South Dakota
South Dakota State dominates the paint, feasts on Walker Demers-less UND
GRAND FORKS — South Dakota State’s Brooklyn Meyer is already a difficult player to defend.
The 6-foot-2 senior forward, who’s averaging a team-high 20.8 points and has a Summit League Player of the Year award under her belt, is even harder to slow down without a starting center.
UND entered Wednesday evening’s matchup against the Jackrabbits at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center without 6-foot-2 senior center Walker Demers, who was out of the lineup due to illness.
Meyer feasted in her absence. She shot 11-for-17, scored 31 points and collected 12 rebounds, guiding South Dakota State to a 99-47 rout of the Fighting Hawks.
“Walker is probably one of the few players in the league who can probably play her straight up, one-on-one, and have a lot of success doing it,” head coach Dennis Hutter said. “It’s really hard to guard (the player of the year) without your best post defender.”
Demers woke up with the flu. It is unclear when she will return.
The Jackrabbits, coming off their first conference loss of the season, improved to 15-5 (5-1).
UND fell to 4-15 (1-5).
“I thought we played hard, but playing hard and competing are two different things,” Hutter said. “We have to learn how to compete a little bit more for 40 minutes. I thought there were stretches where we did compete, and then stretches where we’ll play hard, but we won’t have that competitive edge to go along with it.”
Rachel Loth / UND Athletics
South Dakota State ended the first quarter on a 6-0 run for a 19-10 lead. The offense took off in the second quarter.
The Jackrabbits outscored the Hawks 27-8 in the second frame. Senior guard Madison Mathiowetz led the charge, shooting 3-for-3 from the field for six points.
Mathiowetz finished with 17 points.
From there, South Dakota State’s offense continued to hum. The Jackrabbits ended the night shooting 61.3% from the field and 63.6% from 3-point range.
“The fact that they can shot make kind of at three levels — you saw it from midrange, you saw it off the block, obviously, and their ability to shoot the three — just makes them a very difficult guard all the way around,” Hutter said.
South Dakota State outrebounded UND 40-17, collected 14 offensive boards and scored 48 points in the paint.
The Hawks ended with just 12 points in the paint.
“There was just a lot of power in the post,” sophomore forward Finley Ohnstad said. “We missed a few box outs, too, where they got some second-chance points. So I think some of those things, we need to keep working on them and just get better at putting it all out there.”
UND’s offense could not keep up with the Jackrabbits. The Hawks shot 31.9% and committed 20 turnovers.
Graduate guard Mackenzie Hughes was the only starter to reach double digits. She shot 5-for-13 and led UND with 18 points.
Sophomore forward Ava Miller shot 0-for-4 and scored two points at the free-throw line. Sophomore guard Skyler Volmer had four turnovers and zero points.
The other two starters, freshman guard Lauren Hillesheim and senior guard Mikayla Aumer, were a combined 5-for-15 from the field. Aumer scored seven, and Hillesheim added six.
Srinath Kandooru / UND Athletics
The Hawks’ bench scored 14 points. All of them came from Ohnstad in the final two quarters.
She shot 3-for-4 from beyond the arc and 5-for-6 from the field en route to her career-high 14 points.
“I feel like right away I got into the rhythm with my three,” Ohnstad said. “It’s been something that I’ve been working on on my own. So it was nice to just initially have a little bit of fire and just have that confidence to keep shooting.”
UND will head back to the road this Saturday, traveling to St. Paul, Minn., to take on St. Thomas at 2 p.m.
Alex Faber is a sports reporter for the Grand Forks Herald. A Michigan transplant, he graduated from Michigan State University in 2024 with a degree in journalism and minors in history and environmental studies.
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – Students at South Dakota Mines heard Wednesday from retired four-star general Maryanne Miller about her journey to the highest ranks of the U.S. military.
Miller is a retired four-star U.S. Air Force general. She is the only member of the Air Force Reserve ever to be promoted to this level.
She spoke about finding greatness and living a life of fulfillment. Her stories came from her time in the Air Force and as a volunteer for Saint Teresa of Calcutta’s Missionaries of Charity.
“We so much get focused on what is our next step in life, what’s the next career move, how do we make ourselves better in our career, and we forget about how do we make ourselves better as a human being,” Miller said. “Because they have to go tandem. If it’s not tandem, you’re going to get off track.”
