2024–25 South Dakota State Jackrabbits women's basketball team

2024–25 South Dakota State Jackrabbits women's basketball
2024–25 South Dakota State Jackrabbits women's basketball
Conference	Summit League
Record	10–2 (0–0 Summit)
Head coach	Aaron Johnston (25th full, 26th overall season);
Assistant coaches	Sadie Thramer (4th season); Macy Miller (1st season); Kacie Jones (1st season); Shelby Selland (4th season); Erika Sage (4th season);
Home arena	First Bank and Trust Arena
	Seasons ← 2023–24 2025–26 →

2024–25 Summit League women's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
South Dakota State	0	–	0	–	10	–	3	.769
Oral Roberts	0	–	0	–	9	–	3	.750
Omaha	0	–	0	–	8	–	5	.615
North Dakota State	0	–	0	–	7	–	5	.583
St. Thomas*	0	–	0	–	7	–	5	.583
Denver	0	–	0	–	7	–	6	.538
South Dakota	0	–	0	–	6	–	8	.429
North Dakota	0	–	0	–	5	–	8	.385
Kansas City	0	–	0	–	3	–	11	.214
* Ineligible for the 2025 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division III

† 2025 Summit League tournament winner As of December 22, 2024

The 2024–25 South Dakota State Jackrabbits women's basketball team represents South Dakota State University in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Jackrabbits are led by twenty-fifth year head coach Aaron Johnston and they compete in the Summit League. They play their home games in First Bank and Trust Arena in Brookings, South Dakota.

Previous season

The Jackrabbits went 27–6 overall and 16–0 in conference play. They finished in first place in the conference during the season and would be the first overall seed for the Summit League tournament. After a bye in the first round, their second round matchup was against ninth seed Omaha and the Jackrabbits made quick work winning 66–53. The semi-finals matchup was against in-state rival and fourth seed South Dakota with the Jackrabbits winning 76–63. The Jackrabbits reached the Summit League tournament finals for the third year in a row and six of the last seven years, this year, against second seed North Dakota State. The Jackrabbits won the Championship 67–54, winning all the Summit League Tournament games by 13 points. With the win in the Summit League tournament, the Jackrabbits would receive and automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. During the selection show, it was announced the Jackrabbits would be placed in the Portland regional 4 as the 12 seed with a first round matchup against Pac-12 opponent Utah. The Utes finished the Jackrabbits season winning 68–54.^[1]

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Notes
Isabel Aesoph	4	G	5'6"	Sophomore	Orient, South Dakota	Left the team
Tori Tollefson	15	G	5'7"	Senior	Chanhassen, Minnesota	Graduated
Tori Nelson	20	F	6'1"	Senior	Mendota Heights, Minnesota	Graduated
Natalie Nielsen	34	F	6'3"	RS-Freshman	Akron, Iowa	Transferred to Southwest Minnesota State^[2]

2024 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Mahli Abdouch G	Sioux Falls, South Dakota	O'Gorman Catholic High School	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)	N/A	Oct 4, 2021
Mahli Abdouch G	Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: 0
Jaidyn Dunn F	Sioux Falls, South Dakota	Thomas Jefferson High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	N/A	May 14, 2022
Jaidyn Dunn F	Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: 0
Emilee Fox G	Mount Vernon, South Dakota	Mount Vernon High School	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	N/A	Oct 7, 2021
Emilee Fox G	Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: 0
Claire Sheppard G/F	Egan, South Dakota	Flandreau High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	N/A	Jun 24, 2022
Claire Sheppard G/F	Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: 0
Katie Vasecka G	Tea, South Dakota	Tea Area High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	N/A	Nov 28, 2021
Katie Vasecka G	Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ESPN grade: 92
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

2024–25 South Dakota State Jackrabbits women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	2	Jenna Hopp	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	So	Glenwood Senior High School	Glenwood, IA
G	3	Madison Mathiowetz	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Jr	St. Mary's High School	Sleepy Eye, MN
G	4	Emilee Fox	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	Fr	Mount Vernon High School	Mount Vernon SD
G	5	Ellie Colbeck	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	Jr	Kennedy Secondary School	Fergus Falls, MN
F	12	Kallie Theisen	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	RS Sr	Wayzata High School	Plymouth, MN
G	13	Haleigh Timmer	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	RS Jr	St. Thomas More High School	Rapid City, SD
G	15	Mahli Abdouch	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	Fr	O'Gorman Catholic High School	Sioux Falls, SD
G	21	Paige Meyer	5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)	Sr	Albany High School	Albany, MN
F	22	Madysen Vlastuin	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	Sr	Lennox High School	Lennox, SD
G	23	Katie Vasecka	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	Fr	Tea Area High School	Tea, SD
F	24	Mesa Byom	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	Sr	Melrose-Mindoro High School	Melrose, WI
G	30	Hilary Behrens	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	RS Fr	Brandon Valley High School	Brandon, SD
F	31	Brooklyn Meyer	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	Jr	West Lyon Community School	Larchwood, IA
G/F	32	Claire Sheppard	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	Fr	Flandreau High School	Egan, SD
F	45	Jaidyn Dunn	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	Fr	Thomas Jefferson High School	Sioux Falls, SD

Head coach

Aaron Johnston (Gustavus Adolphus)

Assistant coach(es)

