JACKS FALL IN SUMMIT LEAGUE TITLE GAME

Tuesday, March 8

Sioux Falls, S.D. | Denny Sanford PREMIER Center

1:00 PM

South Dakota State University

23-9,17-1Summit League

South Dakota

27-5,17-1Summit League

South Dakota

South Dakota St.

Photo by: Richard Carlson/Inertia

3/8/2022 6:29:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

SIOUX FALLS - South Dakota State was outlasted by South Dakota 45-56 Tuesday afternoon in the championship game of the Summit League Tournament at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.

The Jackrabbits struggled to find an offensive rhythm, shooting 25 percent from the floor with 14 made field goals. Tylee Irwin and Paiton Burckhard did the Jackrabbits' heavy lifting in the title game with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Myah Selland had the next highest output with five points for SDSU, all from the free throw line, to go with 10 rebounds and four assists, both team bests.

Twelve of Burckhard's 14 points came from the the 3-point line as the redshirt junior knocked down four triples, matching her career best. She also had six rebounds, two blocks and an assist. Irwin was 3-for-3 from long range and forced two steals.

On the other side, the Coyotes also struggled with offensive consistency. The Coyotes were 38 percent overall but only 20 percent in the first quarter and 12.5 percent in the fourth quarter. That fourth quarter especially was a defensive grind for the in-state rivals. The Coyotes held a seven-point advantage heading into the final 10 minutes but couldn't quite pull away from SDSU, making only one field goal. The Jacks looked to take advantage of that cold shooting to close the gap but also struggled to find the bottom of the next, knocking down just three field goals of their own in that stretch.

Irwin put away the first bucket for either team in the final period, a 3-pointer at the 7:19 mark, to cut the SDSU deficit to four, but that was as close as the Jacks would come. Even though neither team got much going from the field, the Coyotes went 10-for-14 from the free throw line in the last 10 minutes to hold off the Jackrabbits and secure the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

Hannah Sjerven and Chloe Lamb, both all-tournament team picks, paced the Coyotes with 19 and 17 points, respectively. Sjerven's 10 rebounds led all players. Selland and Burckhard were also named to the all-tournament team, along with Kansas City's Naomi Alnatas.

NOTES

The Jackrabbits were held to 25 percent from the floor, a season low.
SDSU is 32-5 in the Summit League postseason all-time.
The Jacks are 23-9 on the season.

UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits will wait until Sunday to learn the fate of their hopes for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid. The ESPN Selection Show is set to begin at 7 p.m. CT.

-GoJacks.com