2018–19 South Dakota State Jackrabbits women's basketball team

The 2018–19 South Dakota State Jackrabbits women's basketball team represented South Dakota State University in the 2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Jackrabbits, led by nineteenth year head coach Aaron Johnston, competed in the Summit League. They played home games in Frost Arena in Brookings, South Dakota. They finished the season 28–7, 15–1 in Summit League play to win the Summit League regular season. They were champions of The Summit League women's tournament and earned an automatic trip to the NCAA women's tournament, where they defeated Quinnipiac and upset Syracuse in the first and second rounds to advanced to their first sweet sixteen appearance where they lost to Oregon.

2018–19 South Dakota State Jackrabbits women's basketball
Summit League regular season champions Summit League Tournament Champions
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen
Conference	Summit League
Ranking
Coaches	No. 22
Record	28–7 (15–1 The Summit)
Head coach	Aaron Johnston (19th season)
Assistant coaches	Mike Jewett Carissa Thielbar Megan Lueck
Home arena	Frost Arena

2018–19 Summit League women's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
South Dakota State †	15	–	1		.938			28	–	7		.800
South Dakota	14	–	2		.875			28	–	6		.824
Oral Roberts	10	–	6		.625			18	–	13		.581
Denver	10	–	6		.625			18	–	14		.563
Western Illinois	8	–	8		.500			12	–	18		.400
North Dakota	6	–	10		.375			12	–	19		.387
North Dakota State	4	–	12		.250			7	–	22		.241
Purdue Fort Wayne	3	–	13		.188			7	–	22		.241
Omaha	2	–	14		.125			8	–	21		.276
† 2019 Summit League Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Jackrabbits went 26–7 overall and 12–2 in conference play finishing second. The Jackrabbits won the 2018 Summit League Tournament defeating North Dakota State in the quarterfinals, Western Illinois in the semifinals, and South Dakota in the Summit League Championship 65–50 earning the Jackrabbits an automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.

During the selection show, the Jackrabbits received an 8 seed in the Spokane region facing the Villanova Wildcats, but lost in overtime 81–74.

