The Black Hills State University women's basketball squad (14-3, 9-2 RMAC) will get a quick turnaround for a pair of mid-week home games this week, with the Yellow Jackets taking on South Dakota Mines on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 5 p.m. before another home matchup against the CCU Cougars on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 5 p.m.
Tuesday's game will be Break the Attendance Record Night, as we welcome everyone to attend the game and break our current men's and women's basketball attendance records:
Current BHSU Attendance Records:
WBB - 1,767 - 2/11/17 vs. South Dakota Mines
MBB - 3,045 - 3/5/22 vs. Regis (RMAC Championship Game)
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TUESDAY VS. SOUTH DAKOTA MINES
Both squads meet on the court ounce again this season as the Western South Dakota rivals last faced off on Nov. 28 in a non-conference bout that saw BHSU throttle the Hardrockers 72-42 in Rapid City. Since then, South Dakota Mines has gone 3-9, with five of those decided by 10-or-less points that the Hardrockers have dropped, including a double overtime loss to CSU Pueblo in December.
Piper Bauer will be a player to watch on their offense this weekend: Bauer is the no. 1 ranked player in the RMAC in three-pointers per game, leading with a 3.0/game average and 54 total on the season. Bauer is also ninth in total scoring as she has averaged 13.6 points per tilt this season, dropping 245 on the season.
HARDROCKERS' LAST TIMEOUT
RAPID CITY, S.D. --- South Dakota Mines fought against CSU Pueblo and scored 73 but weren't able to get the defensive performance needed as they fell, 92-73.
The Hardrockers started the game strong scoring 14 points in the first quarter, but the Thunderwolves went on a 16-3 run and had their best quarter of the year putting up 31 points to take an early 12-point lead.
The second quarter saw the Thunderwolves keep their fast-paced offense going, taking a 20-point lead, 44-24 at the 5:00-minute mark. The Hardrockers mounted a comeback with an 11-4 run to close the gap to 11 at the end of the half. Going into the locker room the Hardrockers trailed 48-37. Syndee Durtsche led the Hardrockers in the first half with eight points. Piper Bauer, Lauren Herman, and Madelyn Heiser each had six points.
In the third quarter, the Hardrockers crept back into the game and brought the deficit to within eight with 5 minutes left in the quarter. As the Hardrockers were trying to get back into the game the Thunderwolves just kept putting pressure on the 'Rockers, going on a spurt, increasing the lead to 16 and finishing the quarter, up 74-59.
South Dakota Mines would continue to fight, but the CSU Pueblo offense was continuing to perform, going up by 20, 89-69, and would go on to win the game, 92-73.
Notes – Sydnee Durtsche led the team in scoring with 16…Three others were in double figures as Piper Bauer and Megan Alexander added 14, while Madelyn Heiser added 11…Durtsche also added eight rebounds and five assists…Alexander grabbed eight rebounds.
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU at SDSMT (Nov. 28, 2022)
RAPID CITY, S.D. – Black Hills State women's basketball improved to 5-1 after defeating the South Dakota Mines Hardrockers 72-42 in a non-conference bout.
From the tipoff, the game started quickly as a Moore layup put BHSU on the board first, but an SDM three-pointer and a layup quickly put them up 5-2. Two mid-range jumpers from Van Wyk put the Yellow Jackets back up 6-5 and an
Ellie Moore steal opened up an
Alessia Capley layup to give the Yellow Jackets the 8-5 scoreboard.
The Hardrockers, however, went on to nail another three from the corner to go up 10-8. With a Van Wyk turnaround layup and a pair of shots from the charity stripe, courtesy of
Morgan Hammerbeck, BHSU took the lead 14-12 to start.
The Yellow Jackets began to pull away with this one in the second quarter, tacking on a 34-7 run before the intermission. The Yellow Jackets finished the first half with a perfect six of six from three-point range and a 69.2 percent clip from the field. Kocer led the charge as she was perfect on three shots from the perimeter and held a 4-6 mark from the field. The Yellow Jackets recorded 11 steals on defense versus a Hardrocker five.
Out of the break, a Hammerbeck shot from beyond the arch started the third quarter with the Yellow Jackets at a 51-19 lead. At the 8:01 mark in the third, SDM went on a six-point burst before
Kalla Bertram interrupted the charge with a layup at 5:58 to go in the frame. Despite back-and-forth scores from both sides, the Yellow Jackets were able to maintain a sizeable 65-33 lead heading into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter saw the Hardrockers outscore the Yellow Jackets 9-7, but the lead BHSU obtained in the earlier quarters proved to be too much to come back from as BHSU claimed the 72-42 victory.
A FRIDAY BHSU WIN WOULD...
