2021–22 South Dakota State Jackrabbits women's basketball team

The 2021–22 South Dakota State Jackrabbits women's basketball represented South Dakota State University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Jackrabbits, led by twenty-second year head coach Aaron Johnston, compete in the Summit League. They played their home games in Frost Arena in Brookings, South Dakota.

2021–22 South Dakota State Jackrabbits women's basketball
Summit League regular season co-champions
2022 WNIT Champions
Conference	Summit League
Record	29–9 (17–1 The Summit)
Head coach	Aaron Johnston (22nd full, 23rd overall season)
Assistant coaches	Carissa Thielbar Megan Lueck Sadie Thramer
Home arena	Frost Arena
Seasons ← 2020–21 2022–23 →

2021–22 Summit League women's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
South Dakota State	17	–	1		.944			29	–	9		.763
South Dakota †	17	–	1		.944			29	–	6		.829
Kansas City	12	–	6		.667			23	–	9		.719
Oral Roberts	10	–	8		.556			16	–	15		.516
North Dakota	9	–	9		.500			15	–	15		.500
North Dakota State	7	–	11		.389			11	–	18		.379
Western Illinois	5	–	12		.294			14	–	15		.483
Denver	5	–	13		.278			10	–	20		.333
St. Thomas*	4	–	14		.222			7	–	21		.250
Omaha	3	–	14		.176			7	–	19		.269
* Ineligible for the 2022 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division III
† 2022 Summit League Tournament winner

Previous season

The Jackrabbits went 21–4 overall and 14–0 in conference play,^[1] finishing first in the Summit League.

South Dakota State lost in the quarterfinals in an upset to #8 seed Omaha, but still qualified for the 2021 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament as an at-large bid.

In the 2021 NCAA Tournament, the Jacks received a nine seed in the River Walk Regional and played the Syracuse Orange. They would end up losing to the Orange 55–72.

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Notes
Emily Herzberg	4	G	6'0"	Freshman	Melrose, WI	Transferred to Minnesota State^[2]

Additions

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Notes
Paige Meyer	2	G	5'6"	Freshman	Albany, MN	Signed for the 2021-22 season
Haleigh Timmer	13	G	5'11"	Freshman	Rapid City, SD	Signed for the 2021-22 season

^[3]

