SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — SDSU secured its trip to the NCAA Tournament by winning the Summit League title last week behind a 26-point performance from senior guard Paige Meyer in the championship game.
Meyer was named Summit League Tournament MVP for a second straight year this season. She paired her 26 points in the title game with nine assists and going 4-for-6 from 3-point land. She averaged better than 18 points a game over the three games at tourney.
“We talk a lot about just wanting to play our best basketball at the end of the season,” Meyer said. “So, kind of just being able to do whatever I can for the team to kind of be successful, and I think we’ve had a lot of players step up at different times throughout the year.”
“The last month and a half here, she’s come down to her final stretch, and she’s played the best basketball that I’ve seen her play,” SDSU head coach Aaron Johnston said. “Really consistent scoring, shooting a great passer, defending well, just making plays and that’s really what you need from your best players this time of year.”
The Albany, Minn., native is averaging a career-best 5.3 assist per game this season — tied for 27th in the nation and second-best in the Summit League. At 484 career assists, she’s four away from sole possession of third place in SDSU history.
“Paige is just such a special player, and she means so much for this team and for this program,” SDSU junior forward Brooklyn Meyer said. “I feel like, when she gets going, I feel like everyone else follows.”
“Paige is just an incredible, incredible basketball player,” SDSU junior guard Madison Mathiowetz said. “Incredible human too. But she just knows the game so well. She’s just out there competing her heart out, and it’s contagious. She’s playing hard. She’s playing the best that she can. It rubs off on the rest of us. And I just think a player like that is truly irreplaceable.”
Meyer and the 10th-seeded Jackrabbits open the NCAA Tournament Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. CT against seventh-seeded Oklahoma State.