Roster

2018–19 South Dakota State Jackrabbits women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown G 2 Rylie Cascio Jensen 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Jr Fremont Nebraska Fremont, NE G 3 Lindsey Theuninck 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) RS Fr Mankato Loyola Mankato, MN G 10 Lauren Rongisch 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Fr Millard West HS Omaha, NE G 11 Madison Guebert 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Sr Eastview Apple Valley, MN G 12 Macy Miller (C) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) RS Sr Mitchell Mitchell, SD G 21 Tylee Irwin 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) So Wahpeton Wahpeton, ND F 24 Tagyn Larson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) RS Jr Roosevelt HS Iowa Sioux Falls, SD F 30 Jordan Ferrand 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr White Bear Lake HS Lino Lakes, MN G 32 Sydney Palmer 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Sr T. F. Riggs HS Pierre, SD F 33 Paiton Burckhard 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Fr Central HS Aberdeen, SD F 35 Sydney Stapleton 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Fr Centennial HS Blaine, MN G/F 44 Myah Selland 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) So Sanborn Central/Woonsocket HS Letcher, SD C 50 Megan Bultsma 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Jr Mount Vernon/Plankinton HS Plankinton, SD F 52 Addison Hirschman 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr Kingsley-Pierson HS Kingsley, IA	Head coach Aaron Johnston (Gustavus Adolphus) Assistant coach(es) Mike Jewett (Augustana (SD)) Carissa Thielbar (UW–Superior) Megan Lueck (Minnesota Duluth) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 25, 2018* 7:00 pm		Concorida (Neb.)	W 80–46		Frost Arena (1,213) Brookings, SD
November 1, 2018* 6:00 pm		Mary	W 77–46		Frost Arena (1,341) Brookings, SD
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2018* 11:30 am		at No. 19 Marquette	L 52–91	0–1	Al McGuire Center (2,430) Milwaukee, WI
November 9, 2018* 7:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN3		Florida Gulf Coast	W 80–62	1–1	Frost Arena (1,678) Brookings, SD
November 12, 2018* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Central Michigan	W 80–71	2–1	McGuirk Arena (1,679) Mount Pleasant. MI
November 15, 2018* 7:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN+		Creighton	W 74–48	3–1	Frost Arena (1,713) Brookings, SD
November 23, 2018* 9:30 pm		vs. No. 4 Baylor South Point Shootout	L 66–72	3–2	South Point Events Center (586) Las Vegas, NV
November 24, 2018* 7:00 pm		vs. Buffalo South Point Shootout	L 55–61	3–3	South Point Events Center (477) Las Vegas, NV
November 29, 2018* 7:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN+		Green Bay	W 77–47	4–3	Frost Arena (1,782) Brookings, SD
December 4, 2018* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Chattanooga	W 71–54	5–3	McKenzie Arena (1,279) Chattanooga, TN
December 8, 2018* 2:00 pm		No. 21 Drake	W 80–71	6–3	Frost Arena (1,711) Brookings, SD
December 12, 2018* 7:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN+		No. 7 Oregon	L 79–87	6–4	Frost Arena (2,509) Brookings, SD
December 14, 2018* 7:00 pm		Savannah State	W 97–49	7–4	Frost Arena (922) Brookings, SD
December 18, 2018* 8:00 pm		at Montana State	W 68–67	8–4	Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (1,327) Bozeman, MT
December 20, 2018* 7:30 pm		at Wyoming	L 70–77	8–5	Arena-Auditorium (2,837) Laramie, WY
The Summit League regular season
December 28, 2018 7:00 pm		at Western Illinois	W 93–84	9–5 (1–0)	Western Hall (389) Macomb, IL
January 3, 2019 4:00 pm		at Purdue Fort Wayne	W 85–52	10–5 (2–0)	Memorial Coliseum (529) Fort Wayne, IN
January 6, 2019 1:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN+		at South Dakota	L 98–105 2OT	10–6 (2–1)	Sanford Coyote Sports Center (6,004) Vermillion, SD
January 9, 2019 7:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN+		Denver	W 76–59	11–6 (3–1)	Frost Arena (1,828) Brookings, SD
January 12, 2019 2:00 pm, MidcoSN		Oral Roberts	W 68–55	12–6 (4–1)	Frost Arena (2,829) Brookings, SD
January 18, 2019 7:00 pm, MidcoSN2/ESPN+		at North Dakota	W 66–48	13–6 (5–1)	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,433) Grand Forks, ND
January 23, 2019 7:05 pm, MidcoSN2/ESPN+		North Dakota State	W 86–33	14–6 (6–1)	Frost Arena (1,679) Brookings, SD
January 26, 2019 2:00 pm, MidcoSN2/ESPN3		Omaha	W 81–47	15–6 (7–1)	Frost Arena (3,021) Brookings, SD
January 31, 2019 8:00 pm		at Denver	W 83–67	16–6 (8–1)	Hamilton Gymnasium (457) Denver, CO
February 2, 2019 2:00 pm		at Oral Roberts	W 74–65	17–6 (9–1)	Mabee Center (1,140) Tulsa, OK
February 9, 2019 2:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN3		North Dakota	W 81–58	18–6 (10–1)	Frost Arena (2,734) Brookings, SD
February 13, 2019 7:00 pm, MidcoSN2/ESPN+		at Omaha	W 82–38	19–6 (11–1)	Baxter Arena (625) Omaha, NE
February 16, 2019 1:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN3		at North Dakota State	W 88–48	20–6 (12–1)	Scheels Center (896) Fargo, ND
February 20, 2019 7:00 pm, MidcoSN2/ESPN+		Purdue Fort Wayne	W 92–68	21–6 (13–1)	Frost Arena (1,454) Brookings, SD
February 24, 2019 1:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN+		No. 23 South Dakota	W 80–77 OT	22–6 (14–1)	Frost Arena (2,557) Brookings, SD
March 2, 2019 2:00 pm		Western Illinois	W 100–62	23–6 (15–1)	Frost Arena (3,064) Brookings, SD
The Summit League Women's Tournament
March 9, 2018 12:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN+	(1)	vs. (8) Purdue Fort Wayne Quarterfinals	W 88–50	24–6	Denny Sanford Premier Center  Sioux Falls, SD
March 11, 2018 12:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN+	(1)	vs. (4) Oral Roberts Semifinals	W 86–55	25–6	Denny Sanford Premier Center  Sioux Falls, SD
March 11, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPNU	(1)	vs. (2) South Dakota Championship Game	W 83–71	26–6	Denny Sanford Premier Center  Sioux Falls, SD
NCAA Women's Tournament
March 23, 2019* 10:00 am, ESPN2	(6 P)	vs. (11 P) Quinnipiac First Round	W 76–65	27–6	Carrier Dome  Syracuse, NY
March 25, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPN	(6 P)	at (3 P) No. 12 Syracuse Second Round	W 75–64	28–6	Carrier Dome (2,474) Syracuse, NY
March 29, 2019* 10:30 pm, ESPN2	(6 P)	vs. (2 P) No. 7 Oregon Sweet Sixteen	L 53–63	28–7	Moda Center (11,324) Portland, OR
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. P=Portland Region. All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

2018–19 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings

Regular Season Polls

Poll	Pre- Season	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7	Week 8	Week 9	Week 10	Week 11	Week 12	Week 13	Week 14	Week 15	Week 16	Week 17	Week 18	Week 19	Final
AP	NR	NR	RV	NR	NR	RV	RV	NR	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	N/A
Coaches	NR	NR	RV	NR	NR	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	RV	RV	RV	22

Legend

		Increase in ranking
		Decrease in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
(RV)		Received Votes
(NR)		Not Ranked