South Dakota State women advance to Summit League championship with rout of Oral Roberts: Takeaways

South Dakota State is going back to the Summit League tournament championship game for the 11th time in school history, courtesy of a 72-53 win over Oral Roberts that wasn’t even as close as that sounds.

The Golden Eagles scored 23 of their 53 points in the fourth quarter, after they had hung in there in the first quarter, trailing by just four points after 10 minutes. But the Jackrabbits held ORU to a combined 4-for-33 shooting effort in the second and third quarters, building their lead as high as 29 and coasting into the title tilt. Next up: the South Dakota Coyotes in the Summit League title game Tuesday.

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Myah Selland and Paiton Burckhard both had another big day, but this was a balanced and complete effort that should give the Jacks plenty of confidence heading into the championship.

Here’s a rundown of what happened in the opening game of a big semifinal Monday at the Denny Sanford Premier Center:

Jackrabbits beat Oral Roberts at their own game

The Golden Eagles were among the Summit League’s best defensive teams this year, and they wisely tried to stay close by limiting possessions and leaning on a solid group of post players. It worked for a while – ORU took an 11-9 lead early and SDSU had a few discombobulated possessions. But SDSU still managed to take an 18-14 lead after a quarter, and then held the Eagles to a mere six points in the second.

“They had a really good plan,” said coach Aaron Johnston. “They really slowed the game down and took us out of the transition we’re used to getting. But our team defended well and got some good looks on offense.”

That defense continued in the third, as SDSU held the Eagles to just 10 points on 2-of-17 shooting to take a 50-30 lead into the final stanza.

“I just think we did a really good job of being connected and moving as a team,” said Tori Nelson, who had 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists. “They have really big post players and we did a good job of handling that, and our defense led to good transition offense.”

South Dakota State's balanced attack

Selland did much of the heavy lifting in Saturday’s quarterfinal win over Denver, and the former Summit League MVP was at the forefront of Monday’s win, too. But she had far more scoring help. Selland and Burckhard had 16 points each, with Selland dishing six assists and Burckhard grabbing eight rebounds. Haleigh Timmer had 12 points off the bench, Nelson netted 11 and Tylee Irwin had nine points on six shots. Kallie Theisen had six points, seven rebounds and a pair of blocked shots in a performance off the bench that sparked the Jacks on both ends of the floor.

Johnston noted that while some teams just hope to hold the line until the starters return when they turn to their bench, SDSU can use reserves like Timmer and Theisen as weapons.

“They’ve both, all year long, been fantastic for us,” the coach said. “Haleigh gives us more offensive firepower and what Kallie can come in and do defensively is elite.”

Returning to the finals an accomplishment in itself

The Jacks are regulars on championship Tuesday, so on the surface getting back to the championship game doesn’t feel terribly special. But SDSU spent most of this season making it look easier than it really was. They began the year with Selland still recovering from the major injury that ended her season just before the playoffs last year, dealt with the death of a player’s family member on a road trip and had to dig out of what was a lackluster non-conference performance, at least from a wins and losses standpoint.

They ended up going 17-1 in league play to tie for the regular season title, but spending the entire second half of the season being told they and rival USD were already a lock to meet in the conference title game probably came with some pressure, too. To say they handled that well would be an understatement, given they haven’t been tested by anyone other than the Coyotes.

“I think early in the year we had enough bumps in the road where we realized nothing was gonna just roll for us,” Johnston said. “Some years everything goes well. That doesn’t mean it’s easy, but it just goes that way, and some years it doesn’t go that well. Some years you’re going uphill a lot. I think our team showed poise, character and consistency to hang in there. This year we had some things to overcome. They’ve done a lot of good things, and getting to the championship is one of those milestones.”

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The major milestone, though, comes on Tuesday.

“It’s a great accomplishment,” Burckhard said of reaching the title game. “It’ll be fun to get in front of that SDSU crowd again (Tuesday). But we still have things to accomplish. We have to stay focused and locked in and be ready to go (Tuesday).”

This story will be updated. Stay with argusleader.com for more.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota State women's basketball beats ORU in Summit League semi