SDSU culminated 50 years of athletic competition at Frost Arena with one heck of a celebration—a three-week bash that just kept getting bigger and louder.
When it was over, there were tears, hugs, a soaked coach and a WNIT trophy to hoist. In its fifth appearance in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament, the Jackrabbits won it all—and won all six games at home before an ever-increasing crowd. The last two games were sellouts with 5,263 squeezing in to see the championship, the largest crowd in Frost Arena since Nov. 21, 2015, when No. 3 Notre Dame women drew 5,532 fans.
Facility upgrades that began this summer will bring premium seating and other first-class features to what is now formally known as First Bank & Trust Arena.
However, it will be hard to top the excitement that filled Frost Arena from March 17, when the Jackrabbits women’s basketball team claimed an opening-round win over Ohio, through April 2, when a start-to-finish shellacking of Seton Hall had SDSU fans celebrating shortly after the tipoff. The Jackrabbits needed just nine minutes to open a 20-point lead over the Pirates and never looked back, winning 82-50 and setting a WNIT record with a 32-point championship game win.
Edge-of-seat excitement
Against Alabama in the quarterfinals, SDSU had a torrid start and led by 12 early in the third quarter only to see the Crimson Tide take a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter. The Jacks trailed by one with two minutes to go, but a pair of threes by reserve Lindsey Theuninck provided SDSU with a 78-73 victory and a booster shot of tournament momentum.
The Jackrabbits needed every bit of that momentum and all 5,227 fans when the physically dominant UCLA Bruins came to town four days later.
In a game in which neither team had its outside game going and SDSU committed 20 turnovers, the Jackrabbits found a way to win. The Bruins’ leading scorer went to the free-throw line with 27 seconds left and a chance to tie the game at 60. She went
1-of-2 and Jackrabbits Tori Nelson got the rebound only to see UCLA block another shot on the other end.
But with 20 seconds to go, UCLA was called for another foul and Nelson sank two free throws for a 62-59 lead. A missed trey at the buzzer sent the tense crowd roaring and primed it for the title game two days later.
Title game: Fans couldn’t wait
By 9:30 a.m. on title day, April 2, Jordan Kerns was among 20 to 30 students from the Rabbit Den student booster group waiting on the exterior steps to Frost Arena in advance of the 2 p.m. tipoff. The ranks grew quickly and the line on the east side went three-quarters of the way to the curb with nearly two hours to start time.
After talking about the coming game for a while, Rabbit Den members set up a portable speaker on the stair landing and played music as well as leading pep rally chants like “Let’s Go Rabbits,” Kerns, president of the Rabbit Den, said.
Brett and Kelly Selland, parents of standout forward Myah, have reserved seats, but are in the habit of arriving early.
“We had seats but thought it would be fun to stand in line and listen to the excitement and how they couldn’t wait for the game,” Kelly Selland said. “We were there 1 ¾ hours early, and we were still back a ways. I’m certain if we had 2,000 more seats, it would have sold out. We met a couple that was new in town, and they stood in line for two hours.”
Jack fans: The sixth man
Longtime Jackrabbits fans were as equally excited.
Gary ’69/M.S. ’72 and Sharon ’67 Van Riper have had the same seats in Frost Area since fall 1973. Van Riper said he wasn’t surprised by the volume of the crowd—either in decibels or head count. “It’s what we anticipated. Having been there for 1,500 ball games over our time in Brookings … we would have been disappointed if it wasn’t that way.”
Ironically, two people not in attendance for the championship were the Van Ripers.
In November the avid basketball fans bought tickets to the NCAA Women’s Final Four in Minneapolis, where their two children live. So, on April 1 and 3 they were at the Target Center with 18,000 other people. “The 5,000 at Frost made more noise than the 18,000 at the NCAA Final Four. There’s no doubt in my mind the crowds made a difference in the game, not only positively on our own women but negatively on the visiting team,” Van Riper said.
Keith Jensen ’56, who also counts his years as a Jackrabbits booster by adding decades, said, “I had a heck of a good time. Winning does something for that and you feel like you had a part in it.
“Very few schools have fans the way we do. The other school is having a heck of time, our players make a few good plays, the fans get roaring and the opponent has a hard time coming back. A couple of good plays in a very tight game, the crowd gets alive, the other team gets nervous and plays ragged,” Jensen said.
Becky Schmieding ’78, another front-row Jackrabbits fan who played for State in 1974-78, noted that Coach Aaron Johnston M.S. ’05 has said, “‘the fans kind of know when we need a picker upper.’ We know when to cheer. It’s great having the fans there that really understand the game. There’s something about Frost.
“It’s a great atmosphere for women’s basketball. It was a great way to send off the seniors and showcase SDSU basketball.”
Emotional moments
SDSU graduated four players—starter Tylee Irwin, key reserve Haley Greer and Addison Hirschman and Lauren Rongisch. All four got a final minute on the court with tourney MVP Selland. During the postgame celebration, Irwin was given the public address microphone and delivered a couple of thank-yous before being overcome with tears of gratitude.
For her mom, Darla Thimjon, the memory of her daughter breaking down “before 5,000 of her closest friends” is one that will live forever.
“In the WNIT, you’re playing to survive to the next game. With Tylee being a senior, we’re thinking ‘Is this the last game we get to see her play?’ That was part of the fun for us, we get one more chance to see her play. We were hoping she would get to end her career with a win because not many players do.
“It was a great run for us for five years, and we wouldn’t change it,” Thimjon said.
Neither would the Jackrabbit Nation.
– Dave Graves
