JACKRABBITS TRAVEL TO OMAHA

Games 12 & 13 | South Dakota State (9-2, 2-0) at Omaha (1-6, 0-2)

When	Friday, Jan. 15 & Saturday, Jan. 16 \| 3 p.m.
Where	Baxter Arena \| Omaha, Neb.
Live Audio / Radio	Jackrabbits All-Access \| Jackrabbit Sports Network I WNAX 570 AM \| Scotty Kwas
Live Video	OMavs.com
Live Stats	OMavs.com
Game Notes	South Dakota State \| Omaha
Social Media	Twitter I Facebook

South Dakota State women's basketball readies for its first Summit League road test of the season as it travels to face Omaha Friday, Jan. 15, and Saturday, Jan. 16, at Baxter Arena. Tipoff is schedule for 3 p.m. each day.

The Jackrabbits, now 9-2 overall and 2-0 in Summit League action, completed its first Summit League sweep of the season as it defeated Western Illinois 71-61 and 87-66.

Omaha enters the weekend 1-6 overall, 0-2 Summit League. The Mavericks' lone win came over Northern Colorado (66-64). Most recently, Omaha dropped a pair of Summit League contests to North Dakota State.

South Dakota State holds a 45-30 advantage in the all-time series over Omaha. Last Season, the Jackrabbits topped the Mavericks on both occasions. Additionally, State has won the last six games against Omaha.

Major Milestones
Head coach Aaron Johnston reached his 500th career win on Friday, Jan. 8, as the Jackrabbits defeated Western Illinois, 71-61. All of Johnston's wins have come at the helm of South Dakota State. In his 21 season, he has led the Jackrabbits to a Division II National Championship, nine Summit League Tournament titles, six Summit League regular season titles, and 13 postseason appearances, including nine NCAA Tournament berths. Johnston is South Dakota State's and the Summit League's all-time winningest women's basketball coach with a record of 501-168.

Three Jackrabbits are approaching 1,000 point milestones. Myah Selland currently has 990 career points. Tylee Irwin and Paiton Burckhard are at 857 and 790 points, respectively.

About South Dakota State
Myah Selland leads the team with 19.5 points and 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per contest. She is shooting 51 percent from the field, including 36.1 percent from beyond the arc. In her first game since Dec. 5, 2019, Selland made an immediate impact as she recorded 19 points, five boards, two assists and two blocks to help the Jacks defeat then-No. 15 Iowa State. Selland carried the Jackrabbits to an overtime win over then-No. 18 Gonzaga with 18 points. The redshirt junior registered a double-double as she led the Jacks with 21 points and 11 rebounds against Drake. In the win over No. 20 Missouri State, she paced the squad with yet another double-double, including 19 points and 10 rebounds, while adding a season-best six assists and four steals. In the win over Montana State, Selland registered her third-straight double-double with 27 points and 12 rebounds. On Jan. 9, she registered her fifth double-double of the season with 11 rebounds and a career-best 29 points. She has scored in double digits in all 11 contests this season. Additionally, she has recorded five double-doubles this season and seven in her career. Selland ranks 20th in the nation in double-doubles. A season ago, she averaged 13.8 points and 3.0 assists per game in the nine contests she played in before suffering a season-ending foot injury. A Preseason All-Summit League First Team honoree for the Jacks, the Letcher native was named Summit League Player of the Week on Dec. 7, 21 and 28 and Jan. 11 as well as the Summit League December Female Athlete of the Month.

Paiton Burckhard is averaging 12.2 points and 4.9 rebounds, while playing 29.2 minutes per game. Burckhard ranked second on the team with 13 points in the win over Creighton. In the overtime win over Gonzaga, she recorded 14 points, five rebounds and played a career-high 41 minutes. She was just shy of a double-double with 13 points and a team-leading nine rebounds in the contest at Kansas State. She paced the team with a season-high 18 points at UNI while adding a team-best eight rebounds. Burckhard posted 13 points and five rebounds in the win at Missouri State. Against Montana State, she tallied 14 points and seven rebounds. In the pair of contests against Western Illinois, she posted back-to-back double-figure contests as she tallied 13 and 10 points, respectively. Burckhard has scored in double figures in nine games this season, including the last five-straight contests. She averaged a team-leading 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. Burckhard has registered three double-doubles in her career. 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.