Sadie Thramer (Wayne State (NE))
Macy Miller (South Dakota State)
Kacie Jones (Wayne State)
Shelby Selland (South Dakota State)
Erika Sage (Northwestern College (IA))

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 30, 2024* 6:00 pm	St. Cloud State	W 77–44	–	First Bank and Trust Arena Brookings, SD
Non-conference regular season
November 4, 2024* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at Rice	W 65–63	1–0	Tudor Fieldhouse (603) Houston, TX
November 8, 2024* 6:00 pm, Summit League Network	No. 21 Creighton	W 76–71	2–0	First Bank and Trust Arena (3,208) Brookings, SD
November 13, 2024* 7:00 pm, SLN	Wisconsin	W 79–57	3–0	First Bank and Trust Arena (3,167) Brookings, SD
November 17, 2024* 2:30 pm, CBSSN	No. 16 Duke	L 71–75	3–1	First Bank and Trust Arena (4,582) Brookings, SD
November 23, 2024* 7:00 pm, BallerTV	vs. Georgia Tech Hawaii North Shore Showcase	L 57–71	3–2	George Q. Cannon Activities Center (425) Lāʻie, HI
November 26, 2024* 7:00 pm, BallerTV	vs. No. 21 Oregon Hawaii North Shore Showcase	W 75–70	4–2	George Q. Cannon Activities Center Lāʻie, HI
December 1, 2024* 12:00 pm, ESPN+	Ball State	W 63–55	5–2	First Bank and Trust Arena (1200) Brookings, SD
December 4, 2024* 7:00 pm, SLN	Eastern Washington Big Sky–Summit Challenge	W 81–58	6–2	First Bank and Trust Arena (2124) Brookings, SD
December 7, 2024* 3:00 pm, ESPN+	at Montana Big Sky–Summit Challenge	W 78–70	7–2	Dahlberg Arena (2031) Missoula, MT
December 11, 2024* 7:00 pm, SLN	Dakota Wesleyan	W 76–48	8–2	First Bank and Trust Arena (1,555) Brookings, SD
December 14, 2024* 2:00 pm, Midco Sports 2/SLN	Northern Iowa	W 68–53	9–2	First Bank and Trust Arena (2,156) Brookings, SD
December 17, 2024* 7:00 pm, SLN	Dakota State	W 84–47	10–2	First Bank and Trust Arena (1,431) Brookings, SD
December 22, 2024* 2:00 pm, SECN+	at No. 6 Texas			Moody Center Austin, TX
Summit League regular season
January 2, 2025 7:00 pm, SLN	at Oral Roberts			Mabee Center Tulsa, OK
January 4, 2025 2:00 pm, SLN	at Denver			Hamilton Gymnasium Denver, CO
January 9, 2025 7:00 pm, SLN	Omaha			First Bank and Trust Arena Brookings, SD
January 11, 2025 2:00 pm, SLN	Kansas City			First Bank and Trust Arena Brookings, SD
January 18, 2025 2:00 pm, SLN	North Dakota			First Bank and Trust Arena Brookings, SD
January 22, 2025 7:00 pm, SLN	at St. Thomas			Schoenecker Arena St. Paul, MN
January 25, 2025 1:00 pm, SLN	at South Dakota			Sanford Coyote Sports Center Vermillion, SD
January 29, 2025 7:00 pm, SLN	North Dakota State			First Bank and Trust Arena Brookings, SD
February 1, 2025 2:00 pm, SLN	at Omaha			Baxter Arena Omaha, NE
February 5, 2025 7:00 pm, SLN	at North Dakota			Betty Engelstad Sioux Center Grand Forks, ND
February 8, 2025 11:00 am, CBSSN	Oral Roberts			First Bank and Trust Arena Brookings, SD
February 12, 2025 7:00 pm, SLN	at North Dakota State			Scheels Center Fargo, ND
February 15, 2025 2:00 pm, SLN	South Dakota			First Bank and Trust Arena Brookings, SD
February 22, 2025 2:00 pm, SLN	at Kansas City			Swinney Recreation Center Kansas City, MO
February 27, 2025 7:00 pm, SLN	Denver			First Bank and Trust Arena Brookings, SD
March 1, 2025 2:00 pm, SLN	St. Thomas			Frost Arena Brookings, SD
Summit League tournament
March 5–9, 2025 SLN/CBSSN	vs. Summit League tournament			Denny Sanford Premier Center Sioux Falls, SD
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time Zone.

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	RV	RV	RV	—	RV	RV	RV
Coaches	RV	25	RV	—	RV	RV	RV

References

^ "Alissa Pili sparks big second half as No. 5 seed Utah tops 12th-seeded South Dakota State 68-54". ESPN.com. March 23, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
^ "WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COMPLETES 2024-25 RECRUITING CLASS". smsumustangs.com. June 20, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.

[1] "Alissa Pili sparks big second half as No. 5 seed Utah tops 12th-seeded South Dakota State 68-54". ESPN.com. March 23, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.

[2] "WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COMPLETES 2024-25 RECRUITING CLASS". smsumustangs.com. June 20, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.

[1]

[2]

v t e South Dakota State Jackrabbits women's basketball
Venues	Frost Arena (1973–present)
Culture & lore	Jack Rabbit "Ring the Bell"
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics