JACKRABBITS OPEN SEASON WITH NO. 15 IOWA STATE

Saturday, November 28

Brookings, S.D.

2 p.m.

South Dakota State University

Iowa State

Photo by: Richard Carlson/Inertia

11/27/2020 11:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Game 1 | South Dakota State (0-0) vs. No. 15/18 Iowa State (1-0)

When	Saturday, Nov. 28 \| 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 3 \| Tom Nieman, Brad Newitt
Live Stats	GoJacksLive.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| Iowa State
Social Media	Twitter I Facebook

South Dakota State will open its 2020-21 season against Iowa State on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at Frost Arena.

The Jackrabbits have never faced the Cyclones, making Saturday the first-ever matchup between the two programs.

South Dakota State is 44-8 (.846) in season openers, all-time.

About South Dakota State
Paiton Burckhard averaged a team-best 14.2 points and ranked second on the team with 5.7 rebounds per game after starting all 32 contests that she appeared in last season. The junior scored a career-best 27 points to lead the Jacks to a home victory over North Dakota and reached double-figures in 26 contests, including 20-plus points in seven games. In Summit League play she scored 253 points (15.8 ppg) and pulled down 99 rebounds. Additionally, she ranked first in the Summit League in field goal percentage (54.3 percent), third in field goals made (178), fourth in free throw percentage (80.2 percent), and sixth in points per game (14.2) and total points (455). Burckhard registered her third double-double in the win over Western Illinois with 11 points and a career-best 12 rebounds. She added added 57 assists, 23 steals and 11 blocks on the season. The Aberdeen native earned Preseason All-Summit League First Team honors after being selected to the All-Summit League First Team for the 2019-20 season.

Myah Selland returns to repeat her junior season after playing in just nine contests last season before suffering a season-ending foot injury. She averaged 13.8 points and 3.0 assists per game. The junior shot 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. A Preseason All-Summit League First Team honoree for the Jacks, the Letcher native 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) during the 2018-19 season.

Tylee Irwin enters her senior campaign with 744 career points and 104 career steals. Irwin finished second on the team in minutes played for the 2019-20 season, averaging 27.6 minutes per game. Last season, the Wahpeton, N.D. native scored a season-best 18 points in the Jackrabbits' semifinals victory over North Dakota State. Against North Dakota, Irwin pulled down a season-high 10 boards. She blocked a career-best three shots against Omaha and Western Illinois. In Summit League play, the senior averaged 9.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Irwin earned a spot on the Preseason All-Summit League Second Team for the second consecutive season.

Lindsey Theuninck averaged 24.5 minutes and 4.8 points per game last season. In the win over Chattanooga, the junior scored a career-high 13 points in her first-ever start as a Jackrabbit. A native of Mankato, Minn., Theuninck earned a starting assignment in 12 contests. At Denver she made a career-best three 3-pointers.

Sydney Stapleton averaged 17.1 minutes and 5.5 points per game off the bench a season ago. The junior from Blaine, Minn. turned in a career performance against Coppin State, shooting 5-of-10 from the 3-point line and totaling 17 points. She ranked second on the squad from beyond the arc with a total 38 3-pointers.

The duo of Kallie Theisen and Tori Nelson return for their sophomore seasons. Nelson, the reigning Summit League Freshman of the Year, averaged 22.7 minutes per game and Theisen averaged 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. Nelson helped the squad to a semifinals win over North Dakota State with a team-best 21 points. Nelson started in 19 games for the Jackrabbits and averaged 10.1 points per game in Summit League action. Theisen appeared in 14 games before suffering a season ending injury.

Juniors Jordan Ferrand and Addison Hirschman appeared in 18 games, while redshirt sophomore Lauren Rongisch played in 15 contests.

Haley Greer joins the Jackrabbits as a graduate transfer after spending four years at Colgate. Greer, a 5-10 guard from Winnetka, Ill., comes in after leading Colgate in 3-pointers made (34) and blocked shots (23) while averaging 8.1 points per game
in 2019-20. Greer reached a career-high of 18 points in Colgate's regular season finale against Lehigh.