Tylee Irwin is averaging 11.3 points and 3.7 rebounds, while adding 10 blocks and 11 steals. Against Creighton, she turned in eight points, seven rebounds and tied a career-high three blocks. Irwin played a career-high 37 minutes in the win over Gonzaga as she recorded 16 points, three rebounds and one block off the bench. She earned the starting assignment for the first time this season at Kansas State. Against Drake, she tallied 14 points in the 22 minutes she played off the bench. In the win over Montana State, she tied her career-best of 22 points while adding five rebounds and a team-best five assists. The senior continues to turn in valuable minutes for the Jackrabbits as she tallied 12 points, six rebounds and two blocks to close out non-conference play with a win over UNI. Against Western Illinois, she tallied 12 and 16 points in the pair of contests, respectively. Irwin finished second on the team in minutes played for the 2019-20 season, averaging 27.6 minutes per game. Irwin earned a spot on the Preseason All-Summit League Second Team for the second consecutive season.

Haley Greer is averaging 6.6 points and 3.1 assists per game. Against Gonzaga, she became the first Jackrabbit since 2000 to dish 10-plus assists in a game. Greer posted eight points and three assists to help the Jackrabbits to a victory over Creighton. She led SDSU in her debut as a Jackrabbit with a career-best 20 points as she went 4-of-6 from beyond the arc en route to being named Summit League Player of the Week. She 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.

Lindsey Theuninck has started all 11 contests for the Jackrabbits this season, while averaging 6.9 points and 2.6 assists per game. The redshirt junior tallied 10 points and five assists in the win over UNI. She dished a team-best five assists and added 11 points against Drake. She tallied nine points and a career-high five steals at Kansas State. Against then-No. 18 Gonzaga, Theuninck posted six rebounds and 11 points, including the overtime game-winning 3-pointer. She turned in nine points, while tallying a team-best six boards and three assists against Iowa State. In the win over Creighton, she added five points, four rebounds and three assists. Theuninck averaged 24.5 minutes and 4.8 points per game last season.

Sydney Stapleton recorded four points, three assists, and two steals against Iowa State. The Blaine, Minn. native added four points to the Jackrabbits efforts against Creighton. At Montana State, she tallied six points. She averaged 17.1 minutes and 5.5 points per game off the bench a season ago.

The duo of Kallie Theisen and Tori Nelson return for their sophomore seasons.

Nelson has started all 11 contests for the Jackrabbits and ranks fourth on the team with 10 points per game and third with 4.3 rebounds per game. In the pair of contests against Western Illinois, she posted back-to-back double-figure contests as she tallied 11 and 10 points, respectively. The sophomore paced the squad with 18 points to lead the Jackrabbits to a home victory over UNI. She tallied a season-high 18 points against Drake. Nelson recorded 12 points against Iowa State and eight in the win over Creighton. Additionally, against Gonzaga she posted nine points, three rebounds and three assists. She recorded nine points and dished three assists at Kansas State. Nelson tired a career-best three steals at UNI. At home against UNI, Nelson paced the team with 18 points and a career-best three blocks. The reigning Summit League Freshman of the Year, averaged 22.7 minutes per game and tallied 19 starting assignments last season.

Theisen appeared in 14 games and averaged 15.9 minutes before suffering a season ending injury last season.

Regan Nesheim has made an immediate impact in her collegiate debut. After redshirting last season, she made her first collegiate appearance at UNI where she recorded a steal in the two minutes she played. In the wins over Drake and Missouri State she recorded five points in each contest. At Montana State she played 30 minutes and turned in a solid defensive performance with eight rebounds and two blocks. Nesheim tied her career bests of eight rebounds and five points in the rematch against UNI.

Addison Hirschman and Lauren Rongisch have played in three contests this season, while Jordan Ferrand has appeared in six.

the 2020-21 roster. Vlastuin and Byom are averaging 13 and 7.6 minutes per game, respectively. In the home victory over Creighton, Byom sank her first collegiate 3-pointer, while Vlastuin made one against Gonzaga. Additionally, Byom recorded two blocks against Drake and four points at Missouri State. Vlastuin tallied seven points in the second contest against Western Illinois. Herzberg has appeared in four contest.

