FORT WAYNE – For much of the Gates Center afternoon, IPFW had to play catch-up against South Dakota State. Reflective of the Summit League standings, it’s difficult to catch a Jackrabbit.
A stretch that lasted a little more than six minutes without a basket early in the second half gave league-leading South Dakota State (14-7, 9-1) just enough of a window to build an 11-point cushion – one in which it rode to a 76-66 win Saturday.
When freshman center Hillary Moore dropped in a short jumper with 14:48 to play, IPFW (7-14, 4-6) closed within 42-41. But a harassing South Dakota State zone defense caused the Mastodons to miss their next six shots, while the Jackrabbits’ offense remained on speed dial. By the time senior center Stephanie Rosado scored from close range with 8:31 left, IPFW was looking at a 56-47 deficit from which it never recovered.
“No. 1, it’s the most physical basketball team we’ve ever played against, and we’ve played against Big Ten teams,” IPFW coach Chris Paul said. “I’m not quite sure how they get away with it, but they do. I’m not making any excuses, but they are just very physical, and they wear you down. That’s really what happened. As the game went on, some of our players got a little fatigued, so when the legs go or mentally you start getting tired, the shots don’t fall.”
The Mastodons made overtures to overtake SDSU when back-to-back three-pointers from Stefanie Mauk and Rosado got IPFW within 58-53, but South Dakota State answered with a pair of layups to send it back in front by nine points.
“They’ve won for a long time at the Division II level, then the Division I level, so they believe they’re going to win, so when they need a big bucket, it seems like they always get a big bucket,” Paul said.
Even though IPFW hit 19 of 19 free throws, South Dakota State was nearly as effective, hitting 23 of 25.
“They’re pretty physical,” said Rosado, who led IPFW with 21 points. “They’ve always been that way. We don’t know how they get away with it. They play hard. They play tough. They root you out. They elbow you. They do everything, and we’ve just got to do it back; we’ve got to be aggressive and not necessarily play dirty, but if they’re going to be aggressive, we have to be aggressive back.”
IPFW’s time is coming, Rosado said.
“Step-by-step, we get better,” she said. “Come conference tournament, we’re going to be at out best, and we’re going to be tough to beat.”
