MONDAY, MARCH 4:

SUMMIT MEN’S BRACKET…South Dakota State will enter The Summit League Men's Basketball Championship as the top seed for the first time in its history.
   The Jackrabbits (22-9, 13-3) earned their first Summit League regular season title since joining the league. SDSU takes on No. 8 IUPUI (6-25, 1-15) in the first quarterfinal on Saturday, March 9 at 6 p.m. CT.  The second quarterfinal of the night features No. 2 seed Western Illinois (21-7, 13-3), and No. 7 South Dakota (10-19, 5-11) at 8:30 p.m.
   Quarterfinal play resumes Sunday with No. 4 Oakland (16-15, 10-6) vs. No. 5 Fort Wayne (15-16, 7-9) at 6 p.m. The second game of the evening, and last quarterfinal game to be played, pits No. 3 North Dakota State (22-8, 12-4) against No. 6 Kansas City (8-23, 5-11) at 8:30 p.m.

SUMMIT WOMEN’S BRACKET…South Dakota State University enters The Summit League Women's Basketball Championship as the top seed for the second consecutive year, looking for its record fifth-straight title.
   SDSU takes on No. 8 Oakland (9-19, 3-13) in the first quarterfinal on Saturday at Noon CT. The second quarterfinal of the day features No. 2 seed IUPUI (19-10, 12-4) and No. 7 Kansas City (9-20, 5-11) at 2:30 p.m
   Quarterfinal play resumes Sunday with No. 4 Fort Wayne (12-16, 8-8) vs. No. 5 Western Illinois (14-15, 7-9) at Noon CT. The second game of the afternoon, and last quarterfinal game to be played, pits No. 3 South Dakota (15-14, 10-6) against No. 6 North Dakota State (10-18, 6-10) at 2:30 p.m.

SDSU WBB…South Dakota State dominated the final 11 minutes of the first half and cruised to a 94-70 victory at North Dakota State in the Summit League women’s basketball regular season finale for both teams Saturday night.
   Ashley Eide scored seven consecutive points, including a pair of three-pointers, and Rachel Walters added a triple to complete another 10-0 spurt as SDSU built the lead to 41-20 in the first half.
   Eide paced four Jackrabbit players in double figures with 22. Mariah Clarin scored a career-high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field, followed by 15 from Megan Waytashek. Katie Lingle rounded out the double-figure scorers for SDSU with 13 points.
   Leah Dietel hauled in a team-high nine rebounds to pace the Jackrabbits’ 40-30 advantage on the boards.
Dani DeGagne did her best to keep the Bison within striking distance, posting a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Jamie VanKirk finished with 19 points.

SF CHRISTIAN GBB…Members of the Sioux Falls Christian high school girls basketball team say they accomplished what their late teammate would have wanted.  The Chargers are going to state.
   Sioux Falls Christian defeated Madison 62-32 Saturday to win the South Dakota Region 3A championship in the school's first game since teammate Alyssa Vollmer and three family members died in a one-vehicle crash.
   The Feb. 23 accident killed Alyssa's parents, James and Julie, and her 13-year-old brother, Caleb, a Chargers football player.
The Charger girls honored Alyssa and Caleb by wearing bright green t-shirts that displayed her basketball number and his football number. The shirts read, "We Will Always Remember The Vollmer Family."
   Jim and Julie Vollmer were both North Dakota natives. He grew up in Bismarck and she grew up in Kenmare.

STATE GBB BRACKETS…Pairings are set for the state high school girls basketball tournaments that start on Thursday.
“AA”-Rushmore Plaza, Rapid City
1:00pm:   Aberdeen Central (20-1) vs. Sturgis (9-14)
2:45pm:   Sioux Falls Roosevelt (16-6) vs. Sioux Falls Lincoln (14-8)
7:00pm:   Sioux Falls Washington (20-2) vs. Sioux Falls O’Gorman (14-9)
8:45pm:   Mitchell (20-3) vs. Rapid City Central (14-7)