State is outscoring its opponents 70.8-63.4 and holds them to 38.0 percent shooting, including 28.9 percent from long distance. Nationally, the Jackrabbits rank 10th in free throws made with 172.

Scouting Omaha
Omaha enters the weekend 1-6 overall, 0-2 Summit League. The Mavericks lone win came over Northern Colorado, 66-64. Most recently, Omaha dropped a pair of Summit League contests to North Dakota State, falling 66-59 and 69-38. This weekend will be Omaha's first home games of the season.

Sophomore Ella Ogier paces the Mavericks with 10.4 points per game and 12 steals. She has scored in double figures four times on the season.

Josie Filer is averaging 8.8 points and a team-best 4.4 rebounds per game, while Elena Pilakouta is averaging 10 points and 4 rebound in the four games she's played in.

Sophomore Sarah Schmitt leads the team with 3.1 assists per game, while adding 6.0 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.

As a team, Omaha is being outscored by its opponents, 64.1-52. The Mavericks are shooting 33.7 percent from the field and 22.6 percent from long distance.

Carrie Banks is in her first season at the helm of the Mavericks.

Jackrabbits' Last Time Out
South Dakota State women's basketball won its sixth-consecutive game with an 87-66 victory over Western Illinois Saturday night at Frost Arena.

The Jacks, now 9-2 overall and 2-0 in Summit League action, shot 46.9 percent from the field, scored 30 points off turnovers and dished 22 assists. Defensively, the Jacks forced 25 turnovers.

Myah Selland scored a career-high 29 points, while finishing with her seventh-career double-double after grabbing 11 rebounds. Selland also dished a season-best six assists. Tylee Irwin scored 16 points and Tori Nelson scored 10 while recording five rebounds and a career-best six assists. Paiton Burckhard added 10 points and four rebounds.

"Well good win. Western Illinois played very well," head coach Aaron Johnston said. "They just made threes. Their penetration, I thought, caused us some problems and we'll have to continue to move forward with that but our team played well in this game. We were really efficient on offense, we took care of the ball, shot the ball well from the field. Myah was fantastic in this game. Boy, she made a lot of really key, important plays. She shot it well, made free throws and rebounded. Myah played fantastic this weekend but today she was really good and we needed her to make some of those plays so it was a good way for us to get going. Really pleased with the start to the conference and now we'll take a little bit of time off to start getting ready for Omaha."

The Jacks showed their balance throughout the opening quarter, starting the game on a 7-0 run and forcing a turnover on five of the first six Leatherneck possessions. State outscored the Leathernecks 9-4 in the final 6:41, allowing a season-low six points in a quarter to lead 16-6.

Western Illinois started the second quarter strong with an 8-2 run to cut the SDSU lead to 18-14 with eight minutes left in the half. Five consecutive points by Madysen Vlastuin extended the Jackrabbit lead to 12 at the 4:10 mark. Both teams went back and forth in the final 3:46 of the second as the Jacks held a 36-25 lead heading into the locker room.

State scored on five of its first six possessions of the second half to take a 47-34 lead with 6:35 remaining in the third. Eight unanswered points by Western Illinois trimmed the Jacks lead to 50-42 with just under two minutes remaining in the third, but the Jacks responded by outscoring Western Illinois 7-3 in the final 1:41 to take a 57-47 advantage.

Western Illinois opened the fourth with seven unanswered points to make it a one possession game at the 7:29 mark (59-56), but that was as close as the Leathernecks would get. The Jacks went on a 21-5 run over the next 4:25 to extend their lead to a game-high 20 with 2:40 to play. A Vlastuin layup with 52 seconds remaining capped off an impressive finish en route to an 87-66 victory for the Jacks.

Opponent's Last Time Out
FARGO, N.D. – Elena Pilakouta and Ella Ogier scored in double-figures for the second consecutive night as the Omaha women's basketball team fell 66-55 at North Dakota State on Saturday night.

The Mavericks move to 1-6 (0-2 Summit League) on the season while the Bison improve to 8-2 (3-1 Summit League).

Leaders for Omaha
Pilakouta's season-high 16 points and five rebounds led Omaha. She scored nine points in the third quarter on 4-of-6 shooting from the field.

Ogier scored 13 points and posted four boards and two steals while shooting a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe.

