The Jackrabbits beat in-state rival South Dakota to move to the championship game. The matchup took place front of a crowd of 8,476, more than the crowd of 8,417 at the 2024 championship game between SDSU and NDSU.
The Jackrabbits got off to a quick start behind nine points from Madison Mathiowetz in the first seven minutes, putting SDSU up 20-10. Elise Turrubiates netted a triple to bring USD back within seven. Mathiowetz led the Jacks in the first frame with 11 points. The Coyotes finished the quarter down just six points, thanks to eight first-quarter points from Molly Joyce.
Angelina Robles started the second quarter on a heater for USD. Three consecutive buckets brought the Coyotes within one before they eventually tied the game at 27, just under three minutes into the second frame. Turrubiates fought her way to the paint to put up the bucket that gave the Yotes a 29-27 lead. SDSU led 36-31 going into the locker room. USD shot 39% in the first half, while SDSU shot 41%.
The Jacks came out of the half with five straight points, prompting Coyotes head coach Carrie Eighmey to burn a timeout. After a couple of scoreless minutes on both ends, Mathiowetz drained a three-pointer for the Jacks, stretching the lead to 13. After the media break, Patience Williams swished a much-needed triple to cut the lead to seven, but Mathiowetz quickly answered with two points for SDSU. Turrubiates then took advantage of a fast-break opportunity to bring the Yotes closer, prompting Jackrabbit coach Aaron Johnston to burn a timeout.
With four minutes left in the game, Molly Joyce drained a triple to cut the lead to 10. The Coyotes’ effort ultimately was not enough to overcome the Jackrabbits, as SDSU took the game 74-59. SDSU outrebounded USD 44-29.
The Jackrabbits were led by 24 points and nine rebounds from Brooklyn Meyer. Mathiowetz tallied 23 points.
Meyer credited her team’s focus.
“Staying locked into our plan. It’s the conference tournament, so no one is going to go away easy.”
Mathiowetz praised the crowd.
“It’s just such a blast to play in front of a huge wave of blue.”
Coach Johnston was excited about the performances of both Meyer and Mathiowetz, but also credited the rest of the team.
“It’s fun to watch those two make plays out there and feed off of each other. I thought Maggie’s minutes late were really important…we had a lot of people step up.”
SDSU will take on the No. 1 North Dakota State Bison in the championship game on Sunday at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls.
The Coyotes were led by Robles’ 18 points, followed by 17 from Joyce and 12 from Turrubiates.
Turrubiates shared her experience with hyping up her teammates.
“I didn’t think it was a time to break down, so in that moment you just want to lift up your teammates.”
Coach Carrie Eighmey spoke to the run the Jackrabbits made in the third quarter.
“It was a tough one. You know, I really like the way our team competed until the last possession… it was a run that we couldn’t overcome.”
Eighmey also reflected on having four players that played in the conference prior to this season, and two of them playing for USD prior to this season.
“Credit to our staff, I think they do a phenomenal job. Doing what we did is not easy.. Once they got there, credit to the team and the players ..the character of the young women on our team… the way that they came together in such a short amount of time speaks to their character… to come up with an identity and stay super loyal to each other… as a coach there’s nothing else you can really ask for.”
USD finishes the season 23-9 overall, and 12-4 in the conference.