Nov. 11—BROOKINGS — After scoring just 10 points in the first quarter the South Dakota State women scored 81 over the next three, dominating the final 30 minutes of a 91-60 win over Murray State on Tuesday at First Bank and Trust Arena.
Trailing 15-10 after one, the Jackrabbits (3-0) outscored the Racers 25-7 in the second quarter to take control, and after a competitive third quarter outscored them 28-12 in the fourth to turn it into a rout.
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“We maybe didn’t come out as hot as we would’ve liked,” said senior guard Madison Mathiowetz. “But we definitely picked things up on the defensive end and rebounding and doing the little things right and it just led to some good offense and led to us playing really well together as a team.”
Brooklyn Meyer continued her spectacular, stat-stuffing play, leading the Jacks with 24 points, seven rebounds, four assists and five blocked shots, as the Rabbits outshot MSU 58 percent to 29 and outscored them 56-26 in the paint.
Ellie Colbeck had 12 points, Mahli Abdouch 11 and Mathiowetz and Hadley Thul 10 apiece as SDSU shot a blistering 73 percent from the floor in the second half.
“We didn’t have a lot of effort in that first quarter,” said coach Aaron Johnston. “We were a little flat, I thought. There were some loose balls, some rebounds we gave up, jogging down the floor, we didn’t have much of an edge. I thought Hadley was really a spark off the bench for us. In the second quarter we scored and that can give us some more pep in your step but I think we just played a lot harder.”
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As much as SDSU was able to turn up the offensive heat over the final three quarters, the defense started strong, and other than a brief letdown in the third quarter, when the Racers scored 26 of their points, kept it up for the duration.
That’s nothing new, of course, but the strong defense early in the season suggests this team is doing the same things they’ve done to have success in the past.
“We spend a lot of time at practice prepping for our opponent,” said Colbeck. “Our coaches do a great job of knowing their stuff and teaching us so we can be prepared.”
Haven Ford had 17 points to lead the Racers (2-1), who are coming off a 25-8 season, their second straight with 20 wins.
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The Jacks now head to Rapid City for the weekend where they’ll face Montana on Saturday.
“Great start to the year for us,” said Johnston. “Three really good opponents and to get three wins is exactly what we would’ve hoped for. I’ve been really impressed with our defense to start the year. Defense can be harder with new players than offense but we held a really good offensive team under control out there tonight.”