Leaders for North Dakota State
Heaven Hamling finished with a game-high 21 points while shooting 8-of-15 from the floor, including 5-of-11 from three-point range. Abby Schulte had nine points and four rebounds while Kadie Deaton and Michelle Gaislerova chipped in seven points apiece.
Team Stats

Omaha shot 43.8% (21-of-48) to North Dakota State's 41.8% (23-of-55). The Bison knocked down 10 three-pointers and outrebounded the Mavericks 35-28. The Mavericks forced NDSU into 13 turnovers and posted a 34-22 advantage in points in the paint.

Inside the First Quarter
North Dakota State opened the game on a 10-0 run until Sophie Johnston scored on a layup with 3:53 left.

Mariah Murdie scored the other four points for the Mavericks on a pair of buckets as NDSU held a 14-6 lead after the first 10 minutes.

The Bison connected on three three-pointers and posted a 19-8 rebounding advantage over the Mavericks while limiting the Omaha offense to 3-of-16 shooting from the floor.

Inside the Second Quarter
The Bison extended the lead to 27-14 with 4:08 remaining before buckets from Pilakouta, Ogier and Abby Johnson brought the Mavericks within a single-digit deficit at 27-20 with 2:24 left.

North Dakota State answered with a trey with 2:15 remaining to extend the lead to 10 at the half as both teams were held scoreless in the final 2:15 of the half.

The Mavericks shot 33.3 percent in the first half with Pilakouta and Murdie leading the way with seven and six points, respectively. NDSU totaled 30 points in the first half behind 7-of-16 shooting from beyond the three-point line.

Inside the Third Quarter
Back-to-back jumpers from Pilakouta got Omaha within eight with 7:38 left before the Bison reeled off seven straight points over the next two minutes to grab a 40-25 lead.

Ogier sank a pair of free throws with 47 seconds left and added a layup in the final seconds of the quarter to trim the North Dakota State lead to 46-40 heading in the final quarter.

The Mavericks outscored the Bison 22-19 in the third with Ogier and Pilakouta combining for 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor and an 8-of-9 clip from the free throw line. North Dakota State shot 5-of-10 from the field to maintain the lead over the Mavericks.

Inside the Fourth Quarter
NDSU opened with a 15-0 run, blowing the game open at 64-42 with 3:40 remaining in the game. Omaha answered with a 13-0 run of their own to make it a 64-55 game with 38 seconds left. The Maverick run began with two free throws by Mikaela Ekdahl and a pair of layups from Sarah Schmitt.

Kia Wilson scored a layup in her season debut and Schmitt added a layup before Akili Felici knocked down a three-pointer with 38 seconds left to cap the 13-0 run. NDSU sank two free throws with 25 seconds left to clinch the 66-55 win.

The Mavericks shot 55.6 percent from the floor to NDSU's 53.8 percent. Schmitt led all scorers in the fourth with six points while shooting a perfect 3-of-3 from the field.

What's Next
The Mavericks welcome South Dakota State to Baxter Arena in a weekend doubleheader on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 15-16. Tipoff for both games are set for 3 p.m.
--omavs.com

A Win Would...

Improve South Dakota State to 46-30 all-time against Omaha
Keep the Jackrabbits undefeated in Summit League play
Extend State's winning streak to seven games

A Loss Would...

Improve Omaha to 31-45 all-time against the Jackrabbits
Give the Mavericks its first Summit League victory

In the Polls
South Dakota State has been at least receiving votes in both the AP Top 25 Poll and the USA TODAY/Coaches Poll all season.

On Dec. 7 after beating then 15th-ranked Iowa State and then-No. 18 Gonzaga, the Jackrabbits entered the AP Poll for the first time in 11 years at No. 22. Additionally, State was tabbed No. 21 in the Coaches Poll that week. The squad has since fallen out of the AP Poll but continues to receive votes.

The Jackrabbits ranked No. 25 in the Coaches Poll on Dec. 22 and 29. They are currently receiving 49 votes in the most recent poll.

-GoJacks.com-

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Players Mentioned

Paiton Burckhard

Jordan Ferrand

Haley Greer

Addison Hirschman

Tylee Irwin

Tori Nelson

Regan Nesheim

Lauren Rongisch

Myah Selland

Sydney Stapleton

Kallie Theisen

Lindsey Theuninck

Madysen Vlastuin

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