Keep BHSU in the hunt for the second seed in the RMAC with Regis. Due to the weekend seeing both squads win out, the fight for the second seed continues.
A FRIDAY BHSU LOSS WOULD...
Send BHSU to the fourth seed, allowing for Adams State to take the third spot in the RMAC.
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THURSDAY VS. COLORADO CHRISTIAN
Colorado Christian held a 6-3 start to the season before dropping seven straight through the month of December heading into January. In their last two weekends, the Cougars have gone 2-2 with wins against Fort Lewis, 90-61, and UCCS, 56-52. Despite their struggles, CCU has the fourth best field goal percentage as a unit in the RMAC as they hold a .409 clip this season. They also rank fourth in three-point percentage with a .307 clip from beyond the arc this season.
COURGARS' LAST TIMEOUT
The Cougars took on the UCCS Mountain Lions at home tonight, with an electric crowd and a thrilling game. With UCCS coming off a tight win against Chadron State last night, both teams were hungry for an action-packed game.
And so it was. The match-up started off close, with both teams putting up over 20 shots each. Dasiya Jones started off the Cougars with 6 points in the first quarter along with 2 rebounds. Maggie Hutka and Agnes Paul also contributed 2 rebounds each in the first quarter. However, UCCS held the lead by a few points for most of the quarter.
The game turned into a real nail-biter by halftime as the Cougars held the Mountain Lions to a 40% shooting percentage as CCU rose to a 53.3% shooting percentage. With a strong CCU offense, Jones continued to execute, and the Cougars crept back into the lead with three key three pointers from Jones, Maggie Phipps, and Regan Loconte. Paul picked up a couple of more rebounds, and the 2nd quarter wrapped up, Cougars 29, Mountain Lions 30.
The third quarter score stayed close, but a strong UCCS defense was not giving up easily. With the Cougars down by 5, but not discouraged, play continued into the last quarter.
The fourth quarter was an exciting one, as Phipps drained a three-pointer early and Jones continued to dominate from the field. Maggie Hutka was sharp on defensive as well as offensive rebounds. With a minute left, Phipps bagged another three, and the score was tied 50-50. The Cougars called a timeout, and returned to the game with possession. As the clock wound down, Hutka put up a three and executed as the Cougars took the lead. UCCS called a timeout to talk it over, and with 24 seconds left in the game, Loconte and Nicole Bowlin drained free throws to take the lead and the win.
The final score was 56-52, with Jones and Phipps leading the Cougars in points. Jones also ended up with 5 rebounds, and Hutka led in rebounds with 6. Loconte, Bowlin, and Hutka also had solid nights.
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LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs CCU (Feb. 25, 2022)
Black Hills State women's basketball defeated CCU, 72-63, Friday night in the Donald E Young Center.
The first quarter was a battle between BHSU and CCU as the teams took turns sinking baskets as the score was knotted up five times throughout the first quarter of play. The Yellow Jackets were down by four with just over five minutes to play in the half before a pair of three pointers by Morgan Hammerbeck and Summer Fox put the Yellow Jackets on top 11-9. From that point the two teams traded baskets setting up a 15-15 score at the end of the quarter.
The Yellow Jackets opened the second quarter on a pair of 3's from Kocer and Megan Engesser which gave them their largest lead of the game up six. Although CCU would stay competitive through the quarter BHSU held onto that lead taking a 34-30 lead into the break.
After opening the third quarter on a layup to go up six the Yellow Jackets allowed CCU back in as the Cougars made three baskets in a row to tie the game at 36 all. Back-to-back threes by Morgan Hammerbeck and Megan Engesser put the Yellow Jackets back in the driver's seat as BHSU went on to outscore CCU 17-10. The Yellow Jackets held their largest lead of the night at 59-46 heading into the final ten minutes of play.
CCU would get back within ten off a three-point play but would not be able to overcome the 13-point deficit they carried into the fourth quarter as the Yellow Jackets laid on the gas outscoring CCU 14-13 to set up the final score of 72-63.
COACHES
In his 21st season as head coach of the Yellow Jackets, Mark Nore is the winningest coach in BHSU Athletics history for the women's basketball program with an overall record of 364-225.
Entering her fourth season as the head coach of SDSMT women's basketball, Jeri Jacobson Owsley is only the fifth head coach in program history. Since her arrival, she holds a 34-40 record and has led the Hardrocker ladies to two RMAC tournament berths.
Diane Thompson enters her second season as the Cougar women's basketball head coach. Prior to her arrival in Lakewood, Colorado, Thompson has served in various coaching roles at Regis, CSU Pueblo, Fort Lewis, and MSU Denver. She graduated from Cal State Bakersfield and was a three-time All-American, captain and All-Conference Player, aiding her team to two conference championships and an NCAA Elite Eight tournament appearance.Â
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