South Dakota State defeated Oral Roberts 87-60 in the semifinal round of the Summit League Tournament Monday, earning another trip to Tuesday’s championship game.
Paige Meyer said the first few minutes were all over the floor, but they adjusted well.
“We knew we just kind of had to get composed and settle down a little bit.”
Coach Aaron Johnston commented on ORU.
“Today was a tough style of play to play against. Oral Roberts has a lot of talent on that team. I thought the press started to play into our favor as well. We got a lot of shots because of that.
ORU came out of the gate with a full-court press, which SDSU matched almost immediately. The Jackrabbits led 9-8 at the first media break. Hannah Cooper netted six of those eight points for ORU. Both teams focused on a quick pace and attempting to break each other’s press, but it proved costly as the teams combined for 11 turnovers in the first five and a half minutes of the game. After the timeout, SDSU picked up its pace and went on a 15-6 run to close out the quarter. Hannah Cooper drained nine to lead all scorers, while Haleigh Timmer led SDSU with five points in the first frame.
SDSU opened the second quarter with a continuation of that 15-6 run, turning it into a 29-6 run from the first media timeout of the game until the 2:40 mark of the second quarter. The Jacks led 46-22 at the half. The Jacks continued their hot streak in the third and fourth periods, ending the third up 20 points and ultimately winning the game by 27.
Haleigh Timmer set a new career-high 25 points. Tori Nelson added 14 and Paige Meyer netted 11 points with eight rebounds. As a team, the Jacks compiled 23 assists, 11 blocks and eight steals.
SDSU will face the winner of No. 6 Omaha/No. 10 Kansas City in Tuesday’s championship game at 1 p.m.
ORU was led by Hannah Cooper’s 14 points, while Ariel Walker and Lauren Ramey drained 12 apiece. Ruthie Udoumoh also had 11. ORU attempted to wear out its opponent, which to some extent, it did. SDSU shots started to miss short as the game went on, but the Golden Eagles failed to pull down the rebounds as planned. They were out-rebounded 48-29.
When asked what she would miss most about seniors Lauren Ramey, Delaney Nix, Ariel Walker, and Nena Taylor, Head Coach Kelsi Musick said their willingness to accept a new coach and believe in the system.
“We really do run a system and I think they really bought and ran that. Delaney had a green light, Lauren can shoot it, Ariel’s speed, and I think Nena comes in and gives us some grit. And so, there’s something about each of them we’ll miss, but just being the foundation layers of our future.”
Kelsi Musick finishes her first season 12-19 overall and 8-10 in the conference.