“A”-Watertown Civic Arena
Noon:    Harrisburg (22-1) vs. Sioux Falls Christian (16-7)
1:45pm:   Clark/Willow Lake (18-4) vs. Aberdeen Roncalli (18-3)
6:00pm:   Spearfish (17-4) vs. West Central (18-5)
7:45pm:   Pine Ridge (20-1) vs. Chamberlain (21-1)

“B”-Huron Arena
Noon:      Warner (22-1) vs. Timber Lake (16-7)
1:45pm:   Sanborn Central/Woonsocket (22-1) vs. Sully Buttes (20-3)
6:00pm:   DeSmet (22-1) vs. Parker (15-8)
7:45pm:   Hanson (21-2) vs. Wall (18-4)

BBB REGIONALS…Here are the matchups for this week’s boys’ basketball regional tournaments:
REGION 1AA-Tuesday
Yankton @ Brookings (Live on KCountry 102 @ 6:30)
Sioux Falls Lincoln @ Watertown
REGION 2AA-Tuesday
Sturgis @ Huron
Aberdeen Central @ Rapid City Stevens

REGION 1A-Tuesday  Aberdeen Roncalli vs. Sisseton @ Webster
REGION 2A-Tuesday  Clark/Willow Lake vs. Deuel @ Swiftel Center, 8:00pm
REGION 3A-Tuesday  Madison vs. Dell Rapids @ Elmen Center, Sioux Falls, 7:00pm
REGION 4A-Tuesday  Dakota Valley vs. Tea Area @ Harrisburg
REGION 5A-Tuesday  McCook Central/Montrose vs. Platte-Geddes @ Hartford, 7:00pm
REGION 6A-Monday  Mobridge-Pollock vs. Miller @ Pierre
REGION 7A-Tuesday  Pine Ridge vs. St. Francis @ Kyle
REGION 8A-Tuesday  Spearfish vs. Red Cloud @ Rapid City

REGION 1B-Tuesday  Langford Area vs. Rosholt @ Aberdeen
REGION 2B-Tuesday  Arlington vs. Colman-Egan @ Swiftel Center, 6:30pm
REGION 3B-Tuesday   Sully Buttes vs. Potter Co. @ Aberdeen (Northern State)
REGION 4B-Tuesday  Canistota vs. Viborg-Hurley @ Tea
REGION 5B-Tuesday  James Valley Christian vs. Kimball/White Lake @ Mitchell, 6:30pm
REGION 6B-Tuesday  Ethan vs. South Central @ Mitchell, 8:00pm
REGION 7B-Tuesday  White River vs. Oelrichs @ Wall
REGION 8B-Tuesday  Dupree vs. Faith @ Mobridge

FRIDAY BBB SCORES…
District 1AA Third Place  Watertown 75, Sioux Falls O'Gorman 51
                    Championship Sioux Falls Roosevelt 62, Brookings 37
District 2AA Third Place  Yankton 60, Sioux Falls Washington 43
                    Championship  Brandon Valley 71, Sioux Falls Lincoln 43
District 3AA Third Place  Aberdeen Central 59, Mitchell 37
                    Championship  Pierre 49, Huron 48
District 4AA Third Place  Sturgis 59, Douglas 42
                    Championship         Rapid City Central 48, Rapid City Stevens 47, OT

District 3A Championship  Clark/Willow Lake 60, Redfield/Doland 30
District 4A Championship  Deuel 45, Sioux Valley 38
District 5A Championship  Madison 84, Elkton-Lake Benton 62
District 6A Championship  Dell Rapids 67, Sioux Falls Christian 63
District 9A Championship  McCook Central/Montrose 49, Mt. Vernon/Plankinton 45, OT
District 10A Championship  Platte-Geddes 60, Parkston 29

District 5B Championship  Sully Buttes 60, Lower Brule 55
District 6B Championship  Potter County 60, Herreid/Selby Area 49
District 7B Championship  Canistota 62, Parker 37
District 8B Championship  Viborg-Hurley 43, Centerville 40
District 12B Championship  South Central 60, Dakota Christian 41
District 13B Championship  White River 102, Jones County 58
District 14B Championship  Oelrichs 91, Philip 48
District 15B Championship  Dupree 79, Timber Lake 36

