Black Hills State women's basketball (9-3, 4-2 RMAC) heads to Gunnison, Colorado for a 5:30 p.m. matchup against Western Colorado on Friday, Jan. 6.
 
BHSU heads to Gunnison off a loss to Adams State last Friday night, falling to the Grizzlies 82-52. The ladies also had a contest slated with Fort Lewis on New Year's Eve, but the contest was postponed due to inclement weather that hit Colorado over the weekend.
 
In their loss, Megan Engesser was one of the bright spots against a tough Adams State defense as the senior guard piled on 18 points, all from shots beyond the arc: she finished the game 6-of-12 from three and 6-of-14 overall. The leading RMAC three-point shooter will be vital to a BHSU women's team that is missing their leading scorer in Danica Kocer.
 
After the last week, the Yellow Jacket ladies fell to the fifth spot in the conference, but their road game against the Mountaineers will provide an opportunity to stay within the top five of the RMAC.
 

BLACK HILLS STATE  at  Western Colorado   FRIDAY, JAN. 6 // 5:30 P.M. // GUNNISON, COLO. // PAUL WRIGHT GYM Live Stream / Live Stats / Game Notes / Tickets

 
YELLOW JACKETS' LAST TIME OUT
ALAMOSA, Colo. – Black Hills State women's basketball (9-3, 4-2 RMAC) traveled to compete against Adams State on Friday night and fell to the Grizzlies, 82-52.
 
The ASU Grizzlies' defense forced 24 Yellow Jacket turnovers and held the team to a 30.2 percent mark from the floor and a 31.6 percent clip from beyond the arc.
 
Despite the tough defense, Megan Engesser led the Yellow Jackets with 18 points on the night, with all six shots made from three-point range. She went 6-of-14 overall and 6-of-12 from three.
 
Kalla Bertram was the next highest on the roster, making 1-of-4 from the floor but making up for it with a 7-of-8 mark from the charity stripe. On the defensive side of the floor, BHSU racked up four blocks with Ellie Moore leading the charge with two.
 
BHSU also outrebounded the Grizzlies, grabbing 35 total boards throughout the game. Bertram led the team with two offensive and five defensive boards.
 
Off the controlled tip, ASU was able to get down the floor for a quick layup to draw the first points, but an Engesser three-pointer gave BHSU their first lead of the night. However, a quick 7-0 run from the Grizzlies gave them a 9-3 lead with 6:56 to go in the first quarter.
 
A layup from Capley and another long-range shot from Engesser pulled BHSU back to a four-point deficit. Both teams traded buckets with Adams State not giving up their lead. A three-point shot from the Grizzlies ended the quarter with a 16-14 ASU lead.
 
Heading into the second, a layup from Haylee Weathersby brought BHSU within one, but turnovers would allow for a 10-2 run from the Grizzlies, which helped them re-expand their lead to 26-17 with 7:36 to go in the half. ASU continued to play tough defense down the stretch, allowing for them to take a 32-21 lead with four minutes to go.
 
Another layup courtesy of Hammerbeck and another three-point dime from Engesser brought the game back to an eight-point Yellow Jacket deficit, but a Kalla Bertram foul led to two charity stripe points for the Grizzlies, bringing it back to a double-digit lead for ASU. Another 7-2 run from the hosts ended the half with the Grizzlies on top, 39-26.
 
The second half opened with a 5-4 run highlighted by a Bertram layup and another long-range shot from Engesser, but solid shooting from ASU kept them ahead with a sizeable 15-point lead. ASU later expanded their lead with a 9-2 series that, after an Engesser three, gave them a 55-37 lead with 2:52 left in the quarter. Both teams shared a trip to the free throw line to cap off the quarter, with ASU leading by 24 heading into the final frame.
 
Despite multiple mid-range shots and free throws made by BHSU, ASU had answers for it all in the fourth, maintaining a 73-49 scoreboard halfway through quarter number four. The Grizzlies kept their foot down and finished the game with a three-point shot to put away BHSU, 82-52.
 
FRIDAY AT WESTERN COLORADO
 
Western Colorado (4-7, 3-3 RMAC) returns to the court after a four-point victory they earned over the UCCS Mountain Lions on Saturday, outlasting a UCCS team that held a 54-49 lead with just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter.
 
Sophomore forward Rachel Cockman, the leading Mountaineer scorer this season, co-led the team with a 17-point performance, shooting 5-of-11 from the floor and 2-of-4 from downtown.
 
Fifth-year guard Emmery Wagstaff also held a strong performance for the Mountaineers after dropping another 17 points on the night, shooting 4-of-13 including a single three-pointer and a pair of assists. Both players held five boards against the Mountain Lions.
 
A FRIDAY BHSU WIN WOULD...
 
Send BHSU to a 10-3 record overall and 5-2 in the RMAC, helping them maintain their top-five spot in the conference.
 
A FRIDAY BHSU LOSS WOULD...
 
Send the ladies to a 10-4 record and a 4-3 mark in the RMAC, potentially tying them up with Regis, Fort Lewis, and Western Colorado.
 
