Cyclone.com's pre-game summary almost never mentions anything about the opponent so here goes my hack amatuer summary. This will likely be tougher than last years road trip to the Dakotas (NDSU) which was a bit of a cake walk. We have never played South Dakota State. South Dakota State was #2 seed in the Summit last year to South Dakota. They beat Notre Dame in Cancun last year in one of those holiday tourneys. Both South Dakota State and South Dakota are in the "receiving votes" category in the AP poll. The Summit is a pretty decent WBB league. This is their opener so we have an advantage of having a game under our belt (need to look no further than the 1st quarter in Hilton a couple of days ago to know what that might mean, at least early on). They will be playing a good NC strength of schedule building slate with ISU, Gonzaga, Kansas State, UNI and Drake.
Here's the Jackrabbit site pre-game writeup:
https://gojacks.com/news/2020/11/27...abbits-open-season-with-no-15-iowa-state.aspx
What they say about their players (
red bold is my highlighting) :
About South Dakota State
Paiton Burckhard averaged a team-best 14.2 points and ranked second on the team with 5.7 rebounds per game after starting all 32 contests that she appeared in last season. The junior scored a career-best 27 points to lead the Jacks to a home victory over North Dakota and reached double-figures in 26 contests, including 20-plus points in seven games. In Summit League play she scored 253 points (15.8 ppg) and pulled down 99 rebounds. Additionally, she ranked first in the Summit League in field goal percentage (54.3 percent), third in field goals made (178), fourth in free throw percentage (80.2 percent), and sixth in points per game (14.2) and total points (455). Burckhard registered her third double-double in the win over Western Illinois with 11 points and a career-best 12 rebounds. She added added 57 assists, 23 steals and 11 blocks on the season.
The Aberdeen native earned Preseason All-Summit League First Team honors after being selected to the All-Summit League First Team for the 2019-20 season.
Myah Selland returns to repeat her junior season after playing in just nine contests last season before suffering a season-ending foot injury. She averaged 13.8 points and 3.0 assists per game. The junior shot 55.8 percent (48-of-86) from the field. Selland turned in season-bests of seven assists in the Jacks' win over Notre Dame and 20 points against FGCU. A
Preseason All-Summit League First Team honoree for the Jacks, the Letcher native averaged 12.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game while ranking second on the team in assists (108) and blocked shots (18) during the 2018-19 season.
Tylee Irwin enters her senior campaign with 744 career points and 104 career steals. Irwin finished second on the team in minutes played for the 2019-20 season, averaging 27.6 minutes per game. Last season, the Wahpeton, N.D. native scored a season-best 18 points in the Jackrabbits' semifinals victory over North Dakota State. Against North Dakota, Irwin pulled down a season-high 10 boards. She blocked a career-best three shots against Omaha and Western Illinois. In Summit League play, the senior averaged 9.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Irwin earned a spot on the
Preseason All-Summit League Second Team for the second consecutive season.
Lindsey Theuninck averaged 24.5 minutes and 4.8 points per game last season. In the win over Chattanooga, the junior scored a career-high 13 points in her first-ever start as a Jackrabbit. A native of Mankato, Minn., Theuninck earned a starting assignment in 12 contests. At Denver she made a career-best three 3-pointers.
Sydney Stapleton averaged 17.1 minutes and 5.5 points per game off the bench a season ago. The junior from Blaine, Minn. turned in a career performance against Coppin State, shooting 5-of-10 from the 3-point line and totaling 17 points. She ranked second on the squad from beyond the arc with a total 38 3-pointers.
The duo of
Kallie Theisen and
Tori Nelson return for their sophomore seasons. Nelson, the reigning Summit League Freshman of the Year, averaged 22.7 minutes per game and Theisen averaged 15.9. Nelson posted the squads first double-double of the season in the win over Notre Dame. She also scored a career-best 23 points against Coppin State. Nelson helped the squad to a semifinals win over North Dakota State with a team-best 21 points. Nelson started in 19 games for the Jackrabbits and averaged 10.1 points per game in Summit League action. Theisen appeared in 14 games before suffering a season ending injury.
Juniors
Jordan Ferrand and
Addison Hirschman appeared in 18 games, while redshirt sophomore
Lauren Rongisch played in 15 contests.
Haley Greer joins the Jackrabbits as a graduate transfer after spending four years at Colgate. Greer, a 5-10 guard from Winnetka, Ill., comes in after leading Colgate in 3-pointers made (34) and blocked shots (23) while averaging 8.1 points per game
in 2019-20. Greer reached a career-high of 18 points in Colgate's regular season finale against Lehigh.
A trio of freshmen in
Emily Herzberg,
Madysen Vlastuin and
Mesa Byom will round out the 2020-21 roster.
