Lawmakers on the state’s budget-setting committee gave 24 roses Thursday to the longest-serving female member of the South Dakota Legislature.

Sen. Jean Hunhoff, R-Yankton, was first elected to the state House of Representatives in 2000. She’s bounced back and forth between the House and Senate over the years, and has been a member of the Joint Appropriations Committee for more than a decade. The committee’s gift was one flower for each year of her service.

South Dakota breaks record for number of women elected to the state Legislature

Hunhoff lost her primary race for reelection by 96 votes in June to challenger Lauren Nelson, who went on to victory in the general election.

Thursday morning’s meeting of the Joint Appropriations Committee in Pierre, which she co-chairs, comes near the end of her time as a lawmaker. Several other members of the committee thanked Hunhoff for her commitment to budgetary oversight and praised her for helping newer lawmakers navigate the workings of legislating during her historic run of service.

Tony Venhuizen, a Sioux Falls Republican representative who blogs about the history of state government, noted that no other female lawmaker has served 20 years, let alone 24.

“I don’t need to get into too many details, but I will say that during her first year in the Legislature, I was a Senate page,” Venhuizen said.

Hunhoff’s voice cracked with emotion as she thanked her fellow lawmakers for the flowers, which she said she liked even though “they make me think of a funeral.”

“I tried to listen, and I’ve tried to do my best,” Hunhoff said.

South Dakota State proved it would be a tough nonconference matchup for the Badgers women’s basketball team when it upset No. 21 Creighton on Friday. In that game, the Jackrabbits dominated the Bluejays on the glass and in the paint.

They did the same to the Badgers, who lost 79-57 Wednesday night in Brookings, S.D.

Wisconsin (2-1) was crushed on the boards 42-22. The Jackrabbits (3-0) had 15-second chance points, while the Badgers had zero. Wisconsin was also outscored in the paint 40-32. The physical Jackrabbits proved too much.

South Dakota State outscored the Badgers in all four quarters, and Wisconsin ended the game on a three-minute scoring drought. The Badgers shot OK from the field, shooting 41%, but struggled from 3-point range, hitting just 27% from deep.

Sarah Williams was effective for the Badgers with 19 points and nine rebounds, and Ronnie Porter had 11 points and four assists. But no other Wisconsin players finished in double figures, and the bench only strung together seven points.

The Jackrabbits, meanwhile, got 28 points from their reserves.

Five South Dakota State players in all finished in double figures. Haleigh Timmer, Brooklyn Meyer and Mesa Byom finished with 13 points each, Paige Meyer added 11 and Kate Vasecka contributed 10. Five players had at least four rebounds.

Among positives for the Badgers was they won the turnover battle with just 11 to South Dakota State’s 14. They took advantage of those turnovers, too, scoring 12 points off them, while the Jackrabbits scored just four off turnovers.

But that wasn’t nearly enough to overcome the disparity on the glass. The Badgers will look to bounce back on Sunday when they host Milwaukee for a 2 p.m. tipoff at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.