A trio of freshmen in Emily Herzberg, Madysen Vlastuin and Mesa Byom will round out the 2020-21 roster.

Scouting No. 15/18 Iowa State
Iowa State comes into Saturday's matchup nationally ranked and selected as the third place finisher in the Big 12 Preseason Poll after finishing 18-11 (10-8 in the Big 12) in 2019-20.

The Cyclones saw their first action of the season Wednesday, defeating Omaha at home, 69-43. Iowa State limited Omaha to just 23.2 percent shooting.

Junior guard/forward Ashley Joens was recognized by several national award watch lists, including a Lindy's Preseason All-American (Second Team), the Cheryl Miller Award Preseason Watchlist and being selected to be on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team. Last season, Joens was the only player in the nation to average 20.0 points and 10.0 rebounds, as she finished with 20.5 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. Against Omaha, Joens scored 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Senior forward Kristin Scott is the second-returning starter on the team. Scott is coming off of a season where she averaged 14.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Scott finished just shy of a double-double against Omaha with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Rounding out the starting lineup were three freshmen, including forward Lexi Donarski, who was a McDonald's All-American her senior year after a decorated high school career.

Bill Fennely is in his 26th year leading the Cyclones. His 689 career wins lists him in the top-15 in the NCAA among active coaches in Division I and in the top-50 winningest coaches of all time.

Jackrabbits' Last Time Out
SIOUX FALLS -- No. 2 seed South Dakota State saw its hunt for a 10th Summit League Championship fall short at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, falling 63-58 to No. 1 seed South Dakota.

The Jackrabbits (23-10) shot 46.8 percent as a team and buried 8-of-17 from deep in a physical, back-and-forth game that featured eight lead changes and five ties.

"Well congratulations to South Dakota. Just a great year, not only a great tournament but a great year. Very deserving as they go forward in the NCAA's and I wish them luck. I thought from our perspective, we played really well," said head coach Aaron Johnston. "We played hard and played with a great deal of fight and energy. We made a ton of shots and a ton of plays throughout. It's always hard to express a really good thought here. Disappointed in the outcome but certainly not disappointed in our group."

Tagyn Larson led the Jacks with 16 points while Rylie Cascio Jensen, who drilled 4-of-6 from deep, brought down a team-leading eight boards, dished five assists and tallied 13 points. Tylee Irwin added 11 points and five rebounds and Paiton Burckhard scored seven.

A flurry of lead changes brought each fan base to life throughout the opening quarter. Down early, a Nelson triple opened an 8-0 Jackrabbit run that gave State a 10-8 lead midway through the first. The teams traded punches from there as the Jacks trailed at reset, 16-15.

A 9-3 Jackrabbit rally midway through the quarter featured 3-pointers from Cascio Jensen, Irwin and Burckhard to give State control the rest of the quarter. Both teams worked through scoring droughts late in the period, as the Jackrabbit defense held firm and sent SDSU to the locker room ahead, 32-27.

Neither offense could find a rhythm out of the break until USD threw the first jab with an 8-0 run to go up 43-38. The Jacks fought back, though, scoring seven unanswered to close the third with a 47-45 advantage.

USD, though, pulled back ahead for good with a run of seven-straight to open the fourth. Although SDSU cut it to one (54-53) after a pair of Irwin free throws near the five-minute mark, the Jackrabbits could not mount a final rally as the Coyotes closed out the win.

Opponent's Last Time Out
AMES, Iowa – The No. 15 Iowa State women's basketball team (1-0) was dominant in a 69-43 season-opening victory over Omaha (0-1) at Hilton Coliseum on Wednesday afternoon. Junior Ashley Joens, a member of the Cheryl Miller Award Watch List, tallied a game-high 25 points, to go with seven rebounds.

Joens' terrific effort came via a tidy 11-of-17 shooting performance, while adding two blocks, two steals and two assists in 25 minutes of action. Senior forward Kristin Scott joined Joens in double figures with 10 points and nine boards.

