Tea Area alumnus and South Dakota State women’s basketball freshman forward Katie Vasecka knocked down the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:02 to play to put the Jackrabbits up for good in a back-and-forth 63-55 win over North Dakota State on Wednesday.
Paige Meyer followed that possession by barreling her way to the rim for a layup to put South Dakota State ahead by five with a little more than two minutes to play.
“She definitely doesn’t look like a freshman out there,” Meyer said of Vasecka’s big three. “She has a lot of confidence in herself, and we have a lot of confidence in her.”
Vasecka scored only six points but had maybe the biggest three of the game.
“Katie’s played phenomenally well,” said SDSU coach Aaron Johnston. “That’s a great moment for (her), one that she can build on.”
After a tight first quarter, South Dakota State used an 18-0 run to take a 13-point lead a minute before halftime. The run was finally broken on two made free throws from North Dakota State’s Abby Schulte. The Jackrabbits held the Bison scoreless for over eight minutes of game time and only allowed North Dakota State to score five points in the entire quarter.
“I feel like just getting stops on defense really helps our offense flow,” Brooklyn Meyer said. “That was definitely an emphasis.”
SDSU held NDSU to just 9.1% shooting in the second quarter. On the other end, they made nine of their 13 field goal attempts, shooting a scorching 69.2% from the field. Brooklyn Meyer and Haleigh Timmer led SDSU in scoring at halftime with 12 and eight points respectively. Meyer also had five rebounds.
The Bison responded with a 14-0 run that spanned three minutes to regain the lead in the third quarter. South Dakota State went four minutes without a point and North Dakota State took full advantage. The Bison shot 53% from the field in the third while holding SDSU to under 30%. NDSU took a 41-39 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The message from the coaching staff was consistent. They could get back into the game and win it with their physicality and effort on the defensive end.
“The whole game, we were just kind of talking about defense is going to win us this game,” Paige Meyer said. “In the fourth quarter, we just kind of stuck together and people made some big plays down the stretch.”
The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth throughout, but Vasecka’s 3-pointer and Paige Meyer’s layup were highlights in an 8-0 Jackrabbit run that put them up for good.
Brooklyn Meyer led South Dakota State with 24 points and nine rebounds, but SDSU had a total of three players in double figures including Paige Meyer and Timmer who each scored 13.
The Bison entered the contest as the No. 2 team in the Summit League. SDSU has now won 55 consecutive conference games.
South Dakota State will travel to Omaha, Neb. to face Omaha on Saturday, Feb. 1.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota State women’s basketball takes down NDSU
