Black Hills State women's basketball dropped a close matchup to the Northern State University Wolves on Saturday night, 58-52.
 
The Yellow Jackets (2-1, 0-0 RMAC) trailed 25-17 at the bottom of the first half and bounced back with a strong third quarter performance that saw BHSU complete over 57% of both total shots and three-pointers to lift themselves to a 24-point quarter, but NSU (3-1, 0-0 NSIC) escaped the frame with the lead and hung on to slip by the Yellow Jackets in the fourth.
 
Ellie Moore finished the game as the BHSU point leader in the matchup as she scored 14 on 5-of-10 shooting and cashed in four of five free throws. Moore recorded a team-second seven total rebounds, an assist, and a steal versus the Wolves.
 
Kalla Bertram led the BHSU defense with eight total rebounds on the night, including seven defensive boards pulled down by the sophomore guard. Gracie Haneborg and Raven Cournoyer both led BHSU with two triples made by each, while Haylee Weathersby led the defense with the only Yellow Jacket block of the night and a steal to her credit.
 
NSU began the game with five unanswered points from Madelyn Bragg, but two shots in the paint from Moore and Cournoyer hauled BHSU back to within two, 7-5, with 2:48 to go in the first. Both teams traded buckets down the stretch to send an 11-9 Wolves' scoreboard to the second quarter.
 
Though Haneborg tied the game up with a fast-break layup in the opening minute, a 9-2 series controlled by the Wolves stretched the NSU lead to 20-13 with just over three minutes to go in the half. A quick defensive board and layup from Moore pulled BHSU within five, but a three-ball and pair of free throws from NSU wiped the scores from the Yellow Jackets to keep their lead intact. Moore sank two more shots from the charity stripe at the end of the quarter, sending both squads to the locker room on a 25-17 NSU lead.
 
BHSU laid down a 10-3 series to open the second half,courtesy of two Cournoyer three-point shots and two jumpers from Hammerbeck to close the gap to 29-27, but another three-point score from NSU helped the Wolves pace the Yellow Jackets as the quarter reached the halfway point. Both teams continued to trade scores down to the end of the frame, but a layup from the Wolves gave them a three-point advantage heading into the final quarter of play.
 
The Green N' Gold continued to chase down NSU, riding on the back of five points from Moore to hold a 50-48 lead. NSU took advantage of a Moore foul to tie the game, 50-all, with 4:32 remaining in the game; though BHSU had good looks down the stretch, NSU was able to hang on to take the 58-52 win to close out the Women's East/West Challenge.
 
Up Next
The Yellow Jackets will rest up heading into the week but are looking ahead to their last non-conference matchup against South Dakota Mines on Monday, Nov. 27 for the first men's/women's doubleheaders of the season. The women will kick off action at the Donald E. Young Center on Monday night at 5 p.m.