Miller was commissioned in 1981 and rose through the ranks before becoming a four-star general in 2018. She was the only woman serving as a four-star officer in the military at the time. She retired in 2020 after serving for almost 40 years.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Copyright 2026 KOTA. All rights reserved.
South Dakota
USDA to offer distaster assistance to South Dakota agriculture producers impacted by winter storms
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering financial and technical assistance to South Dakota farmers and livestock producers who may have been impacted by the recent winter storms.
“I encourage impacted producers to contact their local USDA Service Center to report losses and learn more about program options available to assist in their recovery from crop, land, infrastructure, and livestock losses and damages.” said Richard Fordyce, Production and Conservation Under Secretary.
FSA’s Emergency Conservation Program and Emergency Forest Restoration Program can assist landowners with financial assistance to restore damaged land and conservation structures or forests.
“Our staff will work one-on-one with landowners to make assessments of the damages and develop methods that focus on effective recovery of the land.” said Jessica Michalski, Acting NRCS State Conservationist in South Dakota.
For more information about the disaster assistance program, click here.
Copyright 2026 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden, left, and Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen unveil a plaque for retired U.S. Navy Capt. E. Royce Williams in the Hall of Honor at the Capitol in Pierre on March 25, 2026. (Photo by Meghan O’Brien/South Dakota Searchlight)
PIERRE, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) — There’s a new name in the South Dakota Hall of Honor at the state Capitol building.
One-hundred-year-old South Dakota native and retired U.S. Navy Capt. E. Royce Williams was celebrated at a Wednesday ceremony where a plaque honoring him was unveiled, although Williams did not attend.
“In spite of being outnumbered and facing incredible danger, Captain Williams engaged the enemy with courage and skill,” said Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden. “Our state has always had a strong tradition of service, and Captain Williams is the very best of that tradition.”
President Donald Trump awarded Williams the Medal of Honor, the country’s highest military honor, at the State of the Union address earlier this year. The medal honors actions by Williams that had been classified for decades.
“His story was secret for over 50 years, he didn’t even want to tell his wife, but the legend grew and grew,” Trump said during the speech in February. “But tonight, at 100 years old, this brave Navy captain is finally getting the recognition he deserves.”
On Nov. 18, 1952, over Korean coastal waters during the Korean War, then-Lt. Williams, from Wilmot, South Dakota, led three F9F Panthers against seven Soviet MiG-15s. He disabled three enemy jets and damaged a fourth.
The Soviet jets, according to the U.S. Naval Institute, were “superior to the F9F in almost every fashion.” The mission was the only direct overwater combat between U.S. Navy fighters and Soviet fighters during the Cold War.
Williams, one of 11 Medal of Honor recipients from South Dakota, now lives in California. The Hall of Honor at the South Dakota Capitol is located in the hallway that visitors enter immediately after going through security.
Iran-linked hackers have breached FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal emails | CNN Politics
Retired Detroit sergeant faces new sexual assault charge involving 14-year-old victim from 2002
Trump floats sending federal agents to San Francisco to tackle crime
Dallas ISD will offer free pre-K starting next school year
Norwegian Cruise Line offers a first look at Luna, new cruise ship setting sail from PortMiami – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports | Fort Lauderdale
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Iran-linked hackers have breached FBI Director Kash Patel’s personal emails | CNN Politics
Live: CPAC 2026 Day 2
Video: Will ICE Change Under Its New Leader?
DHS shutdown breakthrough comes at cost for Republicans as funding fights nears end
Rubio joins crucial G7 talks as Iran war set to dominate second day
-
Detroit, MI1 week agoDrummer Brian Pastoria, longtime Detroit music advocate, dies at 68
-
Science1 week agoHow a Melting Glacier in Antarctica Could Affect Tens of Millions Around the Globe
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago‘Youth’ Twitter review: Ken Karunaas impresses audiences; Suraj Venjaramoodu adds charm; music wins praise | – The Times of India
-
Sports6 days agoIOC addresses execution of 19-year-old Iranian wrestler Saleh Mohammadi
-
New Mexico5 days agoClovis shooting leaves one dead, four injured
-
Business1 week agoDisney’s new CEO says his focus is on storytelling and creativity
-
Technology5 days agoYouTube job scam text: How to spot it fast
-
Tennessee4 days agoTennessee Police Investigating Alleged Assault Involving ‘Reacher’ Star Alan Ritchson