Spearfish, S.D. - The Colorado School of Mines women's basketball team (13-11, 10-8) came out firing a bevy of three-point shots in the first half of their match up vs. the Black Hills State University Yellow Jackets (8-14, 7-11 RMAC), ending the night with 11 made three-pointers, which ultimately was the difference that carried the Orediggers to a 72-65 victory.
Colo-Mines' 11-point lead at halftime, which included a three-point shot as time expired for the break, quickly disappeared as the Yellow Jackets came storming back to tie the game two different times in the second half. BHSU went on to win the second half 37-33, as they tighten up the defensive pressure that resulted in 11 total steals in the game.
BHSU head coach, Mark Nore, eluded to the fact that Colo-Mines simply made the plays when they had to in order to win.
"We had to excerpt so much energy in the second half and they just made big shots - they made every big shot they could have made tonight. I'm not disappointed in our effort at all, they just made the plays down the stretch," Nore said.
Mines' guard, Taylor Helbig, had 18 points in the first half alone, but was held in check in the second half for a total of 22 points on the night. Danielle Skinner was the player that stepped up in the absence of Helbig's hot hand, as she had a 13-point second half and 18 total points with four three-pointers on 7-of-9 shooting. An added dimension for Colo-Mines came in the post, as Tory McBain added 15 points and seven rebounds.
Mines' rebounding was the story of the first half that allowed Helbig to shoot as often as she did as they pulled down 24 boards (7 offensive) in the first 20-minutes. Colo-Mines finished the game with 41 total rebounds (15 offensive). BHSU showed they too could rebound as they caught up in that category thanks to their second half rebounding that beat Colo-Mines with 11 offensive boards on way to 31 total rebounds.
Sophomore guard, Cassidy Kotelman (5-10 Brookings, SD), showed her high energy play throughout the night to take her to a balanced eight-point outing with seven rebounds and two steals. Sophomore guard, Dakota Barrie (6-0 Mountain Home, ID), fought through an injury in practice earlier in the week and also in the game which forced her to sit out for roughly five-minutes before coming back to finish off a grind-it-out type night that earned her five assists, four rebounds, with three steals and one block.
"Barrie is a tough kid, she could barely walk and she fought through it. I thought the team really showed some grit tonight," Nore said.
With 6:46 remaining in the game, a Kotelman rebound and assist to Chelsey Biegler (5-10 Rapid City, SD) for a quick basket down low - where she was fouled hard on a layup then capitalized on the traditional three-point play - kick started a sequence to help tie the game for the second time. Soon after, Kotelman stole a Colo-Mines pass to drive the length of the court for an easy two-points to bring the score to 56-56.
Biegler, sophomore guard and second leading scorer in the RMAC, again showed her hot hand as she finished the game with a Yellow Jacket high 23 points on 8-of-19 shooting - bringing her season average to 17.1 points per game. Sophomore guard, Bailey Kusser (5-9 Highmore, SD), had a big night as well with 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting with three three-pointers. Junior forward, Calli Bechtel (6-0 Rapid City, SD) was 3-of-5 shooting on the night for ten points, which included two timely three-pointers to spark the Jackets. She also added four rebounds and one steal.
Tomorrow night the Yellow Jackets will play host to sixth place RMAC foe, Colorado Christian University (13-9, 10-8 RMAC) at 5:30 pm MT at the Young Center.
