SDSU outlasts USD, advances to Summit League title game
The Coyotes stormed their way back into the game in the fourth quarter of Monday’s Summit League semifinal between South Dakota and South Dakota State. After being down by as many as 15 earlier in the quarter, Grace Larkins capped a 7-0 run with a layup to cut their deficit to five with only 2:28 to play.
Momentum was on USD’s side, but it didn’t take much to flip it. All it took was a made three 28 seconds later from SDSU sophomore Ellie Colbeck to get the lead back to eight points and the Jackrabbits went on to defeat South Dakota 76-63.
“Those are really cool moments,” South Dakota State women’s basketball coach Aaron Johnston said postgame. “It’s a three … on the stats, but on a human level, that’s a great moment for her and her family and all the people that follow her.”
Colbeck finished the night with six points on two made 3-pointers.
The Jackrabbits were the consistently better offensive team across the board. They held South Dakota to 40% from the field while shooting 50%.
They had three players score in double-figures in Brooklyn Meyer, Paige Meyer and Madison Mathiowetz. Brooklyn Meyer led SDSU in scoring with a game-high 21 points and Paige was right behind her with 20 and also had seven assists.
The Coyotes went through long patches of scoreless basketball at the end of the first quarter and beginning of the second but showed their resilience in the second half.
After settling for 18 threes and being outscored in the paint 26-10 in the first half, USD made a concerted effort to get better looks in the second half.
They shot only four threes in the second half and outscored SDSU in the paint 22-10.
Overall, this season was a step in the right direction for a South Dakota women’s basketball program that at times faced significant challenges, including being without its head coach as she prepared for, and eventually had a child. And earlier this week, USD forward Kendall Holmes lost her father, a tragedy felt throughout the program.
“A lot of life happened this week,” South Dakota women’s basketball coach Kayla Karius said. “I can’t say enough about them as people. The basketball will end, their careers will end at some point, and these are the life lessons. These are the things that happened that I hope they never forget.”
Nicole Avila-Ambrosi ended Monday’s game with a season-high 16 points on 5-for-7 shooting.
USD hopes its season continues beyond the Summit League conference tournament so it can have one more opportunity to share the floor together.
South Dakota State will be playing in the Summit League championship game for the 13th time in 16 years.
The Jackrabbits will face the winner of the North Dakota State-Oral Roberts semifinal on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.