Game 558 - (3) Western Illinois women vs. (2) South Dakota State

Summit League semifinals
March 5 at Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, SD

(photo by Bobby Feathers)

Midco Sports Network

Western Illinois has had a fine season, just not against South Dakota State.

For the third time in as many meetings, SDSU picked up a lopsided victory, 80-51 to advance to Tuesday's league final against top seed and rival South Dakota.

Western Illinois is 22-9 and has a good shot at a WNIT bid, but against SDSU, the Leathernecks were just out-classed, beaten by an average margin of 31 points. Monday, the second-seeded Jackrabbits held Western Illinois, a top-10 scoring team nationally, to nearly 32 points below its season average & first-team all-Summit performer Emily Clemens to just three points.

The SDSU offense had a lot to do with the victory as well:

* There was balanced scoring. Four reached double figures, led by Madison Guebert's game-high 20 points. Gaubert, along with teammate and league player of the year Macy Miller (16 points, 10 rebounds) were also first-team selections.

* They shared the ball. The Jackrabbits handed out 16 assists (all-newcomer team selection Myah Selland and Rylie Cascio Jensen, both reserves, had five each) on 27 made baskets.

* SDSU knocked down 11 threes, including a 7-of-11 performance in the opening quarter that helped them take control.

Game 469 - Omaha women at South Dakota State

January 3 at Frost Arena in Brookings, SD
MidCo Sports Network

Omaha actually led by a bucket at halftime - 40-38 - but the hosts rolled in the third quarter and ended up with a comfortable, 89-64 win.

Led by junior guard Madison Guebert, who keeps moving up the school's three-point shooting list, the Jackrabbits went 7-of-10 from behind the arc in the third, turning that two-point deficit into a 68-54 lead. Guebert made all four of her long range attempts and finished with a game-high 25 points for SDSU, which hit 13-of-25 on the night.

Great percentages all the way around for the Jackrabbits as they were 48% shooters overall and a nearly-perfect, 18-of-19 from the free-throw line.

Great night for another junior guard, Amber Vidal, who scored 22 points on 9-of-19 shooting to lead Omaha.

Vidal's team pulled the upset in last year's meeting, thanks in large part to 16 three-point field goals. The Mavericks made seven threes in building that halftime lead Wednesday, but were 0-of-4 in the second half.