Jackrabbit Women Start Strong in Conference Play Behind Burkhard




Little bit of a recap: Transitioning from having two of the most prolific scorers in Jackrabbit women's basketball history (Macy Miller and Madison Guebert), you can imagine there are some kinks that need to be worked out to start the 2019-2020 season. The team coming off of a memorable season reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history, pressure was on as they entered into this year. The chemistry among the team was still there in non-conference play, as the Jackrabbits returned three starters from a year ago and three players who played valuable minutes throughout last season. 

 The Jackrabbit women finished up non-conference play with an 8-6 record, with key wins against the University of South Florida (ranked 21 at the time) and Notre Dame. On the other hand, they dropped two straight at home against Central Michigan and Marquette. The last time the Jackrabbit women had back-to-back home losses was December of 2010. The non-conference showed signs of inexperience, averaging 14.6 turnovers per game, largely in part due to injuries to Myah Selland, Tagyn Larson, Paiton Burkhard.

 Something looks familiar: The Jackrabbits kicked off conference play with a 68-51 victory in Omaha. They took a 45-22 lead into half time and never looked back. Paiton Burkhard coming off of a one game hiatus had a game high 21 points and 9 rebounds to lead the Jackrabbits. 

 The Jackrabbit women kicked off their first home conference game with another victory, defeating Oral Roberts 58-44. Oral Roberts was chosen by the Summit League Coaches' Poll to finish 4th in league play, with SDSU chosen to finish 2nd. SDSU looked sluggish early, committing five turnovers in the first four minutes of the game, but they hung around with the Oral Roberts lead never being larger than six points. In the second quarter, SDSU closed the gap to two on multiple occasions, but were never able to grab the lead. A 2:50 scoring drought by both teams ended the half with Oral Roberts up 31-24. 

The Jackrabbit women fired up their defense in the second half of the game, only allowing 13 total points. They forced Oral Roberts to commit six turnovers to their zero in the third quarter only giving up 4 points. Paiton Burkhard led the Jackrabbits in scoring and rebounding for the second game in a row, posting a 17 and 8 line.

 So far in conference play, I've noticed the women have taken care of the ball, only averaging 10 turnovers a game. The defense has tightened up as well, with their two opponents shooting a measly 31.6% from the floor and averaging 47.5 points per game.

 Who's got next?: The Jackrabbits (10-6, 2-0) take on Western Illinois (7-8, 1-1) Saturday January 4 at 2pm in Frost Arena. Western Illinois is coming off a thrilling double overtime victory against NDSU, 79-78. 

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