South Dakota State shot a season-best 51 percent from the field, but the Jackrabbit women’s basketball team couldn’t overcome 25 turnovers in dropping a 79-67 decision Thursday night at Illinois State.

Illinois State, the defending Missouri Valley Conference regular season champion, improved to 2-1 on the season. SDSU, which dropped its second game in a row, fell to 1-2.

The Jackrabbits held the upper hand early on as they built a 15-8 lead following a three-pointer by Macie Michelson with 13 minutes and 47 seconds remaining in the first half. SDSU continued to get most of its scoring from the perimeter throughout the first half, making 7-of-12 three-point attempts in the opening frame.

Illinois State answered with a 7-0 run to tie the game at 15-all, then put together a 16-6 spurt over the final five minutes of the first half to grab a 37-32 halftime advantage.

SDSU tied the game at 38-all on a Kristin Rotert three-pointer two minutes into the second half. The lead would change change hands five times in the half before Maggie Krick put the Redbirds in the lead for good at 51-49 with a three-pointer with 10:23 to play.

The Redbirds sealed the victory at the free throw line, where they made 19-of-25 attempts in the second half and 28-of-36 tries, 77.8 percent, for the game. SDSU was 14-of-22 at the stripe, 63.6 percent.

Illinois State’s Ashleen Bracey led all players with 24 points, while Krick added 19. Hannah Spanich came off the bench to score 15 points. ISU shot 23-of-51 from the field, 45.1 percent, and was 5-for-10 on three-pointers.

Maria Boever led the Jackrabbits with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field, including 2-for-2 from three-point range. Rotert contributed 15 points, with Jennie Sunnarborg contributing a career-high 12 points in a reserve role.

SDSU ended the night 21-of-41 from the field, including 11-of-23 on three-point attempts.

Illinois State committed only 14 turnovers and also held a 31-25 rebounding advantage, led by Bracey’s game-high seven boards. Boever and Rotert each tallied five rebounds to lead SDSU.

The Jackrabbits return to their home court Sunday, hosting Western Kentucky in a 2 p.m. matinee at Frost Arena.

Courtesy: Jason Hove, SDSU Sports Information