FARGO, N.D. - South Dakota State closed the first quarter on a 10-0 run and never looked back Thursday night, as the Jackrabbits beat the North Dakota State women's basketball team 85-58 at the Scheels Center. The Jackrabbits entered the game ranked 18th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25.

NDSU dropped to 9-18 overall and 6-9 in the Summit League with the loss, while the Jackrabbits improved to 21-9 overall and 13-3 in league play. The Bison will close the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 29 against Omaha. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at the Scheels Center. NDSU will honor senior Rylee Nudell and redshirt junior Sofija Zivaljevic before the game. Zivaljevic will graduate in May and return to her home country of Montenegro to play basketball professionally. 

Zivaljevic had a game-high 18 points, while Michelle Gaislerova and Cirkeline Rimdal added nine and seven points respectively. Tagyn Larson led four Jackrabbits in double figures with 16 points. Nudell had a game-high nine rebounds, while Raquel Terrer van Gool added seven. Zivaljevic had a game-high four assists, while Emily Dietz and Danneka Voegeli each had a pair of steals.

The Bison were 20-of-54 (37%) from the field and 6-of-15 (40%) from 3-point range. South Dakota State was 31-of-60 (51.7%) from the floor and 5-of-16 (31.3%) from downtown. NDSU was 12-of-23 (52.2%) from the free throw line, while SDSU was 18-of-26 (69.2%). The Jackrabbits had advantages in points off turnovers (17-7), points in the paint (48-22) and second chance points (13-2). The loss was the 12th-straight against the Jackrabbits.

SDSU opened the game on a 9-2 run and never trailed. The Bison cut the lead to 16-10 with 3:56 to play in the first quarter before the Jackrabbits went on a 19-2 run that extended into the second quarter. NDSU trimmed the lead to 17 with 1:32 left in the third quarter, but SDSU answered with a 20-4 run over the next 7:50.