Four Cyclone freshmen made their collegiate debut on Wednesday, as Kylie Feuerbach, Emily Ryan and Lexi Donarski all started, while Aubrey Joens came off the bench to lead the quartet with seven points on the afternoon. Ryan posted a game-high seven assists in her first appearance as a Cyclone.

The win was the first for Jodi Steyer as ISU's acting head coach, as Steyer has assumed the duties temporarily with head coach Bill Fennelly currently in quarantine protocol after being exposed to COVID-19.

It was a disjointed first quarter to open the season at Hilton Coliseum, as each team struggled to find an offensive rhythm. The teams combined for 12 turnovers and just nine made field goals in the opening stanza. However, the Cyclones jumped to a 14-7 advantage after 10 minutes.

Following four first-quarter points, star Cyclone junior Ashley Joens took over in the second period. The native of Iowa City, Iowa tallied 13 of ISU's 19 points in the second quarter, shooting 6-of-8 from the field, to go with three rebounds and one assist. Kristin Scott chipped in five points in the quarter to extend the Cyclone advantage to 33-22 at the intermission.

The Iowa State offense continued to hum in the third quarter, putting up 22 points while Cyclones excelled at sharing the ball. Iowa State's eight field goals in the quarter were scored by seven different players, as the Cardinal & Gold extended its lead to 54-31 with 10 minutes to play.

The Cyclones were able to cruise to victory in the fourth, as all 10 Cyclones that were available to play saw game action in the opener. In total, eight different Cyclones scored, including 21 combined bench points from the trio of Rae Johnson (8), Aubrey Joens (7) and Madison Wise (6).

Ashley Joens opened her junior campaign with the eye-popping numbers Cyclone fans have become accustomed to seeing from her. She stuffed the stat sheet with 25 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals.

Kristin Scott flirted with a double-double in her senior season debut, putting up 10 points and nine rebounds to tie a team-high on the glass. She also had three assists and a block in 23 minutes of action.

A Win Would...

Give South Dakota State a 1-0 advantage in the all-time series over Iowa State
Improve the Jackrabbits to 45-8 in season openers
Give the Jacks its 12th win over a ranked opponent

A Loss Would...

Drop South Dakota State to 0-1 in the all-time series over Iowa State
Give the Jacks their third-consecutive season-opening loss and fall to 44-9 in season openers

Major Win Milestones
The Jackrabbits reached the milestone of 1,000 program wins last season 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 492 of South Dakota State's 1,014 wins.

Johnston is just eight wins away from claiming 500 career wins. He will be among 33 active Division I coaches to reach the milestone.

Tough Slate
The Jackrabbits will face two Power Five (ACC, SEC, Big 12, Big Ten, PAC-12) opponents during the 2020-21 season, including Iowa State and Kansas State.

All together, the Jacks will face three ranked opponents in Iowa State, Gonzaga and Missouri State.

Additionally, South Dakota is alongside South Dakota State receiving votes in the polls.

Preseason Recognition
Paiton Burckhard and Myah Selland were named to the All-Summit League Preseason First Team, while Tylee Irwin and Tori Nelson earned All-Summit League Preseason Second Team accolades.

Jacks Tabbed Second In Preseason Poll
The Jackrabbits claimed a total of 566 points and 11 first place votes in the Summit League preseason poll. South Dakota was voted the favorite with 25 first place votes and 587 points, while Western Illinois rounded out the top three with 389 points.

Against Ranked Opponents

South Dakota State is 11-32 vs. ranked foes since 2006-07. It is 6-5 in Frost Arena, 3-14 on the road and 1-10 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, fell to No. 3 Oregon (95-56) and a ranked South Dakota on three occasions.

2019-20 Postseason Awards

Two returning Jackrabbits earned Summit League postseason awards.
Paiton Burckhard picked up first-team accolades.
Tori Nelson was named Summit League Freshman of the year and received All-Newcomer Team selections.

-GoJacks.com-