over 10 attempts in a game. Julia Fleecs led the Fighting Hawks with 18 points. Nudell had a game-high 11 points and a season-high four assists, as she notched her second career double-double. Zivaljevic had six rebounds, while Cobbins added three steals.

The Bison were 27-of-54 from the field and 6-of-16 (37.5%) from 3-point range. North Dakota was 23-of-61 (37.7%) from the floor and 7-of-19 (36.8%) from downtown. Both teams frequented the free throw line, with the Bison going 32-of-38 (84.2%) and the Fighting Hawks going 29-of-33 (87.9%). NDSU was just 1-of-6 from the floor in the fourth quarter, but went 15-of-18 at the free throw line.

NDSU jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first minute of the game. A late 9-2 run gave NDSU a 23-19 lead after the first quarter. North Dakota took its first lead of the game with 8:21 to play in the first half, but held the lead for just 1:07. The Bison used an 18-6 run over a 4:57 span in the second quarter to take a 49-41 lead at the break. NDSU's largest lead came at 62-49 with 4:44 to play in the third quarter after a free throw from Olivia Skibiel. The Bison led by 10 with 9:30 to play before the Fighting Hawks went on a 9-0 run to cut the lead to 77-76 with 7:16 to play. NDSU led 82-81 following a 3-pointer by Lilly Keplin with 4:58 to play. That would be the final basket of the game for North Dakota, as the Bison closed the game on a 10-1 run, getting only a layup from Emily Dietz with 1:19 to play in the game with the rest of the points coming at the free throw line.

A Win Would...

Improve South Dakota State to 52-39 in the all-time series
Advance the Jackrabbits to 15-7 on the season and 7-1 in the Summit League
Give the Jackrabbits its eighth straight win over the Bison

A Loss Would...

Improve North Dakota State to 40-51 all-time against South Dakota State

Jackrabbit Basketball Coaches Show
The Jackrabbit Basketball Coaches Show returns to Cubby's Sports Bar and Grill in downtown Brookings on Dec. 30. The hour-long show covering the 2019-20 basketball season tips off every Monday at 6 p.m. through March 2.

Hosted by Tyler Merriam, the weekly look at the South Dakota State basketball teams features interviews with head men's coach Eric Henderson and head women's coach Aaron Johnston, as well as segments with Jackrabbit student-athletes and members of the coaching staff.

Fans can attend in person and will be eligible for weekly drawings.

The show also airs live on flagship radio station WNAX 570 AM and Jackrabbit Sports Network affiliates, and can be heard live or on-demand for free via Jackrabbits All-Access and the Jackrabbit App.

A Decade of Success
As a new decade begins, the women's basketball program has a great amount of accomplishments to look back on.

247 program wins
.729 winning percentage
133 Summit League wins
30 All-Summit League Honorees
14 Individual Summit League Awards
9 wins over ranked opponents
8 Summit League Championships

1,000 Program Wins
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. 4 in both the AP and Coaches polls

Notre Dame came up short in the National Championship game to Baylor, 82-81. 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 ranks No. 24 in the AP poll and 18 in the Coaches polls

Florida Gulf Coast is receiving votes in the Coaches poll.

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 votes.

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 and fell to No. 3 Oregon (95-56) and No. 25/21 South Dakota.

-GoJacks.com-

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results

Next Event

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

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Augustana (Exhibition) on October 29, 2025 at 6 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball at Creighton on November 3, 2025

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Rice on November 7, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Murray State on November 11, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Montana on November 15, 2025 at 6 p.m. MT / 7 p.m. CT

Upcoming Event: Women's Basketball versus Gonzaga on November 20, 2025

Completed Event: Women's Basketball at No. 2 [#3/3] UConn on March 24, 2025 , Loss , 57, to, 91

Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus No. 7 [#17/19] Oklahoma State on March 22, 2025 , Win , 74, to, 68

Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus No. 2 Oral Roberts on March 9, 2025 , Win , 84, to, 68

Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus No. 5 North Dakota on March 8, 2025 , Win , 84, to, 55

Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus No. 8 Omaha on March 6, 2025 , Win , 87, to, 67

Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus St. Thomas on March 1, 2025 , Win , 79, to, 46

South Dakota State University Athletics