MISSOULA — It will be a unique matchup between what will be the prohibitive favorite to win the Summit League title against what will be one of the favorites to win the Big Sky Conference when South Dakota State and Montana meet up in November.
The teams, in coordination with The Monument and the Rapid City Sports Commission, have agreed to play a neutral-site game in Rapid City, S.D., on Saturday, Nov. 15, at Summit Arena.
The South Dakota State men’s basketball team faced Northern Colorado at Summit Arena last November. This year’s women’s basketball game will be the second Division I event held at the new facility.
“We are excited to welcome both teams to Rapid City,” said Craig Baltzer, Executive Director of The Monument, the exhibition center that includes Summit Arena, which was built in 2021 and seats 10,000.
“We saw the excitement of Jackrabbit fans when the men’s team played here last fall, and we know this women’s matchup will draw fans and alumni from both universities.”
South Dakota State went 30-4 a year ago and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. One of SDSU’s regular-season wins was a 78-70 victory over the Lady Griz in Missoula in December, a game that was tied with four minutes left.
South Dakota State, one of the country’s top mid-major programs, has been to 14 NCAA tournaments since becoming eligible in 2008-09 after previously being an NCAA Division II power. The Jackrabbits have won 21 or more games every season since 2010-11 and haven’t won fewer than 19 since 2000-01.
The Jackrabbits’ losses last season came against No. 16 Duke, Georgia Tech, No. 6 Texas and to eventual national champion Connecticut in the second round of the NCAA tournament after South Dakota State, a No. 10 seed, knocked off No. 7 Oklahoma State in the first round.
While South Dakota State has been under the guidance of coach Aaron Johnston since the back end of the 1999-2000 season, Montana will be under first-year coach Nate Harris in 2025-26.
Harris was Montana’s acting, then interim, head coach the final 17 games of the 2024-25 season and guided the Lady Griz to a stirring three-day performance at the Big Sky Conference championship in Boise, Idaho, in March.
The No. 6 seed, Montana knocked off No. 3 Idaho and No. 2 Northern Arizona in the quarterfinals and semifinals, then fell to top-seeded Montana State, which entered the contest 29-3, in the championship game 58-57 on a final-second shot by the Bobcats.
Montana lost four of its top six scorers from that team but returns senior point guard Mack Konig, who led the Lady Griz in both scoring and assists last season, and sophomore Avery Waddington, who averaged 10.0 points and 6.0 rebounds as a freshman.
Both could be preseason All-Big Sky Conference picks.
November’s game will be the fourth all-time meeting between Montana and South Dakota State.
“Nothing gets you ready to win big games on a neutral floor like going and actually playing big games on a neutral floor,” said Harris. “We have the utmost respect for SDSU and their program. Playing a program of that quality will definitely help us prepare for the Big Sky.”
Tickets for the game will go on sale on Friday, Sept. 5, through The Monument ticket office.
