Kristin Rotert scored 17 points, including two free throws with 14 seconds remaining, to lead South Dakota State past Oakland, Mich., 61-54 Tuesday for the Summit League championship.
It's the third consecutive title and trip to the NCAA tournament for the Jackrabbits (19-13).
Katie Lingle and Jennie Sunnarborg added 13 points.
Bethany Watterworth had 17 points and Sharise Calhoun 12 for Oakland (20-12), the tournament's No. 4 seed.
Oakland closed within 57-54 on Anna Patritto's 3-pointer with 2:06 remaining. But Oakland failed to score for the rest of the game.
Sunnarborg's rebound off a missed SDSU free throw led to a Jill Young free throw and a 59-54 lead with 33 seconds left. Watterworth missed a 3-point try and SDSU got the ball with 17 seconds left.
Zakiya Minifee's 3-pointer to open the game gave the Golden Grizzlies a lead they held for the first nine minutes. She finished with 10 points and a team-leading 10 rebounds.
SDSU used its inside game to stay close and finished with 28 points in the paint. A drive by Rotert gave the Jackrabbits their first lead at 19-17 with 10:35 to play in the first half.
A short baseline shot by Rotert, who added five rebounds, pushed the Jackrabbits to a 33-26 lead.
Oakland got within 33-29 at halftime on Minifee's drive and Elizabeth Hamlet's free throw.
Oakland, which defeated top-seed Oral Roberts in the semifinals, got within 42-41 on a 3-pointer by Watterworth, an all-conference sophomore.
The Jackrabbits then ran off eight straight points, followed by Jen Schuttloffel's only basket of the game - a 3-pointer - to push their advantage to 53-43 with 6:28 left.
Oakland shot 40 percent for the game and outrebounded the Jackrabbits 34-31
Young led SDSU with nine rebounds. Lingle had six and Sunnarborg five.
