No. 2 Texas beats SDSU in women’s basketball 70-51

BROOKINGS, S.D. (SDSU) — South Dakota State basketball put up a fight, but No. 2 Texas eventually pulled away from the Jackrabbits to win 70-51 Sunday afternoon at First Bank & Trust Arena. The Longhorns remain perfect at 14-0 on the year while the Jackrabbits go into the holiday break with a 10-4 mark.

The Jackrabbits had the game within nine late in the third quarter, then the Longhorns finished the game making 11 of its final 17 shot attempts to pull away.

Brooklyn Meyer scored 20 points for the Jackrabbits with six makes from the floor and an 8-of-11 showing at the free throw line. She also grabbed three rebounds, had two assists, one block and one steal. Mahli Abdouch added 10 points and two assists. Hadley Thul finished the game shooting 3-of-5 with two 3-pointers for nine points. She grabbed three rebounds and blocked one shot. Madison Mathiowetz and Maggie Hartwig grabbed six rebounds each.

Texas had three players reach double figures, paced by 17 points from Jordan Lee. Lee also tallied four steals and three rebounds on the day. Madison Booker just missed a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds. Rori Harmon scored 11 points and hit her season average with seven assists.

The Longhorns jumped out to a 12-0 lead over the first six minutes. Brooklyn Meyer and Mahli Abdouch combined for five points to end the run, sparking a 13-5 Jackrabbit stretch to end the opening quarter. After starting the game shooting 0-for-8, SDSU ended the first period making four of its last five. The Jacks trailed by four, 17-13, after 10 minutes. The sides traded buckets through the beginning of the second quarter, but a 6-0 Texas stretch put them up by 10 at 31-21. The Longhorns led 33-24 at halftime. Meyer scored SDSU’s first seven in the third to keep the game within reach. Following an Abdouch triple that put the Jacks within nine at 43-34, Texas ended the third with six straight points, then made its first eight attempts in the fourth to pull away.

The Texas pressure was relentless throughout and forced 23 Jackrabbit turnovers, which the Longhorns turned into 18 points. On the flip side, SDSU tallied seven steals and forced 11 total turnovers, which resulted in 13 points for the Jacks. Texas out-shot SDSU 46% to 36%. The teams were tied in rebounding with 36 each.

NOTES

• SDSU is 0-2 all-time against Texas, 9-10 against ranked teams at home and 20-46 against ranked teams in the Division I era.
• SDSU’s defense held Texas to its second-lowest scoring output of the year, 70 points. The Longhorns lowest scoring game was 66 in a 66-64 win over South Carolina.

UP NEXT
SDSU starts conference play against St. Thomas at 2 p.m. on Thursday, January 1 at First Bank & Trust Arena.

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