The shot itself was nothing special or extraordinary. South Dakota State senior forward Mesa Byom delivered an entry pass to Brooklyn Meyer, who faked to her right and then spun and launched a short hook shot over her left shoulder for two points.
When Meyer checked out of the game a couple of plays later, the SDSU fans in attendance gave her a standing ovation.
It was a move Meyer has likely done thousands of times throughout her career, but this time that move netted her 1,000th career point as a Jackrabbit, becoming only the 43rd player in program history to cross that threshold.
“It’s a credit to all the great teammates that I’ve had over the years,” Meyer said in the postgame availability. “That’s part of being a really good program, and I’m just really blessed to have people around me to help me get there.”
South Dakota State women’s basketball coach Aaron Johnston joked in the postgame press conference that he was likely scolding Meyer about her rebounding while the crowd gave her a standing ovation. He said while he didn’t speak to her about the milestone, Meyer has contributed far more than 1,000 points during her Jackrabbit career.
“1,000 points at this point in her career is really remarkable. I remind people, she’s probably contributed to another four or 500 points on our team, just because she’s always got doubles and she’s such a good passer,” Johnston said. “Yeah she’s scoring a lot, but she creates so much for our team and then for her to hit that milestone at home, I think that means even more to her.”
The reigning Summit League Player of the Year had another strong showing in South Dakota State’s 93-55 win over Omaha on Thursday night, recording a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
The Jackrabbits seized control from the outset with their size and offensive rebounding, jumping out to a 10-0 lead. Byom set the tone early, registering all six of her offensive rebounds in the first quarter.
The Mavericks were able to hang around and only trailed by eight points heading into halftime. SDSU wasn’t satisfied with their defense in the first half but rectified that in the second. A 10-0 Jackrabbits run in the third quarter broke the game open, giving SDSU a 20-point lead.
South Dakota State held Omaha to 27.3% shooting in the third quarter and 15.8% in the fourth, outscoring the Mavericks by a whopping 30 points.
“I just thought we competed a lot harder defensively,” Johnston said of his team’s second-half performance. “I thought we were close to the right spot a lot in the first half, but not as good as we could have been.”
The Jackrabbits had four players score in double-digits. They were led by Meyer who finished with 21 points. Haleigh Timmer, Madison Mathiowetz, and Byom tallied 17, 13, and 10 points respectively. Meyer led the way in rebounding with 10 while Paige Meyer snatched three steals.
The win is South Dakota State’s 50th consecutive regular-season victory and they remain undefeated in conference play (3-0).
Up next
The South Dakota women’s basketball team will host Kansas City at First Bank & Trust Arena on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 2 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Brooklyn Meyer scores 1,000th career point as SDSU women defeat Omaha