Roster

2021–22 South Dakota State Jackrabbits women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown G 2 Paige Meyer 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Fr Albany High School Albany, MN G 3 Lindsey Theuninck 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) RS Jr Mankato Loyola Mankato, MN G 10 Lauren Rongisch 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) RS Sr Millard West HS Omaha, NE G 11 Haley Greer 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) GS New Trier HS Colgate Winnetka, IL F 12 Kallie Theisen 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) So Wayzata High School Plymouth, MN G 13 Haleigh Timmer 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Fr St. Thomas More High School Rapid City, SD F 20 Tori Nelson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) So Henry Sibley High School Mendota Heights, MN G 21 Tylee Irwin 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Sr Wahpeton Wahpeton, ND F 22 Madysen Vlastuin 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Fr Lennox HS Lennox, SD F 24 Mesa Byom 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr Melrose-Mindoro HS Melrose, WI F 33 Paiton Burckhard 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Jr Central HS Aberdeen, SD F 42 Regan Nesheim 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) RS So Johnston High School Johnston, IA G/F 44 Myah Selland 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) RS Jr Sanborn Central/Woonsocket HS Letcher, SD C 52 Addison Hirschman 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Sr Kingsley-Pierson HS Kingsley, IA	Head coach Aaron Johnston (Gustavus Adolphus) Assistant coach(es) Carissa Thielbar (UW–Superior) Megan Lueck (Minnesota Duluth) Sadie Thramer (Wayne State (MI)) 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 27, 2021* 7:00 pm		St. Cloud State	W 60–45	0–0	Frost Arena  Brookings, SD
November 4, 2021* 7:00 pm		Concordia-St. Paul	W 71–46	0–0	Frost Arena  Brookings, SD
Non-conference regular season
November 9, 2021* 6:00 pm, MIDCOSN		Green Bay	W 70–49	1–0	Frost Arena (1,652) Brookings, SD
November 12, 2021* 6:00 pm, SECN+		at Mississippi State	L 71–76	1–1	Humphrey Coliseum (4,720) Starkville, MS
November 15, 2021* 6:30 pm, ESPN+/Big12		at No. 14 Iowa State	L 56–75	1–2	Hilton Coliseum  Ames, IA
November 18, 2021* 6:00 pm, MIDCOSN		Montana State	W 78–49	2–2	Frost Arena (1,262) Brookings, SD
November 21, 2021* 7:00 pm		at Creighton	L 55–67	2–3	D. J. Sokol Arena (864) Omaha, NE
November 26, 2021* 10:00 am, Flo Hoops		vs. UMass Gulf Coast Showcase First Round	L 63–81	2–4	Hertz Arena (143) Estero, FL
November 27, 2021* 10:00 am, Flo Hoops		vs. No. 19 UCLA Gulf Coast Showcase Consolation	W 76–66	3–4	Hertz Arena (213) Estero, FL
November 28, 2021* 1:30 pm, Flo Sports		vs. Charlotte Gulf Coast Showcase 5th place	Canceled^[4]		Hertz Arena  Estero, FL
December 4, 2021* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Northern Iowa	L 50–59	3–5	McLeod Center (636) Cedar Falls, IA
December 6, 2021* 7:00 pm, MIDCOSN 2		Missouri State	L 52–55	3–6	Frost Arena (1,149) Brookings, SD
December 11, 2021* 2:00 pm, MIDCOSN		Kansas State	L 73–79	3–7	Frost Arena (768) Brookings, SD
December 15, 2021* 7:00 pm		Dakota Wesleyan	W 90–43	4–7	Frost Arena (612) Brookings, SD
Summit League regular season
December 20, 2021 6:00 pm		at Kansas City	W 85–78	5–7 (1–0)	Municipal Auditorium (767) Kansas City, MO
December 22, 2021 5:00 pm		at Oral Roberts	W 71–51	6–7 (2–0)	Mabee Center (1,468) Tulsa, OK
December 30, 2021 5:00 pm, MIDCOSN 2		North Dakota State	W 77–60	7–7 (3–0)	Frost Arena (1,563) Brookings, SD
January 1, 2022 2:00 pm, MIDCOSN		North Dakota	W 72–54	8–7 (4–0)	Frost Arena (1,230) Brookings, SD
January 8, 2022 1:00 pm, MIDCOSN		at South Dakota	L 42–65	8–8 (4–1)	Sanford Coyote Sports Center (3,513) Vermillion, SD
January 13, 2022 5:00 pm		at Omaha	W 72–49	9–8 (5–1)	Baxter Arena  Omaha, NE
January 15, 2022 3:00 pm		at Denver	W 87–43	10–8 (6–1)	Hamilton Gymnasium (191) Denver, CO
January 20, 2022 7:00 pm, MIDCOSN 2		St. Thomas #BEATTYPE1	W 88–47	11–8 (7–1)	Frost Arena (1,220) Brookings, SD
January 22, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Western Illinois	W 114–50	12–8 (8–1)	Frost Arena (1,506) Brookings, SD
January 27, 2022 7:00 pm, MIDCOSN 2		at North Dakota	W 75–49	13–8 (9–1)	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,287) Grand Forks, ND
January 29, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at North Dakota State	W 76–60	14–8 (10–1)	Scheels Center (841) Fargo, ND
February 5, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN+		South Dakota South Dakota Showdown Series	W 75–65	15–8 (11–1)	Frost Arena (3,549) Brookings, SD
February 10, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Denver Pink Game	W 79–52	16–8 (12–1)	Frost Arena (1,643) Brookings, SD
February 12, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN3		Omaha Pork Classic	W 77–62	17–8 (13–1)	Frost Arena (3,128) Brookings, SD
February 17, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Western Illiois	W 84–54	18–8 (14–1)	Western Hall  Macomb IL
February 19, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at St. Thomas	W 83–42	19–8 (15–1)	Schoenecker Arena  Saint Paul, MN
February 24, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Oral Roberts	W 84–48	20–8 (16–1)	Frost Arena (1,363) Brookings, SD
February 26, 2022 2:00 pm		Kansas City Senior Day	W 94–62	21–8 (17–1)	Frost Arena (2,059) Brookings, SD
Summit League Women's Tournament (2–1)
March 5, 2022 12:30 pm, MIDCO/ESPN+	(1)	vs. (8) Denver Quarterfinals	W 86–59	22–8	Denny Sanford Premier Center (8,075) Sioux Falls, SD
March 6, 2022 12:30 pm, MIDCO/ESPN+	(1)	vs. (4) Oral Roberts Semifinals	W 72–53	23–8	Denny Sanford Premier Center (6,518) Sioux Falls, SD
March 5, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPNU	(1)	vs. (2) South Dakota Championship	L 45–56	23–9	Denny Sanford Premier Center (8,117) Sioux Falls, SD
National Invitational Tournament (5–0)
March 17, 2022* 8:00 pm, MIDCO		Ohio First round	W 87–57	24–9	Frost Arena (1,774) Brookings, SD
March 20, 2022* 2:00 pm, MIDCO		Minnesota Second round	W 78–57	25–9	Frost Arena (2,678) Brookings, SD
March 24, 2022* 7:00 pm, MIDCO		Drake Third round	W 84–66	26–9	Frost Arena (3,114) Brookings, SD
March 27, 2022* 5:00 pm, MIDCO / ESPN3		Alabama Quarterfinals	W 78–73	27–9	Frost Arena (4,268) Brookings, SD
March 31, 2022* 7:00 pm, MIDCO / ESPN3		UCLA Semifinals	W 62–59	28–9	Frost Arena (5,227) Brookings, SD
April 2, 2022* 2:00 pm, CBSSN		Seton Hall Championship	W 82–50	29–9	Frost Arena (5,263) Brookings, SD
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Source:^[5]

