KSFY News - Sioux Falls, SD News, Weather, SportsSDSU holds off USD 59-51, wins first battle as Summit rivals

Jill Young scored seven straight points in the waning moments of the game, helping South Dakota State hold off South Dakota, 59-51, in a battle of Summit Leage and in-state rivals Monday night at Frost Arena.

The Jackrabbits improved to 12-7 overall and 7-1 in The Summit League. USD dropped to 10-6 overall, 2-5 in league play.

Trailing 26-23 at halftime, SDSU scored the first eight points of the second half, capped by an Ashley Eide three-pointer two and ahalf minutes into the final stanza.

The Jackrabbits would lead the rest of the way, although there would be some anxious moments down the stretch. A layup by Gabrielle Boever with 11:36 to play gave SDSU its largest lead of the night at 43-32, but the Coyotes' cut the margin back to six less than a minute later on athree-pointer by Tempestt Wilson.

Wilson's fourth three-pointer of the game made it a one-possession game at 50-47 with 3:11 to play.

From there, Young took over. The senior made a driving layup and a jumper from the left wing on consecutive possession, then added threefree throws to push the margin back to eight with less than a minute to play.

USD controlled the action early, jumping out to leads of 8-1 and 11-4 in the first five-plus minutes. Wilson connected on a pair of three-pointers before the Jackrabbits strung together a 12-1 run to take a momentary 16-12 lead. The lead changed hands three more times in the first half, the last time on a basket by Amber Hegge.

Hegge finished with game highs of 20 points, 13 rebounds and four assits. Wilson ended the night with 19 points.

Young was the lone Jackrabbit in double figures with 11. Ashley Eide tallied nine points as part of a balanced offensive attack thatincluded a 21-0 Jackrabbit advantage in bench points. Reserves Katie Lingle and Hannah Strop each scored six points, with Strop hitting a pair of three-pointers in the second half.

The Jackrabbits ended the night 18-of-49 from the field, 36.7 percent, including 5-of-19 from three-point range. SDSU won the game at the free throw line, making 18-of-26 attempts, 69.2 percent, compared to 7-of-13, 53.8 percent, for the Coyotes.

USD finished the game 20-of-52 from the field, 38.5 percent, with a 4-for-21 effort from behind the arc. The Coyotes held a 37-35 rebounding advantage, with Jodie Boss contributing nine boards.

Jennie Sunnarborg, who was held to eight points, pulled down a team-high nine rebounds for SDSU.

The Jackrabbits close out the first half of the SummitLeague schedule Friday night at North Dakota State. Tipoff is set for 7:05 p.m., with television coverage on Midco Sports Net.