SATURDAY BBB SCORES…
District 7A Championship  Tea Area 57, Lennox 38
District 8A Championship  Dakota Valley 60, Vermillion 47
District 11A Championship  Mobridge-Pollock 87, Cheyenne-Eagle Butte 77, 2OT

District 3B Championship  Arlington 63, Castlewood 51
District 4B Championship  Colman-Egan 64, Howard 52
District 10B Championship  Kimball/White Lake 67, Corsica/Stickney 56
District 11B Championship  Ethan 52, Hanson 40
District 16B Championship  Faith 52, Harding County 43

FRIDAY GBB SCORES…
Region 6A Championship Chamberlain 53, Cheyenne-Eagle Butte 35

Region 1B Championship Warner 48, Summit 44
Region 5B Championship Sanborn Central/Woonsocket 53, Mitchell Christian 47

SATURDAY GBB SCORES…
Region 1AA
Sioux Falls Lincoln 54, Watertown 29
Sioux Falls O'Gorman 40, Yankton 31
Region 2AA
Mitchell 67, Rapid City Stevens 36
Sturgis 41, Pierre 33

Region 3A Championship  Sioux Falls Christian 63, Madison 32
Region 6B Championship Hanson 54, South Central 37

DVC ALL-CONF…The Dakota Valley Conference has released its All-Conference team:
FIRST TEAM
BreeAna Olson – Senior   Oldham-Ramona/Rutland  Co MVP
Erin Begalka - Senior    Estelline    Co MVP
Grayson Gruenhagen – Junior  De Smet
Rylie Osthus – Sophomore  De Smet
Ashton Buller - Senior    Deubrook
Shelby Reed - Junior    Estelline
Amanda Poppen - Senior   De Smet
Erica Koenig - Sophomore   Deubrook
Taylor Stratton - Senior    Oldham-Ramona/Rutland
SECOND TEAM
Michaela Derby - Senior  Estelline
Kelly Michel - Junior   DR St. Mary
Abby Englin - Senior   Deubrook
Mindee VanDyke - Senior  Elkton/Lake Benton
Taylor Schoenfelder - Junior  De Smet
Brooklynn Judstra - Junior  Arlington
Tori Nelsen - Junior   Colman-Egan
Shelace Albrecht - Senior  De Smet
Katie Hendrickson - Junior  Estelline
Kristen Longville - Sophomore  Lake Preston
COACH OF THE YEAR
Doug Osthus, De Smet

GIRLS VARSITY…The Brookings girls’ varsity hockey team claimed fifth place in the state tournament with a 5-3 win over Pierre. Hallie Theodosopoulos had two goals and Sierra Winter one in the first period to get the Rangers started.  Winter and Jessica Laidlaw added goals in the second.  Jade Chasing Hawk had two goals in the game.
   Saturday, Brookings shut down Watertown 7-0.  Theodosopoulos and Ashley Rennich each scored two goals, with Winter, Laidlaw and Lexi Koenig each scoring one.  Chasing Hawk and Winter each scored two assists.
   Friday, Aberdeen scored late in the third period to upset the Rangers 2-1.  Theodosopoulos had the goal, with Chasing Hawk and Winter with assists.

BOYS J-V HOCKEY…The Rushmore Thunder got by the Brookings J-V boys 8-4 in the final game of the state tourney in Pierre. 
Tanner Nielsen and Austin Himley had first period goals for the Rangers.  Austin Zerfas and Garret Rounds had third period goals, but the Thunder scored five times in the third to seal the win.
   Brookings defeated Pierre 7-2 Saturday.  Rounds and Joe Sullivan opened the scoring in the first, with Rounds and Nielsen tallying in the second.  Carter Mahlum had two goals and Anthony Wiener one to seal the Rangers’ win.
   The Rangers nipped Watertown 3-2 in the opening round Friday.  Himley had two goals and Sullivan one for Brookings.  Rounds and Tyler Hanson had assists.

