Jackrabbits welcome Western Illinois Saturday

Game 17 | South Dakota State (10-6, 2-0) vs. Western Illinois (7-8, 1-1)

When	Saturday, Jan. 4 \| 2 p.m.
Where	Frost Arena \| Brookings, S.D.
Live Audio / Radio	Jackrabbits All-Access \| Jackrabbit Sports Network I WNAX 570 AM \| Brad Peterson
Live Video	Midco Sports Network \| ESPN + \| Jackrabbits All-Access \| Tom Nieman, Brad Newitt & Elaina Lanson
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| Western Illinois
Social Media	Twitter I Facebook

South Dakota State women's basketball welcomes Western Illinois to Frost Arena Saturday for a doubleheader. The women will take on the Fighting Leathernecks at 2 p.m., followed by the men at 4:15 p.m.

The Jackrabbits (10-6), under the direction of head coach Aaron Johnston, wrap up a two-game home stint as they look to remain undefeated in Summit League action. State opened conference play on the road with a win over Omaha (68-51) before returning home to top Oral Roberts, 58-44.

Western Illinois is 7-8 and 1-1 in Summit League action. The Fighting Leathernecks fell to South Dakota, 96-65, in their Summit League opener and most recently defeated North Dakota State 79-78 in a double-overtime thriller.

SDSU holds a 24-2 advantage in the all-time series against Western Illinois. The Jackrabbits have claimed the last 5 contests against the Fighting Leathernecks, most recently in the regular season finale last season (100-62).

Saturday's game is the Lamb Bonanza and is sponsored by Coca-Cola. The Lamb Bonanza highlights the school's support of lamb and wool industries in South Dakota.

About South Dakota State
Myah Selland is averaging a team-best 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.

Paiton Burckhard is averaging 13.7 points and a team-leading 5.7 rebounds per game. The sophomore scored a career-best 23 points to lead the Jacks to a win over Dakota Wesleyan and has reach double-figures in 11 contests. She holds a 55.9 field goal percentage on a team-high 205 total points. So far in Summit League play she has scored 38 points (17-of-27) and pulled down 17 rebounds. Burckhard tied her career best of nine rebound for the third time this season against Omaha and was just one shy (8 rebound) against Oral Roberts. The sophomore was named to the Summit League All-Newcomer Team a season ago.

Tagyn Larson is now averaging 11.5 points after reaching double figures in seven games, including a season-best 22 points against Marquette. She averages 4.9 rebounds per game, while adding 8 steals and 13 blocks. The senior also dished a career-best eight assists in the win over Chattanooga and is averaging 3.2 assists 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 6.6 points and 4.8 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 then-No. 21/20-ranked South Florida, the junior pulled down a career-best eight rebounds. She blocked a career-best three shots against Omaha. 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 started all 16 games for the Jacks as she averages 6.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and a team-best 3.3 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-best 14 points as she went 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. 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.

Lindsey Theuninck is averaging 24.4 minutes and 4.7 points per game. In the win over Chattanooga, the sophomore scored a career-best 13 points in her first-ever start as a Jackrabbit. She has now started in six contests. She averaged 12.1 minutes and 2.6 points a game for the Jacks last season.

Sydney Stapleton is averaging 17 minutes and 6.3 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 of 23 3-pointers.

Sophomores Jordan Ferrand and Addison Hirschman and redshirt freshman, Lauren Rongisch, have each appeared in five games for SDSU.

Rounding out the senior class is Megan Bultsma who has appeared in 11 games, averaging 2.5 rebounds and 3.5 points per game. Against Oral Roberts, Bultsma tied her career best of 10 points. She has a total of 19 points in Summit League play.

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 22.8 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 44.1 percent from the field, while averaging 36.8 rebounds per game. The Jackrabbit defense holds their opponents to a Summit League-best 58.6 points and a 38.5 FG percentage. State averages 16.4 assists per game and holds an assist/turnover ratio of 1.1.

Scouting Western Illinois
Western Illinois has a pair of players averaging double figures led by Olivia Kaufmann with 16.6 points per game. Kaufmann also averages a team-best 3.1 assists per game.

Annabel Graettinger is averaging 13.1 points per game, while Evan Zars leads the squad with 10.3 rebounds per game and is shooting a team-high 53.3 percent from the field.

Danni Nichols and Grace Gilmore are averaging 9.3 and 7.6 points per game, respectively. Sam Pryor is also averaging 7.6 points per game and hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to lift WIU to a double-overtime win over NDSU on Thursday.

Western Illinois averages 75.3 points per game while allowing its opponents 77.9 points. The Fighting Leathernecks are being outrebounded by their opposition, 47.3-37. WIU is shooting 39.6 from the field and 30.5 from long distance.

JD Gravina is in his ninth season at the helm of Western Illinois with a record of 139-123.

Last Time Out
South Dakota State women's basketball defeated Oral Roberts 58-44 on Thursday evening at Frost Arena to advance to 10-6 overall and 2-0 in Summit League play.

Down 31-24 at the half, the Jackrabbits outscored Oral Roberts 22-4 in the third quarter to comeback and earn its 10th win of the season.

The Jacks were led by Paiton Burckhard for the second consecutive game as she turned in 17 points and eight rebounds, while adding three assists. Tagyn Larson pulled down eight rebounds and added 11 points, four blocks and a team-leading six assists.

Megan Bultsma scored 10 points off the bench to tie her career high. Rylie Cascio Jensen dished four assists and Tylee Irwin recorded seven points and four boards.

SDSU shot 41.5 percent from the field, while holding the Golden Eagles to just 28.1 percent. ORU held a 41-33 advantage in rebounds.

While the game started with back-to-back Burckhard layups to put the Jacks ahead, ORU outscored State 18-10 in the remainder of the quarter to take the lead.

The Golden Eagles carried its momentum throughout the rest of the half as they went 6-of-16 in the second quarter, including a last second 3-pointer to take its largest lead at 31-24 headed into the locker room.

A layup by Irwin to open the second half would start what would be a 22-4 run by the Jacks in the third quarter. The Jackrabbit defense held the Golden Eagles to just 10 percent (1-of-10) shooting on the frame.

A pair of Burckhard free throws with just under 3 minutes to play gave SDSU its largest lead of 16 points.

In the final 25:01 of the game, Oral Roberts went 4-of-36 from the field while committing 12 turnovers. The Jackrabbits outscored ORU 36-16 in the stretch.

Oral Roberts was led by Keni Jo Lippe who turned in 16 points, while Regan Schumacher paced the defense with 10 rebounds.

A Win Would...

Improve South Dakota State to 25-2 in the all-time series
Advance the Jackrabbits to 11-6 on the season and 3-0 in the Summit League
Give the Jackrabbits its sixth straight victory over the Fighting Leathernecks

A Loss Would...

Give Western Illinois its first win over SDSU since 2017

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. 2 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 recently entered the rankings as it ranks No. 22 in the Coaches poll and is receiving votes in the AP poll.

Florida Gulf Coast is ranked No. 25 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).

-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

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

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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

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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

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