South Dakota State University’s women’s basketball team secured a decisive 94-48 victory over North Dakota on Thursday night at First Bank & Trust Arena in Brookings, South Dakota. The Jackrabbits overcame a narrow one-point lead after the first quarter by outscoring the Fighting Hawks 77-32 over the final three periods.
A key turning point came with a 21-1 run by SDSU to close out the second quarter. The team maintained control for the remainder of the game, including scoring 33 points in the fourth quarter while shooting nearly 70 percent from the field.
Senior Brooklyn Meyer led SDSU with her sixth double-double of the season and nineteenth of her career, tallying 21 points and 15 rebounds. She also contributed five assists and two steals, making nine of her thirteen shots in just 23 minutes on the court.
SDSU had contributions from twelve players, with eight scoring at least seven points. Madison Mathiowetz and Maggie Hartwig each added eleven points, while Katie Vasecka scored nine. Emilee Fox and Hadley Thul finished with eight points apiece, and Hilary Behrens along with Brooklynn Felchle chipped in seven each.
Hadley Thul, starting for only her second time, recorded seven rebounds and three assists. Hartwig grabbed five rebounds as well. Mahli Abdouch provided four assists alongside her five points.
The Jackrabbits shot 54 percent from the floor—marking their tenth game this season shooting above fifty percent—and held a significant rebounding advantage at 45-26. They also recorded more assists than North Dakota (22-10).
North Dakota was limited to 35 percent shooting accuracy and committed eighteen turnovers, which resulted in seventeen points for SDSU. Lauren Hillesheim, Mackenzie Hughes, and Walker Demers each scored ten points for UND; Hughes distributed six assists while Demers blocked four shots.
With this win, South Dakota State improved its overall record to 19-6 and is now 9-2 in Summit League play. North Dakota dropped to 7-19 overall and holds a conference record of 3-9.
The victory gives SDSU a slight edge in their all-time series against North Dakota at 42 wins to 41 losses.
Brooklyn Meyer advanced to fourth place on South Dakota State’s career scoring list with a total of 1,867 points and entered tenth place for career rebounds with 772 boards. The Jackrabbits are now one win away from reaching twenty victories for the fifteenth consecutive season.
South Dakota State will next host Kansas City on Saturday afternoon at First Bank & Trust Arena. The game is scheduled to start at 2 p.m., following National Girls & Women in Sports Day activities beginning at 1 p.m.
