South Dakota State overcame sloppy play and poor free throw shooting to win their first  NCAA Tournament game in seven years, upsetting fifth seeded Miami (FL), 74-71, in Stanford, California.

The 12th seeded Jackrabbits are in the round of 32 despite turning the ball over 22 times, which led to 24 Hurricane points. SDSU also missed six free throws in the game's final minute, but survived for their first NCAA Tournament win since beating TCU in March of 2009.

South Dakota State got 19 points from freshman Madison Guebert, who made five of SDSU's eight three-pointers. Sophomore Macy Miller, followed up a quiet first half with with 14 second half points on 4-of-7 seven shooting and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line, in the last 20 minutes. She finished with 18 points. Sophomore Ellie Thompson scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half on 3-of-5 shooting.

The Jackrabbits got some breathing room on the scoreboard at the beginning of the third quarter, as Miami came out of the locker room with a two-point lead and missed their first twelve shots of the second half. South Dakota State took advantage, scoring 11 of the first 12 points of the third to push their lead to as many as 11.

In the fourth quarter, the Hurricanes defense kicked it up a notch and forced four Jackrabbit turnovers in a three-minute stretch, cutting the lead to just three. Laura Cornelius led the charge with three second half triples and 13 points in the final 20 minutes on 5-of-8 shooting.

From there, South Dakota State did just enough to hang on, dominating Miami on the boards, 50-39. Junior Clarissa Ober led SDSU with nine rebounds, senior Gabby Boever had eight, junior Kerri Young added seven.

It was a fast paced first half that featured scoring runs, ties and lead changes. The two teams combined for 76 points, nine lead changes, and six ties in the first 20 minutes.

Guebert scored SDSU's first five points as the Jackrabbits opened up a four-point advantage early while Miami struggled with a 1-of-6 shooting stretch.

Jessica Thomas and Adrienne Motley brought the Hurricanes back with 12 of Miami's first 14 points, as SDSU went cold, hitting 2-of-11 during one stretch. Miami had a 22-18 lead after the first quarter. Motley had nine first half points, Thomas seven.

The Jackrabbits rediscovered their shooting touch at the beginning of the second quarter, scoring the first five points to retake the lead by three. Three point shooting kept SDSU in the game in the first half, as the Jacks made six of their 12 long range shots, Guebert 4-of-6 from behind the arc for 14 first half points.

Toward the end of the first half, the Jackrabbits got a bit reckless with the basketball, turning it over four times in the last 2:30, keying a 9-0 Miami run, and a 39-37 Hurricane lead at halftime. SDSU's eight first half turnovers led to nine Miami points.

The victory snaps a seven-game NCAA Tournament losing streak for the Jackrabbits, who play #4 Stanford, Monday night, on their home floor at Maples Pavilion. Tipoff is 8:00 PM CDT.


See Also:

More From KIKN-FM / Kickin' Country 99.1/100.5