Jacks top number 18 Gonzaga in OT
BROOKINGS, S.D. (GoJacks.com) — 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.
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.
South Dakota State opens a two-game road swing Thursday against Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m
