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

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

## Previous season

The Jackrabbits went 21–4 overall and 14–0 in conference play, 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 Syracuse, to whom they lost 55–72.

### Departures

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

### 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 |
Source:

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 27, 2021* 7:00 p.m. | | St. Cloud State | W 60–45 | 0–0 | Frost Arena Brookings, SD |
| November 4, 2021* 7:00 p.m. | | Concordia-St. Paul | W 71–46 | 0–0 | Frost Arena Brookings, SD |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 9, 2021* 6:00 p.m., MIDCOSN | | Green Bay | W 70–49 | 1–0 | Frost Arena (1,652) Brookings, SD |
| November 12, 2021* 6:00 p.m., SECN+ | | at Mississippi State | L 71–76 | 1–1 | Humphrey Coliseum (4,720) Starkville, MS |
| November 15, 2021* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+/Big12 | | at No. 14 Iowa State | L 56–75 | 1–2 | Hilton Coliseum Ames, IA |
| November 18, 2021* 6:00 p.m., MIDCOSN | | Montana State | W 78–49 | 2–2 | Frost Arena (1,262) Brookings, SD |
| November 21, 2021* 7:00 p.m. | | at Creighton | L 55–67 | 2–3 | D. J. Sokol Arena (864) Omaha, NE |
| November 26, 2021* 10:00 a.m., Flo Hoops | | vs. UMass Gulf Coast Showcase first round | L 63–81 | 2–4 | Hertz Arena (143) Estero, FL |
| November 27, 2021* 10:00 a.m., 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 p.m., Flo Sports | | vs. Charlotte Gulf Coast Showcase 5th-place game | Canceled | Canceled | Hertz Arena Estero, FL |
| December 4, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Northern Iowa | L 50–59 | 3–5 | McLeod Center (636) Cedar Falls, IA |
| December 6, 2021* 7:00 p.m., MIDCOSN 2 | | Missouri State | L 52–55 | 3–6 | Frost Arena (1,149) Brookings, SD |
| December 11, 2021* 2:00 p.m., MIDCOSN | | Kansas State | L 73–79 | 3–7 | Frost Arena (768) Brookings, SD |
| December 15, 2021* 7:00 p.m. | | Dakota Wesleyan | W 90–43 | 4–7 | Frost Arena (612) Brookings, SD |
| Summit League regular season ||||||
| December 20, 2021 6:00 p.m. | | at Kansas City | W 85–78 | 5–7 (1–0) | Municipal Auditorium (767) Kansas City, MO |
| December 22, 2021 5:00 p.m. | | at Oral Roberts | W 71–51 | 6–7 (2–0) | Mabee Center (1,468) Tulsa, OK |
| December 30, 2021 5:00 p.m., MIDCOSN 2 | | North Dakota State | W 77–60 | 7–7 (3–0) | Frost Arena (1,563) Brookings, SD |
| January 1, 2022 2:00 p.m., MIDCOSN | | North Dakota | W 72–54 | 8–7 (4–0) | Frost Arena (1,230) Brookings, SD |
| January 8, 2022 1:00 p.m., MIDCOSN | | at South Dakota | L 42–65 | 8–8 (4–1) | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (3,513) Vermillion, SD |
| January 13, 2022 5:00 p.m. | | at Omaha | W 72–49 | 9–8 (5–1) | Baxter Arena Omaha, NE |
| January 15, 2022 3:00 p.m. | | at Denver | W 87–43 | 10–8 (6–1) | Hamilton Gymnasium (191) Denver, CO |
| January 20, 2022 7:00 p.m., MIDCOSN 2 | | St. Thomas #BEATTYPE1 | W 88–47 | 11–8 (7–1) | Frost Arena (1,220) Brookings, SD |
| January 22, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Western Illinois | W 114–50 | 12–8 (8–1) | Frost Arena (1,506) Brookings, SD |
| January 27, 2022 7:00 p.m., 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 p.m., ESPN+ | | at North Dakota State | W 76–60 | 14–8 (10–1) | Scheels Center (841) Fargo, ND |
| February 5, 2022 2:00 p.m., 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 p.m., ESPN+ | | Denver Pink Game | W 79–52 | 16–8 (12–1) | Frost Arena (1,643) Brookings, SD |
| February 12, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Omaha Pork Classic | W 77–62 | 17–8 (13–1) | Frost Arena (3,128) Brookings, SD |
| February 17, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Western Illinois | W 84–54 | 18–8 (14–1) | Western Hall Macomb, IL |
| February 19, 2022 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at St. Thomas | W 83–42 | 19–8 (15–1) | Schoenecker Arena Saint Paul, MN |
| February 24, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Oral Roberts | W 84–48 | 20–8 (16–1) | Frost Arena (1,363) Brookings, SD |
| February 26, 2022 2:00 p.m. | | 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 p.m., 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 p.m., 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 p.m., 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 p.m., MIDCO | | Ohio First round | W 87–57 | 24–9 | Frost Arena (1,774) Brookings, SD |
| March 20, 2022* 2:00 p.m., MIDCO | | Minnesota Second round | W 78–57 | 25–9 | Frost Arena (2,678) Brookings, SD |
| March 24, 2022* 7:00 p.m., MIDCO | | Drake Third round | W 84–66 | 26–9 | Frost Arena (3,114) Brookings, SD |
| March 27, 2022* 5:00 p.m., MIDCO / ESPN3 | | Alabama Quarterfinals | W 78–73 | 27–9 | Frost Arena (4,268) Brookings, SD |
| March 31, 2022* 7:00 p.m., MIDCO / ESPN3 | | UCLA Semifinals | W 62–59 | 28–9 | Frost Arena (5,227) Brookings, SD |
| April 2, 2022* 2:00 p.m., 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. ||||||
Source:

## Rankings

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
* All-Summit League Team
    Myah Selland, First team
    Paige Meyer, Second team
    Paiton Burckhard, Honorable Mention
    Tylee Irwin, Honorable Mention
    Tori Nelson, Honorable Mention
* Summit League All-Defensive Team
    Tylee Irwin
* Summit League All-Newcomer Team
    Paige Meyer
* WNIT Most Valuable Player
    Myah Selland
* WNIT All-Tournament Team
    Myah Selland
    Haleigh Timmer