Trojans lose tough opener in overtime
BLACKSBURG, VA. >> Myah Selland scored 29 points to lead No. 9 seed South Dakota State to a 62-57 overtime victory over eighthseeded USC on Friday night in the first round of the NCAA tournament’s Seattle Region.
Selland scored 16 consecutive points spanning the fourth quarter and overtime for the Jackrabbits (29-5), who won their 22nd consecutive game despite shooting 35.2% (19 of 54) and committing 20 turnovers.
Destiny Littleton led USC (21-10) with 18 points.
Littleton tied the game at 47 on a 3-pointer with seven seconds in regulation. Selland then missed a tough jumper at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.
Selland scored nine consecutive points in overtime for the Jackrabbits, who opened the extra session with an 11-2 run and never trailed. Littleton had a chance to tie the game at 58, but missed an off-balance 3-pointer with 14 seconds left and Tori Nelson’s two free throws with 11 seconds to go all but sealed it for the Jackrabbits.
Selland connected on 10 of 18 shots from the floor and 8 of 10 from the freethrow line to stand as the bright spot in a rather ugly game. The two teams combined for 40 turnovers and neither shot better than 35.2% from the floor.
Rayah Marshall finished with 17 points for the Trojans.
Notes
South Dakota State was held 17 points below its scoring average — it was 11th nationally at 79.4 points per game coming in — but should gain confidence heading into its matchup against Virginia Tech by winning a tough, low-scoring affair against the Trojans.
USC will be lamenting this one for a while. It had numerous chances around the rim in the second half, but struggled to finish. As a result, the Trojans shot just 31.3% (21 of 67) and closed the season shooting worse than 32% in their final four games.