South Dakota State tops Quinnipiac 76-65
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Macy Miller scored 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead No. 6 seed South Dakota State to a 76-65 win over 11th-seeded Quinnipiac in a first-round game of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
The victory was the 17th straight for the Jackrabbits (27-6), who will meet the winner of the Syracuse-Fordham game on Monday.
Myah Selland chipped in with 14 points and nine boards for South Dakota State and Madison Guebert added 11 points.
Jen Fay led Quinnipiac (26-7) with 25 points and nine rebounds. Paula Strautmane had 15 points. The loss snapped the Bobcats‘ 21-game winning streak.
South Dakota State dominated on the boards, outrebounding Quinnipiac 49-34.
The Jackrabbits held a 41-30 halftime lead, but Fay rallied Quinnipiac in the third quarter, scoring 12 points to close the gap to 58-51 at the end of the period. Fay’s hot hand continued in the fourth, and her lay-in at 3:29 bringing the Bobcats to within 62-59.
Tylee Irwin’s lay-in with 3:20 extended South Dakota State’s lead to 64-59, but Fay connected on another jumper to bring Quinnipiac within 64-61 with 2:59 to go.
Two foul shots by Irwin and a 3 by Miller extended South Dakota State’s lead to eight with 1:31 to go. Miller hit five more foul shots and Selland sank two from the line to secure the victory.
BIG PICTURE
Quinnipiac fought back without much help from their second-leading scorer. Aryn McClure scored just 11 points on 5 of 19 shooting. Nevertheless, it was a great season for the Bobcats, who were a perfect 18-0 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play.
South Dakota State is now 23-1 when holding opponents to 70 points or less, and the Jackrabbits’ toughness showed down the stretch with several key offensive rebounds that kept Quinnipiac at bay.