Rankings

2021–22 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	Final
AP	RV	NR	NR	NR													RV
Coaches	RV	*	NR	NR											RV	RV

Legend

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

Honors

Summit League Player of the Week

• December 27, 2021 – Paige Meyer
• February 14, 2022 – Myah Selland

Postseason awards

• Summit League Coach of the Year

  Aaron Johnston^[6]

• All-Summit League Team

  Myah Selland, First team^[6]

  Paige Meyer, Second team^[6]

  Paiton Burckhard, Honorable Mention ^[6]

  Tylee Irwin, Honorable Mention ^[6]

  Tori Nelson, Honorable Mention ^[6]

• Summit League All-Defensive Team

  Tylee Irwin^[6]

• Summit League All-Newcomer Team

  Paige Meyer^[6]

• WNIT Most Valuable Player

  Myah Selland^[7]

• WNIT All-Tournament Team

  Myah Selland^[7]

  Haleigh Timmer^[7]

References

1. "2020-21 South Dakota State schedule". South Dakota State University Athletics.
2. "Mavericks Add Transfer Emily Herzberg". Minnesota State University Athletics. December 13, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
3. "Two Sign with Sdsu Women's Basketball".
4. "SOUTH DAKOTA STATE VS. CHARLOTTE CANCELED". South Dakota State University Athletics. November 28, 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2021.
5. "2021-22 Women's Basketball Schedule". South Dakota State University Athletics. June 16, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
6. "South Dakota's Lamb garners #SummitWBB Player of the Year honor". thesummitleague.org. March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
7. "South Dakota State in control start-to-finish, wins 2022 Postseason WNIT title". womensnit.com. April 2, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022.