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

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.

### 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 |

### 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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. ||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | 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 (1,200) 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 (2,124) Brookings, SD |
| December 7, 2024* 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Montana Big Sky–Summit Challenge | W 78–70 | 7–2 | Dahlberg Arena (2,031) 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 | L 57–103 | 10–3 | Moody Center (7,020) Austin, TX |
| Summit League regular season ||||||
| January 2, 2025 7:00 pm, SLN | | at Oral Roberts | W 81–76 | 11–3 (1–0) | Mabee Center (2,891) Tulsa, OK |
| January 4, 2025 2:00 pm, SLN | | at Denver | W 79–42 | 12–3 (2–0) | Hamilton Gymnasium (553) Denver, CO |
| January 9, 2025 7:00 pm, SLN | | Omaha | W 93–55 | 13–3 (3–0) | First Bank and Trust Arena (2,074) Brookings, SD |
| January 11, 2025 2:00 pm, SLN | | Kansas City | W 78–61 | 14–3 (4–0) | First Bank and Trust Arena (2,848) Brookings, SD |
| January 18, 2025 2:00 pm, SLN | | North Dakota | W 87–73 | 15–3 (5–0) | First Bank and Trust Arena (3,129) Brookings, SD |
| January 22, 2025 7:00 pm, SLN | | at St. Thomas | W 83–76 | 16–3 (6–0) | Schoenecker Arena (733) St. Paul, MN |
| January 25, 2025 1:00 pm, SLN | | at South Dakota | W 77–59 | 17–3 (7–0) | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (2,956) Vermillion, SD |
| January 29, 2025 7:00 pm, SLN | | North Dakota State | W 63–55 | 18–3 (8–0) | First Bank and Trust Arena (4,156) Brookings, SD |
| February 1, 2025 2:00 pm, SLN | | at Omaha | W 93–63 | 19–3 (9–0) | Baxter Arena (930) Omaha, NE |
| February 5, 2025 7:00 pm, SLN | | at North Dakota | W 66–45 | 20–3 (10–0) | Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,529) Grand Forks, ND |
| February 8, 2025 11:00 am, CBSSN | | Oral Roberts | W 89–71 | 21–3 (11–0) | First Bank and Trust Arena (2,631) Brookings, SD |
| February 12, 2025 7:00 pm, SLN | | at North Dakota State | W 68–53 | 22–3 (12–0) | Scheels Center (1,158) Fargo, ND |
| February 15, 2025 2:00 pm, SLN | | South Dakota | W 71–61 | 23–3 (13–0) | First Bank and Trust Arena (4,214) Brookings, SD |
| February 22, 2025 2:00 pm, SLN | | at Kansas City | W 80–60 | 24–3 (14–0) | Swinney Recreation Center (714) Kansas City, MO |
| February 27, 2025 7:00 pm, SLN | | Denver | W 71–37 | 25–3 (15–0) | First Bank and Trust Arena (2,784) Brookings, SD |
| March 1, 2025 2:00 pm, SLN | | St. Thomas | W 79–46 | 26–3 (16–0) | Frost Arena (4,082) Brookings, SD |
| Summit League tournament ||||||
| March 6, 2025* 2:30 pm, SLN | (1) No. 25 | vs. (8) Omaha Quarterfinals | W 87–67 | 27–3 | Denny Sanford Premier Center (7,195) Sioux Falls, SD |
| March 8, 2025* 12:00 pm, SLN | (1) No. 25 | vs. (5) North Dakota Semifinals | W 84–55 | 28–3 | Denny Sanford Premier Center Sioux Falls, SD |
| March 9, 2025* 3:00 pm, CBSSN | (1) No. 25 | vs. (2) Oral Roberts Championship | W 84–68 | 29–3 | Denny Sanford Premier Center Sioux Falls, SD |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 21, 2025* 2:30 pm, ESPN2 | (10 S4) No. 24 | vs. (7 S4) No. 17 Oklahoma State First round | | | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| *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 т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | 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 | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 24 | 24 | |
| Coaches | RV | 25 | RV | — | RV | RV | RV | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 24т | 23 | 23 | |