# 2017–18 South Dakota State Jackrabbits women's basketball team

The 2017–18 South Dakota State Jackrabbits women's basketball team represent South Dakota State University in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Jackrabbits, led by eighteenth year head coach Aaron Johnston. The Jackrabbits compete in the Summit League. They play home games in Frost Arena, in Brookings, South Dakota. They finished the season 26–7, 12–2 in Summit League play to finish in second place. They were champions of The Summit League women's tournament and earn an automatic trip to the NCAA women's tournament where they lost to Villanova in an overtime thriller in the first round.

## Previous season

The 2016–17 South Dakota State Jackrabbits women's basketball team went 23-9 overall and 12-4 in conference. The Jackrabbits lost in the 2017 Summit League women's basketball tournament to IUPUI not qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. As a result of not qualifying, the Jackrabbits made it to the 2017 WNIT.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 26, 2017* 7:00 pm | | MSU-Moorhead | W 93–58 | | Frost Arena (1,204) Brookings, SD |
| November 2, 2017* 6:00 pm | | Northern State | W 71–59 | | Frost Arena (1,542) Brookings, SD |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 10, 2017* 6:00 pm | | NJIT | W 92–48 | 1–0 | Frost Arena (2,169) Brookings, SD |
| November 12, 2017* 1:00 pm | | at George Washington | W 97–88 $^{OT}$ | 2-0 | Charles E. Smith Center (1,135) Washington, D.C. |
| November 15, 2017* 7:00 pm, MidcoSN2/ESPN3 | | North Dakota | W 66–52 | 3–0 | Frost Arena (1,646) Brookings, SD |
| November 18, 2017* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Green Bay | L 41–55 | 3–1 | Kress Events Center (2,026) Green Bay, WI |
| November 24, 2017* 1:30 pm | | vs. NC State Puerto Rico Clasico | W 75–67 | 4–1 | Cardinal Gibbons Arena (132) Fort Lauderdale, FL |
| November 25, 2017* 1:30 pm | | vs. Charlotte Puerto Rico Clasico | W 71–70 | 5–1 | Cardinal Gibbons Arena (158) Fort Lauderdale, FL |
| November 30, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Northern Iowa | W 57–47 | 6–1 | Frost Arena (1,760) Brookings, SD |
| December 3, 2017* 2:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN3 | | No. 4 Louisville | L 64–68 | 6–2 | Frost Arena (2,506) Brookings, SD |
| December 6, 2017* 7:00 pm, MidcoSN2/ESPN3 | | Oklahoma | W 67–61 | 7–2 | Frost Arena (2,068) Brookings, SD |
| December 9, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Bowling Green | W 76–44 | 8-2 | Frost Arena (1,771) Brookings, SD |
| December 15, 2017* 4:00 pm | | at Creighton | L 65-72 | 8–3 | D. J. Sokol Arena (780) Omaha, NE |
| December 17, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Drake | W 85–78 | 9–3 | Knapp Center (2,309) Des Moines, IA |
| December 20, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Wichita State | W 96–64 | 10–3 | Frost Arena (1,486) Brookings, SD |
| December 29, 2017* 6:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Florida Gulf Coast | L 78–87 | 10–4 | Alico Arena (2,234) Fort Myers, FL |
| January 3, 2018 7:00 pm, MidcoSN2/ESPN3 | | Omaha | W 89–64 | 11–4 (1–0) | Frost Arena (1,523) Brookings, SD |
| January 6, 2018 2:00 pm | | North Dakota State | W 83–63 | 12–4 (2–0) | Frost Arena (1,989) Brookings, SD |
| January 11, 2018 8:00 pm | | at Denver | W 69–58 | 13–4 (3–0) | Hamilton Gymnasium (481) Denver, CO |
| January 13, 2018 2:00 pm | | at Oral Roberts | W 77–70 | 14–4 (4–0) | Mabee Center (1,158) Tulsa, OK |
| January 16, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Dakota Wesleyan | W 76–63 | 15–4 | Frost Arena (1,430) Brookings, SD |
| January 20, 2018 2:00 pm | | Western Illinois | W 84–48 | 16–4 (5–0) | Frost Arena (2,129) Brookings, SD |
| January 25, 2018 7:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN3 | | South Dakota | L 61–67 | 16–5 (5–1) | Frost Arena (3,091) Brookings, SD |
| January 27, 2018 2:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN3 | | Fort Wayne | W 105–49 | 17–5 (6–1) | Frost Arena (2,881) Brookings, SD |
| February 1, 2018 7:00 pm, MidcoSN2/ESPN3 | | at North Dakota State | W 85–64 | 18–5 (7–1) | Scheels Center (1,920) Fargo, ND |
| February 3, 2018 1:00 pm | | at Omaha | W 103–54 | 19–5 (8–1) | Baxter Arena (1,383) Omaha, NE |
| February 8, 2018 7:00 pm | | Denver Pink Game | W 95–59 | 20–5 (9–1) | Frost Arena (1,543) Brookings, SD |
| February 10, 2018 2:00 pm | | Oral Roberts | W 96–72 | 21–5 (10–1) | Frost Arena (2,403) Brookings, SD |
| February 17, 2018 4:30 pm | | at Western Illinois | W 70–42 | 22–5 (11–1) | Western Hall (1,139) Macomb, IL |
| February 21, 2018 7:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN3 | | at South Dakota | L 75–80 | 22–6 (11–2) | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (4,018) Vermillion, SD |
| February 24, 2018 2:00 pm | | at Fort Wayne | W 77–55 | 23–6 (12–2) | Hilliard Gates Sports Center (1,052) Fort Wayne, IN |
| The Summit League women's tournament ||||||
| March 3, 2018 2:30 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN3 | (2) | vs. (7) North Dakota State Quarterfinals | W 87–62 | 24–6 | Denny Sanford Premier Center (8,944) Sioux Falls, SD |
| March 5, 2018 2:30 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN3 | (2) | vs. (3) Western Illinois Semifinals | W 80–51 | 25–6 | Denny Sanford Premier Center (6,424) Sioux Falls, SD |
| March 6, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPNU | (2) | vs. (1) South Dakota Championship | W 65–50 | 26–6 | Denny Sanford Premier Center (8,704) Sioux Falls, SD |
| NCAA Women's tournament ||||||
| March 16, 2018* 6:30 pm, ESPN2 | (9 S) | vs. (8 S) Villanova First Round | L 74–81 $^{OT}$ | 26–7 | Edmund P. Joyce Center (4,431) South Bend, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||

## Rankings

2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings
Legend :
| | Increase in ranking |
| | Decrease in ranking |
| | Not ranked previous week |
| (RV) | Received Votes |
| (NR) | Not Ranked |