Haleigh Timmer 'quietly' one of South Dakota State's 'best players' and more SDSU, USD basketball notes

South Dakota State women's basketball head coach Aaron Johnston knows being a sophomore is tough. Sophomore guard Haleigh Timmer had a strong first year with the Jackrabbits, averaging 8.0 points and 3.1 rebounds in her freshman year and heightening her play during SDSU's WNIT Championship run. She had games of 24 points, 22 points and 17 points from the first round to the quarterfinal, earning a nod on the WNIT All-Tournament team.

Johnston said most think a player of that caliber would "pick up right where they left off," but a few games removed from being a freshman entering games early this season, teams have had a full offseason to prepare to look Timmer in a different way. It would be understandable if she struggled, Johnston said.

"There's just a growing process that still happens for sophomores, and sometimes that can be a little frustrating because everyone thinks, 'Well, they're so good, so why hasn't this just happened immediately?'" Johnston said. "And she's gone through, I think, a real natural progression as a sophomore. It's really not uncommon at all."

Timmer is firmly on the other end of that now, though. Johnston said "quietly, because we have so many good players on a team," Timmer has been one of the Jackrabbits' (18-5, 11-0 Summit) best players since Christmas.

She's averaged 11.7 points per game and 1.3 steals per game in Summit League play, shooting a scorching 68.2% from the field in the five games prior to a 3-of-11 shooting performance Friday against Western Illinois.

"She was really good for us in November, December, but now she's playing at that really elite level where she's making shots, she's getting to the basket, she's rebounding better," Johnston said. "Where I think she's taken a huge step forward, quite honestly, is her defense. It is much improved from where it was earlier in the year, so every part of Haleigh's game has elevated as we've gone on."

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Walker Demers, an early enrollee, growing despite difficult situation in first year

But that's not the only noticeable change this season. South Dakota women's basketball head coach Kayla Karius has been speaking a lot recently with freshman center Walker Demers, because Karius knows this transition has been hard.

Demers, who skipped her senior year of high school to enroll a year early at USD, came to the Coyotes to learn. She had an opportunity in Vermillion, to sit back and contribute a little bit as she absorbed instruction from a program that just finished a run to the Sweet 16. But then, injuries hit and the Coyotes needed Demers to compete at a high level each night.

"She's going to be a good player," Karius said. "It's just taking that time, and I think what we're seeing is just a little inconsistency."

That is expected. But the Coyotes (11-11, 7-4 Summit), who Karius said are one of two programs in the nation in which all of its top-5 scorers are either freshmen or sophomores, have had to rely on the production of players like Demers.

With injuries holding Jeniah Ugofsky out for quite a few games, Demers went from bench contributor to having "no one older in front of her" as she transitioned to the college game most people her age would still be a year removed from.

Even with some uneven performances, USD has noticed growth from Demers as she's gone throughout her first season with South Dakota women's basketball.

Since she scored a season-high 14 on New Year's Eve against Western Illinois, Demers has started five games and averaged 8.4 points in just 19.6 minutes per game over those starts. The Coyotes believe in the offensive production she could provide, and Demers is showing more willingness to take those shots in the recent stretch. But this season is just the start of her development.

"I think the sky's the limit for her," Karius said. "I just think she's in that learning curve right now, and we're throwing her in the fire."

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Western Illinois loss 'stings' for SDSU men's basketball, but the team's leads part of conference play

South Dakota State men's basketball is playing at less than full strength. The Jackrabbits managed its road trip playing with just five healthy main rotation players: Zeke Mayo (who suffered an ankle injury last week that, mercifully, he didn't need to miss time for), Matt Mims, Matthew Mors, Matt Dentlinger and William Kyle III. Against Kansas City on Monday, Broden Lien and Tanner Te Slaa filled in the gaps necessary to rest the starters, but no one in the starting five played less than Kyle's 32 minutes.

The talent of the starting lineup has not been an issue for the Jackrabbits (12-11, 7-4 Summit), who in its past two games (a 1-1 stretch) have gotten out to 17-point and seven-point halftime leads. But in back-to-back games, the Jackrabbits have struggled to maintain it. South Dakota State head coach Eric Henderson said that isn't a result of fatigue, but that's just playing on the road in conference play.

Henderson noted the Western Illinois loss does "sting," but that "you have to give credit" for a Leathernecks team playing as well as any team in the Summit League. Trenton Massner scored 30 points with eight assists and nine rebounds in the game. And when the Jackrabbits got out to a bit lead, Henderson said the team got comfortable.

"We played so well in that first half and we just lost our edge," Henderson said. "and it's hard to get it back when a team is playing the way that they are."

The Jackrabbits were able to get enough to win 67-66 Monday in Kansas City, even after the strange last play of the game, when Henderson said SDSU was hoping for UMKC to take a shot on the perimeter, but still forced a "hard shot" anyway on the lob. And the Jackrabbits are getting better, he said. If these moments can lead to wins, it's to the team's benefit.

"We've had a chance to win every single game we've played now, don't get it twisted," Henderson said. "Now, did we? No. But we've got to continue to put ourselves in a situation where we have chance to win at the end of the game."

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Mason Archambault turning the corner for South Dakota men's basketball

South Dakota men's basketball head coach Eric Peterson said there comes a time in every senior basketball players season where they realize: They don't want it to end.

"And when you watch those games it's very clear to see that (senior guard) Mason (Archambault) doesn't want a season to end, and (senior forward) Damani (Hayes) doesn't want to season to end," Peterson said. "Sometimes when it gets late in their career, a flip just kind of switches like, 'Hey, I got to be better.'"

For Archambault, specifically, this mindset has impacted him more than anyone on the team. When Peterson returned to the team after his injury a few weeks ago, he had "a really good conversation" with Archambault:=.

"How do we get you going?" Peterson asked.

Since Archambault rejoined the South Dakota (10-13, 5-6 Summit) from the transfer portal, it's been an up-and-down mix for the whole group as it got acclimated to an increased amount of players looking for shots on the floor.

Guard Kruz Perrott-Hunt had moments. Guard AJ Plitzuweit had moments. Forward Tasos Kamateros had moments. But of the core group, Archambault seemed to struggle to break through. But in the last five games of USD's season, that has changed.

Always one of South Dakota's "best perimeter defenders," Archambault is starting to match it with offensive production and a willingness reminiscent of a breakout season in the year 2021-22.

Archambault has scored 10-plus points in five of his last six games, averaging 11.2 points per game over that stretch.

"Mason has been great for us," Peterson said. "He's been, one of our better offensive players over the last few games and our best perimeter defender right now."

Follow Sioux Falls Argus Leader reporter Michael McCleary on Twitter @mikejmccleary.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Timmer's sophomore leap and more USD, SDSU basketball basketball notes