Eide's Milestone Keys SDSU Road Win

MACOMB, Ill. — Ashley Eide became the 32nd member of the Jackrabbit 1,000-Point Club, scoring 12 points to help lead South Dakota State to a 61-52 victory Saturday afternoon at Western Illinois in Summit League women's basketball action.

The league-leading Jackrabbits improved to 20-7 overall and 12-2 in The Summit League. Western Illinois dropped to 11-14 overall, 4-8 in league play.

After the two teams traded baskets in the early going, the Jackrabbits took the lead for good with a 15-0 run over a five-minute span of the first half. Gabrielle Boever started the outburst with a three-pointer that gave SDSU an 8-6 lead and reserve forward Rachel Walters connected on a pair of treys.

WIU pulled to within 24-15 later in the first half, but Walters hit her third three-pointer of the half and Tara Heiser added threefree throws to push the margin to 34-18 at halftime.

The Jackrabbits upped their lead to 20 points early in the second half on an Eide basket. A senior guard from Sioux Falls, Eide made afree throw at the 15:32 mark of the second half for her 1,000^th career point.

SDSU maintained a comfortable lead until hitting a scoring drought that lasted more than six minutes with a point and nearly eight minutes without a field goal before Eide stemmed the tide with a traditional three-point play. The Jackrabbits’ inability to score allowed Western Illinois to trim the deficit to single digits with a little more than two minutes toplay.

The Jackrabbits made 7-of-8 free throw attempts in the final 91 seconds to seal the victory. Boever was 4-for-4 at the strip down the stretch to finish with a team-high 13 points. Eide was the only other Jackrabbit in double figures with a dozen.

For the game, SDSU shot 18-of-54 from the field, 33 percent, including 5-of-14 from three-point range. The Jackrabbits held a big advantage at the free throw line, making 20-of-29 attempts for 69 percent, while Western Illinois 9-of-13, 75 percent.

The Fighting Leathernecks ended the afternoon 19-of-56 from the field, 41.4 percent, including 5-of-23 from behind the arc. Saule Kontautaite led all players with 16 points. Ashley Luke and Jackie Rieger chipped in with 11 and 10 points respectively.

SDSU held a 46-32 rebounding advantage, led by Leah Dietel’s game-high eight boards.

The Jackrabbits close out the home season Thursday night by hosting Omaha. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Frost Arena. The senior class ofDietel, Eide and Katie Lingle will be honored prior to the game.

NOTES: SDSU leads the all-time series, 12-1, which dates back to the 2007-08 season … the Jackrabbits have won the last 12 meetings … the Jackrabbits recorded their 16^th 20-win season in program history and seventh in nine seasons at the Division I level … SDSU has held a double-digit rebounding advantage in eight of its 14 Summit League games … the Jackrabbits held a 24-9 edge in bench points, with Walters leading the way with nine … Katie Lingle scored seven points and Tara Heiser added six points — all at the free throw line — off the bench … Eide scored in double figures for the 20^th time this season … Boever reached double figures for the fifth time in the last eight games … Eide finished the day with 1,003 career points, tying her with Sarita DeBoer (1,003 points from 2002-05) for 31^st place on the Jackrabbit career scoring chart … attendance was 848 at Western Hall

-Courtesy SDSU Athletics