South Dakota State hands Hawkeyes their first loss

IOWA CITY — South Dakota State proved to be more than a mere mid-major nuisance.

Macy Miller nailed a 12-footer with 1.7 seconds remaining to give the Jackrabbits a 66-64 win over Iowa in the championship game of the Hawkeye Challenge women's basketball tournament in front of 3,826 Sunday afternoon at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Miller finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds and was named the MVP of the tournament.

'She's awfully good,' SDSU Coach Aaron Johnston said after the Jackrabbits improved to 4-0. 'I don't know of too many times I've left the floor not thinking she was the best player in the game.'

Iowa (4-1) rallied from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit, tying it on Megan Gustafson's basket with 5.1 seconds left. But the Hawkeyes couldn't get the stop that would have forced overtime.

'We waited a little too long to intensify our defense and execute our offense,' Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said. 'I think you saw an experienced team beat up an inexperienced team today.'

Sunday's outcome was a mild surprise, but no fluke. The Jackrabbits are the favorites to win the Summit League again, and have participated in seven of the last eight NCAA tournaments. They advanced to the second round last year.

South Dakota State jumped to a 9-2 lead and didn't trail all game. The Jackrabbits led by 13 points on six occasions, including 38-25 at halftime and 54-41 after three quarters.

'We've got to play four quarters, and we didn't do that today,' Bluder said. 'We were out of rhythm. This was the first time we have played from behind, and it looked like it. We acted like it.'

The Hawkeyes finally rallied in the fourth quarter, scoring the first six points to carve the deficit to 54-47, and continuing to chip away.

Tania Davis' 3-pointer made it 63-60 with 1:05 left, then Ally Disterhoft hit a long deuce from the top of the key to get the Hawkeyes within 63-62 with 29 seconds to play.

Miller made the first of two free throws to make it 64-62, then Gustafson corraled Davis' miss to tie the game.

SDSU took time out, advancing the ball to halfcourt. Miller pulled up and scored from the right wing to win it.

'She did a good job creating off the dribble,' Disterhoft said. 'Hats off to her on the last shot.'

Gustafson (21 points, 13 rebounds) and Disterhoft (16 points, nine boards) joined Miller on the all-tournament team. So did SDSU's Ellie Thompson, Clarissa Ober and Madison Guebert.

Ober added 15 points, Thompson 11, Guebert 10.

The Hawkeyes will compete in the Cancun Challenge on Thursday (against No. 11 UCLA) and Friday (against James Madison). Both games start at 8 p.m. Iowa time.

UMASS WINS CONSY

Freshman Hailey Leidel hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key as time expired to give Massachusetts a 59-58 win over Montana in the consolation game.

Maggie Mulligan led UMass (2-2) with 24 points. Leidel added 18. Montana slipped to 1-2.

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 66, IOWA 64

At Carver-Hawkeye Arena

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (66): Ellie Thompson 4-9 2-2 11, Clarissa Ober 6-11 1-2 15, Kerri Young 3-11 0-0 8, Madison Guebert 4-7 0-0 10, Macy Miller 9-18 3-5 22, Alexis Alexander 0-3 0-0 0, Sydney Plmer 0-2 0-0 0, Sydney Tracy 0-1 0-0 0, Tiffaney Flaata 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-63 6-9 66.

IOWA (64): Megan Gustafson 10-14 1-1 21, Ally Disterhoft 7-15 2-3 16, Makenzie Meyer 1-3 0-0 2, Tania Davis 2-11 0-0 6, Bre Cera 0-2 0-0 0, Alexa Kastanek 1-4 2-2 4, Chase Coley 1-4 0-0 2, Hannah Stewart 2-6 0-0 4, Kathleen Doyle 2-6 0-0 4, Christina Buttenham 2-3 0-0 5, Amanda Ollinger 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-68 5-6 64.

Halftime — SDSU 38, Iowa 25. 3-point goals — SDSU 8-24 (Thompson 1-2, Ober 2-5, Young 2-5, Guebert 2-4, Miller 1-2, Alexander 0-3, Palmer 0-2, Tracy 0-1), Iowa 3-15 (Disterhoft 0-2, Meyer 0-1, Davis 2-5, Cera 0-1, Kastanek 0-3, Doyle 0-2, Buttenham 1-1). Team fouls — SDSU 17, Iowa 11. Fouled out — Young. Rebounds — SDSU 37 (Miller 10), Iowa 43 (Gustafson 13). Assists — SDSU 11 (Young 4), Iowa 18 (Davis 5). Steals — SDSU 6 (Guebert 3), Iowa 8 (Disterhoft 4). Turnovers — SDSU 16, Iowa 17.

Attendance — 3,826.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com