Black Hills State women's basketball (1-1, 0-0 RMAC) heads into the second week of regular season basketball with a pair of midweek cross-conference matchups with the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. 
 
They take on the University of Mary (N.D.) Marauders on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at 6 p.m. then turnaround for a 6:30 p.m. tipoff against the Minot State Beavers on Thursday, Nov. 17.
 
The Yellow Jackets come out of the opening weekend with the season's first win against Texas A&M-International on Friday night (W, 80-60) as well as a tightly contested loss to Texas A&M-Kingsville on Saturday evening (L, 71-65).
 
Danica Kocer came out of the weekend as the leading scorer for the Yellow Jackets after scoring 40 points. Morgan Hammerbeck and Megan Engesser came next with 23 points scored by each player last weekend. As a team, the Yellow Jackets rank third in the RMAC in total offense, fourth in field goal percentage, and second in three-point field goal percentage.
 

BLACK HILLS STATE VS. Umary (N.D.)  WEDNESDAY, NOV. 16 // 6 P.M. // SPEARFISH, S.D. // DONALD E. YOUNG CENTER Live Stream / Live Stats

 
Due to weather conditions last weekend in North Dakota, the Marauders had to cancel the Central Region Challenge, where the Marauders were supposed to compete against the University of Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State University. They did, however, hold a home exhibition against the College of St. Scholastica on Nov. 6 that saw them defeat the Saints 84-55.
 
Last season, UMary (14-16, 7-12 NSIC) finished 12^th in the NSIC that included a 4-10 mark on the road. In the preseason rankings, the Marauders were projected to finish eighth overall and second in the North Division of the NSIC. UMary returns 12 Marauder student-athletes to the floor that includes returning starter Lexie Schneider, who led the team with 14.2 ppg and a 54 percent shooting clip. The graduate led the NSIC in shooting, was 12^th in rebounding, and 12^th in scoring last season as well. 
 
UMary holds a 25-13 record against BHSU, including the last six games between both squads ending in Marauder wins. The last time these two teams met on the court was Jan. 27, 2006 and saw the Marauders defeat BHSU 75-61.  
 

BLACK HILLS STATE VS. Minot sTATE  THURSDAY, NOV. 17 // 6:30 P.M. // SPEARFISH, S.D. // DONALD E. YOUNG CENTER Live Stream / Live Stats

 
The Minot State Beavers started the season 2-0 after a successful weekend in Sterling, Colorado. Minot State defeated Southeastern Oklahoma State 72-60 and 72-55 on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. In the NSIC preseason polls, Minot State was voted to finish seventh in the North Division and 14^th overall in the conference after an 8-18 overall record (6-13 NSIC) last season.
 
A player to watch on the Beavers' side of the court is senior guard Steve Head. Named as a player to watch in the preseason, Head turned in a career-high performance during Saturday's game against SOSU, recording a career-high 26 points with eight assists and six rebounds. Head continued the momentum into Sunday's rematch as she tallied another 24-point game that saw three assists and eight boards.
 
BHSU holds a 19-17 series record over the Beavers that spans back to the 1992-93 season. The two teams met last season on Nov. 13, 2021 and saw the Yellow Jackets outlast Minot State in a thrilling 56-55 win in North Dakota.