SDSU women drop road test at top-ranked South Carolina
COLUMBIA, S.D. — The South Dakota State women got a taste of the best team in the nation on Monday night.
In a road test at No. 1 South Carolina, the Jackrabbits fell to the Gamecocks 78-38, in front of 14,799 people at Colonial Life Arena.
Brooklyn Meyer accounted for half of SDSU’s points, matching her career high of 19 points on a 9-of-21 shooting effort while grabbing 10 rebounds. Tori Nelson had nine points on 4-of-10 shooting, and Mesa Byom had five points on 2-of-8 shooting.
The Jacks started hot, taking an 11-6 lead in the first quarter following a Madison Mathiowetz layup. Soon, though, South Carolina took over, outscoring the Jacks 11-2 to end the quarter with a 17-13 lead.
With 6:41 left in the half, SDSU cut the lead to 21-18, but South Carolina surged to a 15-4 run before halftime to lead 36-22. The score piled on from there, as the Jacks scored just four points in the opening six minutes of the third quarter, and the Gamecocks’ offense continued to roll.
SDSU finished just 27.4 percent from the field, while South Carolina shot 43 percent. Gamecock center Kamilla Cardoso led all scorers with 23 points, and Raven Johnson added 18 points.
The Jacks (2-2) return to Brookings to host South Carolina State at 6 p.m. Friday at Frost Arena.