MOUNTAINEERS' LAST TIMEOUT
 
GUNNISON, Colo. - University of Colorado at Colorado Springs tried to pull off a comeback tonight (Dec. 31) against Western Colorado. However, the Mountaineers stepped up on defense and halted the Mountain Lion's comeback attempt, resulting in them walking away with a 57-53 victory.
 
The Mountain Lions took a brief 5-2 lead early in the game after they knocked down a three-pointer, but the Mountaineers responded quickly with a 7-0 run – four points from Hayley Valencia and three points from Rachel Cockman, who knocked down a three.
 
Up 9-5, UCCS scored their final points of the quarter with 4:29 left on the clock that cut Western's lead to 9-7. The Mountaineers closed the first quarter with two free throws from Cockman.
 
Scoring picked up for both teams in the second quarter, but Western managed to maintain a lead for the entire quarter. The Mountain Lions tried to take the lead several times at the 6:58, 6:17, and 5:30 mark of the quarter, trimming the lead to two points at each mark.
 
Following two successful free throws (5:30) – Western up 16-14 - by the Mountain Lions, the Mountaineer's offense put the pedal to the metal and went on a 10-0 run. Cockman took the game over during that run scoring seven of the ten points, Emmery Wagstaff scoring the other three points.
 
UCCS closed the second quarter out on a strong note, going on a 7-2 run that resulted in them trailing 21-28 at halftime.
 
Coming out of halftime, Western had a brief 12-point lead, thanks to a layup from Wagstaff and a three-pointer from Cockman. The Mountain Lions battled back after that, trimming the lead to as little as four points with 3:33 left in the third quarter.
 
19 seconds later, the Mountaineers responded after a Kylie Krise three and managed to increase the lead to seven points with the gap opening to 10 points with 38 seconds left in the quarter after a Wagstaff layup.
 
Before the quarter ended, UCCS drew a foul and knocked down both free throws, putting Western's lead at 45-37.
 
In the fourth quarter, the Mountaineers held an eight-point plus lead for most of the quarter and appeared to have things all but wrapped up. However, the Mountain Lions made a late push with 2:23 left to play.
 
Down 49-54 – after UCCS made a layup and converted the and-one - the Mountain Lions went on a 4-0 run, cutting the lead to 53-54 with 51 seconds remaining on the clock.
 
UCCS had an opportunity to take the lead with 30 seconds to go. They missed both free throws, however, which resulted in them having to foul. Wagstaff went to the line and knocked down a free throw, giving Western a two-point lead.
 
The Mountain Lions tried to tie the game on their final possessions, but they couldn't knock down the 10-foot shot leading to them fouling Wagstaff again. Wagstaff put the final nail in the coffin seconds later by knocking down both free throws.
 
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs WCU (Dec. 3, 2021)
 
Black Hills State women's basketball took on Western Colorado at home Friday night defeating the Mountaineers 45-43.
 
The Yellow Jackets were led offensively by freshman guard Morgan Hammerbeck who recorded a career-high 12 points.
 
Defensively, Haylee Weathersby led the Yellow Jackets with a career-high of 10 total rebounds including 8 defensive rebounds.
 
The Mountaineers took an early seven-point lead with a 7-0 run to open play before a pair of free throws by Danica Kocer put the Yellow Jackets on the board. The Yellow Jackets battled to pull even with the Mountaineers at nine all with three minutes left in the quarter.
 
BHSU continued to fight through the first quarter, grabbing a three-point lead before heading into the break at 14-11.
 
Defense was the name of the game in the second quarter as the Yellow Jackets forced five turnovers and the Mountaineers forced four. BHSU came out of the quarter scoring only four points, but managed to hold Western Colorado to ten, setting up the halftime score of 21-18, in favor of WCU.
 
In the third quarter, free throws were aplenty for BHSU and Western Colorado with the Yellow Jackets shooting six and the Mountaineers shooting seven. BHSU fell behind by as much as eight points before storming back to tie the game at 34 with just under a minute to play in the quarter.
 
A jump shot by Morgan Hammerbeck would give the Yellow Jackets a two-point lead heading into the final quarter of play.
 
Haylee Weathersby was the difference maker for the Yellow Jackets in the fourth quarter pulling in three rebounds and scoring five points, including the final points of the game, which put the Yellow Jackets up 45-43 with just over two seconds to play.
 
As a team, the Yellow Jackets shot 34.9 percent from the field after making 15-of-43 from the floor, including a 31.3 percent look from beyond the arc, draining 5-of-16 from downtown.
 
At the charity stripe, BHSU shot 71.4 percent, making 10-of-14 free throw attempts.

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 359-225. 

Coaching his first year at WCU, Adam Jacobson spent two seasons as the head coach for North Dakota State College of Science women's squad, where they were the 2021-22 Mon-Dak regular season champions with a 20-1 league mark. During his two year tenure, Jacobson went 44-12 overall and 34-9 in the Mon-Dak conference.