South Dakota State isn't a brand name in women's basketball. But the Jackrabbits are no strangers in the NCAA bracket.
Saturday marked the program's seventh appearance in the women's NCAA tournament field -- and the biggest win.
The 12th-seeded Jackrabbits shot their way to a lead and then hung on as No. 5 seed Miami turned up the defensive pressure, sealing a 74-71 upset win at Maples Pavilion.
South Dakota State (27-6) has won 18 of its last 21 games. Miami, meanwhile, follows up last year's devastating second-round loss to Iowa with one that is even harder to swallow. The Hurricanes (24-9) closed the season with four losses in their last six games.
How the game was won: Perimeter shooting. The Jackrabbits came into the game ranked in the top 20 nationally in 3-point shooting, and while their percentage wasn't spectacular -- 8 of 18 -- it was good enough to launch SDSU into a lead in the second half and into the driver's seat.
Player of the game: Freshman guard Madison Guebert, who came in as the team's third-leading scorer, averaging 10.4 points per game, finished the game with 19 points and five of those eight 3-pointers.
Turning point: The bridge between the third and fourth quarters. Miami pulled within 50-47 on a 3-pointer by Laura Cornelius with 2:20 to go in the third quarter and the Hurricanes looked to be making their run. But SDSU responded with an 8-1 run to go up 59-48 with 8:20 left in the game. That run forced Miami into catch-up mode.
The Jackrabbits hung tough despite seeing intense defensive pressure -- Miami scored 24 points off 22 SDSU turnovers --- that caused their lead to dwindle to 65-62 with 4:30 to play.
X factor: Center Clarissa Ober. The 6-foot-2 junior held down the paint against talented Miami post Emese Hof. She finished with nine points, nine rebounds and three blocks in 28 minutes. While Miami outscored SDSU 30-18 in the paint, Ober's work kept Hof from dominating the game.
Stat of the game: Rebounding. The Jackrabbits won the battle of the boards by a 50-39 margin.
What's next: South Dakota State, which came in 1-6 in NCAA tournament games, advances to the second round for the second time ever (and first time in seven seasons), where they will face the winner of the late game between No. 4 seed Stanford and No. 13 San Francisco.
After Albany upset Florida on Friday, SDSU's victory marks the fifth time in women's NCAA tournament history that two No. 12 seeds won in the first round in the same season.