BLIZZARD…Bismarck climbed back from a 3-0 deficit to score six unanswered goals in a 6-3 win over the Blizzard.
   Things were looking good early for Brookings, who led 3-0 late in the first period on goals from Conor Andrle, Jared Docken and Aidan Cavallini. Filip Starzynski gave the Bobcats life late in the first period with a goal to make it 3-1.
   Nate Repensky scored the first of his two goals in the second period to make it 3-2 and Evan Giesler scored to make it 3-3 after two periods. Repensky, Giesler and Bob Kinne all scored within a four minute span in the third period to give Bismarck the win.

SDSU EQUESTRIAN…South Dakota State equestrian team suffered a disappointing loss on Saturday at the hands of New Mexico State, in a show hosted by Fresno State, by a score of 9-5.
   The loss drops the Jackrabbits overall record to an even 6-6 with one show left before the NCEA Nationals in April.
   Laura Dunlavy’s score of 71.5 over New Mexico State rider Haley Newkirk’s 67 earns her the MOP honors in the reining arena, which boosts her overall record to 10-1, and puts her in the running for All-American honors. The Jackrabbits ended their time in the reining pen with a score of 1-3.
   In the flat arena, senior Megan Schiffman and junior Santana Wright scored points for the Jackrabbits, with sophomore Jordan Goodall’s 71 tying her competitor’s score. South Dakota State ended the equitation on the flat competition with a 2- 1 advantage.
The horsemanship riders were swept today, with the Aggies earning all four points.
   The fences competition ended in a 2- 2 tie, with the two points coming from seniors Jenna Boscardin and Megan Violand.
   The Jackrabbits next and final competition before NCEA Nationals takes place at the University of Tennessee-Martin on March 22-23, when the Jacks ride against the UTM Skyhawks, with rematches of this weekend’s opponents, the Fresno Bulldogs and New Mexico State Aggies.

SDSU SOFTBALL…South Dakota State softball team split a pair of games on Saturday at the Gaucho Classic II in Santa Barbara, Calif., dropping Seattle 8-0 in the opener, before falling to the host UC Santa Barbara Gauchos 5-4 in the nightcap.
   The split gives the Jacks a 7-10 record at the end of the day, while Seattle finished 8-8 and UCSB 12-5 on the season.
   Jennifer Sutton tossed a two-hit shutout in the first game of the day against the Redhawks to improve to 3-2 on the season, she walked five, struck out two and got plenty of help from the offense, as the Jacks pounded out 10 hits in the six inning game.
   Devon Reick went 3-for-4 from the leadoff spot and scored three runs to go along with an RBI. Kelly Kleppin went 2-for-3 with four RBI, while Allison Huffman went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI.
   SDSU got multi-hit games from Alex Landon, Sammy Bingham and Jessica Markanich, but a two-run fifth inning from UCSB made the difference in the 5-4 Jackrabbit loss.  

SDSU TENNIS…The South Dakota State men's and women's tennis teams were both edged by Creighton on Friday, 5-2 and 4-3, respectively.
   On the men's side, Creighton won the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3. Parker Lawley and Andrea Boglić trailed 7-6 at No. 1 when the match was pulled off of the court due to the team point being decided.
   In singles, SDSU needed four of the six singles matches, but was only able to win two due to two losses in full third sets.
   Lawley was the first Jackrabbit winner at No. 4. He won in straight sets versus Brandon Lee 6-4, 6-1. Henrique Pereira was also a winner, but in a full third set. He won the first set in convincing fashion 6-2, but was shutout in the second by Sean Mathison 6-0. In the third and decisive set, Pereira won by one break of service for the set and the match.
-DASH-
   On the women's side, SDSU won the doubles point, but Creighton rallied for four singles wins to win the meet.
   The Jacks found continued success from its double teams and started on top after wins at No. 1 and No. 3. Ffion Davies and Jenny Blackburne won easily at the top spot, defeating Anna Kirshenbaum and Analese Snyder 8-3. Beatriz Souza and Florencia Magni were 8-5 winners versus Amanda Noonan and Liz Vermillion at No. 3.
   In singles, the Bluejays rallied for four wins and the meet. Every singles match was decided in straight sets.  Davies continued her winning ways with a 6-3, 6-2 win at No. 2 versus Snyder. The Jacks scored the most dominant win of the day, a 6-0, 6-0 showing by Tacy Haws-Lay at No. 5 versus Sam Anderson.