JACKS TOP NO. 18 GONZAGA IN OVERTIME THRILLER

Sunday, December 6

Brookings, S.D.

2 p.m.

South Dakota State University

3-0,0-0Summit League

Gonzaga

1-2,0-0WCC

OT 1

Gonzaga

South Dakota St.

Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen

12/6/2020 5:57:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

South Dakota State women's basketball defeated No. 18 Gonzaga 75-72 in overtime Sunday afternoon at Frost Arena.

The Jacks, now 3-0, shot 47.3 percent (26-of-55) from the field and made 11 3-pointers to beat their second ranked opponent of the season and 13th in the Division I era.

Four Jackrabbits finished in double figures. Myah Selland scored a team-high 18 points while Tylee Irwin finished with 16. Paiton Burckhard and Lindsey Theuninck followed with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Haley Greer dished a career-high 10 assists.

"Well obviously an exciting win, an exciting finish," head coach Aaron Johnston said. "Really happy for our team. I think Gonzaga is fantastic, I really do. I think they are really well coached, they have a very experienced team. They did a good job to push that lead late. I think we were down four with under a minute to go, then our team, I think, showed a lot of fight."

Back-to-back 3-pointers from Selland and Theuninck opened the scoring for the Jackrabbits to give State an early 6-2 lead. Gonzaga responded quickly, scoring seven unanswered to take a 9-6 edge at the 6:09 mark. Neither team held more than a four-point lead for the rest of the quarter as the Jacks held a 16-14 advantage to end the first quarter.

SDSU's lead grew to eight inside the five minute mark of the second thanks to layups from Irwin and Tori Nelson, the largest lead either team had throughout the opening half. However, a 10-0 Gonzaga run gave the visitors back the lead at the 2:41 mark. Irwin's jumper broke the scoring run and tied the game at 28 with 1:36 remaining in the half. A layup from Gonzaga's LeeAnne Wirth gave the Bulldogs a 30-28 edge heading into halftime.

After a slow start to the half, the State offense got back into rhythm with Madysen Vlastuin draining her first collegiate 3-pointer and a Burckhard and-one, bringing the Jacks within one of Gonzaga with just under six minutes to play in the quarter. The Jackrabbits were able to outscore Gonzaga 11-4 to close out the quarter holding on to a 46-45 lead.

The Bulldogs and Jacks went back and forth in the first five minutes of the final frame that featured six ties and four lead changes. Selland's and-one with eight seconds to play tied it up and sent the game to overtime.

In overtime, Gonzaga took an early lead with two jumpers in the first three minutes. Five unanswered points highlighted by another Selland and-one with 2:25 to play gave the Jacks a one-point lead. The Zags hit a jumper to end the run with 33 seconds remaining. Selland followed with a 3 with 28 seconds to go. The biggest shot of the game came as Selland dished to Theuninck for a 3-point buzzer beater to clinch the overtime victory.

"We really made a lot of plays to get to overtime, I thought, and then late in the overtime to push it forward with a couple big 3's," Johnston said. "I know Myah had one and obviously Lindsey's game-winner is just one of those fun shots that a team will remember for a long time. Doesn't mean anything going forward, but when our players get together and look back, that will be a fun moment for them to be a part of. I thought we really played hard and we just made a lot of big offensive and defensive plays late in that game."

Game Notes

South Dakota State holds a 3-0 advantage in the all-time series over Gonzaga
The Jackrabbits last overtime win was at Frost Arena over South Dakota, 82-78, on Feb. 24, 2019
State captured its second win over a ranked opponent this season and 13th in the Division I era
Greer is the first Jackrabbit to record 10-plus assists since Jennifer Sylvester on Jan. 7, 2000
Theuninck tied a career-high in 3-pointers made with three
Irwin, Burckhard and Greer all played a career-high minutes