BROOKINGS, S.D. (AP) — Kallie Theisen scored a career-high 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Myah Selland added 12 points, 11 rebounds and five assists and South Dakota State used a huge first-quarter run to beat Seton Hall 82-50 Saturday in the championship game of the WNIT.
Haleigh Timmer added 14 points, Paiton Burckhard scored 13 and Tori Nelson 11 for South Dakota State (29-9). Timmer, who came off the bench in all but two of South Dakota State’s first 28 games and went into the title game averaging 7.8 points this season, started each of the team’s six games and averaged 17.0 points in the WNIT.
The Jackrabbits, who never trailed, scored 15 consecutive points to cap a 21-1 run that made it 25-5 with a minute left in the first quarter. Seton Hall (24-13) went more than 7 minutes without a field goal, missing 11 consecutive shots and committing two turnovers, during that span and trailed by at least 20 points throughout the second half.
Sydney Cooks led the Pirates with 14 points and nine rebounds but made just 6 of 18 from the field. Andra Espinoza-Hunter, the only other Seton Hall player to score in double figures, had 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting.
Seton Hall’s Lauren Park-Hill, the team’s leader in scoring (18.6 per game) and assists (7.1) this season, had eight points, four assists and three steals. The unanimous first-team all-Big East selection went 0 for 12 from the field and 0 for 5 from 3-point range and committed six turnovers.
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