WOMEN ROLL PAST MONTANA STATE

Monday, December 21

Bozeman, Mont.

noon MT/1 p.m. CT

South Dakota State University

6-2,0-0Summit League

Montana State

2-3,0-0Big Sky

South Dakota St.

Montana St.

Photo by: Garrett Becker - Montana State Athletics

12/21/2020 4:26:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

BOZEMAN, Mont. - South Dakota State women's basketball defeated Montana State, 82-67, Monday afternoon in its final road game of the non-conference slate.

The Jacks, now 6-2, shot 46.3 percent from the field, outrebounded Montana State 42-33 and outscored the Bobcats 34-20 inside the paint.

"This was a tough trip and Montana State has a good team," said head coach Aaron Johnston. "They've got a really good point guard who creates a lot for them. She's going to be awfully difficult to defend in the years going forward, but our team looked a little bit road weary. It's just a tough place to play, there's just a little bit of elevation, so everything is a little bit harder, but I give our team a lot of credit for going on the road and getting two wins. Today, there were times when we looked really good and there were times where we probably didn't have that same edge about us. So that, quite honestly, we need to find a better way to be more consistent with our bench. I thought we were up and down a little bit there."

Myah Selland led all scorers with a career-best 27 points, including a 9-for-9 performance at the free throw line. Selland also grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds and dished three assists. Tylee Irwin scored 22 points to tie her career high, while adding five rebounds and five assists. Paiton Burckhard finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. Tori Nelson finished with seven points and Regan Nesheim added eight rebounds and two assists.

"Regan, particularly in the second half, I thought she was really good. She rebounded the ball really well, defended really well, gave us major, major minutes and we needed that from her. I thought she was outstanding. Myah was really special today. She was good in the first half. Second half, I thought it was as good as she's played even this year. I thought she just played so under control, great shot selection, rebounded, defended - she was really good. I think in a close game, you want your leaders to do that and Tylee did the same. She was really special throughout the day, especially in that second half when we really needed a little bit of a push and needed a little bit of momentum. Those two brought about 49 points, had a total of eight assists, 17 rebounds, they got to the free throw line 16 times, that's what you want out of captains and those two were outstanding today."

Nelson's jumper three minutes into the game ignited a 9-0 run to put the Jacks ahead 9-4 with just under four minutes to play in the opening quarter. 3-pointers by Irwin and Sydney Stapleton put the Jacks up by nine at the 1:48 mark. Montana State outscored SDSU 5-2 in the final minute, but the Jacks still held onto a 19-13 lead at the end of the first.

Two Selland baskets within the first two minutes of the second quarter gave the Jacks their first double digit lead of the afternoon (23-13). Nine unanswered Bobcat points gave Montana State a brief two-point lead until the Jacks stormed back with an 8-0 run to regain the lead with 32 seconds left in the half. A Montana State layup with four seconds to go made it a 35-31 game heading into the break.

The Jacks came out of the locker room strong with seven consecutive points, leading 42-31 at the 7:39 mark in the third quarter. Montana State outscored the Jacks 12-6 over the next four minutes to get back within five, but Selland took control with seven unanswered points to give the Jacks a 13-point lead with 2:22 left in the third. Burckhard closed a very strong offensive quarter for the State with a pair of free throws to make it 60-48.

The Jackrabbit offense continued to roll in the fourth quarter. Irwin scored seven of the first nine points of the quarter for a 9-0 SDSU run to give the Jacks a 21-point advantage with 6:59 to play. One last Montana State charge of nine unanswered brought the Bobcats back within single digits, but the Jackrabbit lead was ultimately too large to overcome. Three Irwin free throws and a Lauren Rongisch 3-pointer in the final minute secured the 82-67 win.

Game Notes

South Dakota State improved to 3-0 in the all-time series over Montana State
Myah Selland posted career highs of 27 points and 12 rebounds
- She recorded her fourth double-double of the season and the sixth of her career
- This is the seventh time in her career that Selland has scored 20+ points
Tylee Irwin tied her career best of 22 points
Eight rebounds and two assists are career highs for Nesheim
Six points is a season high for Stapleton

Up Next
South Dakota State returns home to wrap up non-conference play against Northern Iowa Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. inside Frost Arena.

-GoJacks.com-