SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Fans brought support to Connecticut to cheer on the SDSU women, but back home in South Dakota on Saturday, the excitement was just as strong.
About every seat inside Gibs Sports Bar was filled with blue and yellow Saturday afternoon.
“They’re all local girls, which is really good. There’s one girl from northwest Iowa, there’s some from the Minneapolis area, and then all of a South Dakota girls. You follow homegrown talent,” SDSU fan Jeff Vander Woude said.
“I was born and raised not far from Brookings, and so I went to SDSU and was a Jackrabbit for three years before I had to transfer out of state for my degree,” SDSU Sandy Vonbank said.
No matter their Jackrabbit history, they all had one similar hope for Saturday’s game.
“They’re going to win. They’re going to win,” SDSU fan Michelle Soutar said. “They’re going to win the next two.”
Fans held their heads high, hoping the Jacks could grab a spot in the second round.
“I hope they do,” Vander Woude said. “They’ve got a great team, and I’ve seen them play a couple times, and we’ll hope for the best.”
“The consistency they’ve had in the women’s program is fantastic. For years they’ve been doing this,” SDSU fan Darin Vonbank said.
And to top things off, many of those predictions were spot on.
“Oh definitely, I think they’re going to win today,” Sandy Vonbank said.
SDSU faces UConn in the second round on Monday night.
