Women's basketball returns to the Donald E. Young Center on Monday, Nov. 27 at 5 p.m. as the Black Hills State women's basketball team is set to tip off the first women's/men's double header of the year against I-90 Rival, South Dakota Mines.
 
BHSU (2-1, 0-0 RMAC) recently hosted the Lady Hardrockers and two other teams last weekend at the Women's East/West Challenge in Spearfish, where the Yellow Jackets finished even through two games against the University of Sioux Falls (W, 62-53) and Northern State (L, 58-52).
 
Monday night's matchup for both Yellow Jacket squads will be the last non-conference bouts, with RMAC regular season beginning next Friday night.
 

Black Hills State  vs.  SOUTH DAKOTA MINES   MONDAY, NOV. 27 // 5 P.M. // SPEARFISH, S.D. // DONALD E. YOUNG CENTER Live Stream / Live Stats / Radio / Tickets

 
MONDAY vs. SOUTH DAKOTA MINES
The South Dakota Mines Lady Hardrockers (0-4, 0-0 RMAC) were picked to finish 14th in the RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll following a 2022-23 campaign that saw SDM finish 6-22 overall.
 
Four games into the 2023-24 season, the Lady Hardrockers are 0-4 after tough losses against Texas Permian Basin, West Texas A&M, the University of Sioux Falls, and Northern State.
 
MATCHUP HISTORY
Through 43 games dating back to 2003, Black Hills State women's basketball holds a 27-16 record over the Hardrockers, with last season's meetings resulting in a 2-0 sweep for the Yellow Jackets.
 
A BHSU WIN WOULD...
Bring the Yellow Jackets to a 3-1 start to the season, which is the best start BHSU has had since the 2020-21 season when the ladies began the year 6-1 on their way to an RMAC Championship.
 
A BHSU LOSS WOULD...
Drop the Yellow Jackets to 2-2 on the season and 27-18 against South Dakota Mines since 2003.
 
YELLOW JACKETS' LAST TIMEOUT
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.
 
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. 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 victory.
 
LADY HARDROCKERS' LAST TIMEOUT
SPEARFISH, S.D. --- The South Dakota Mines women's basketball team finished its East/West challenge on Saturday afternoon as they took on Sioux Falls.
 
Piper Bauer got the scoring going early for South Dakota Mines, hitting a three-pointer to get the game started. Bauer would hit another three after a Savea Mansfield layup, taking an 8-6 lead. USF would follow with eight straight points, and eventually go up by 11, 24-13 at the end of 1.
 
Early in the second, neither team could get their offenses going with just 3 combined points in the first 4:30. Another Bauer three and a Mansfield lay-in would cut the deficit to 10, but a 9-0 USF run would close the half. The Cougars led 37-18 at the half.
 
The Hardrockers played much better in the third, but USF answered point for point. The Hardrockers would cut it to 17 after trailing by 20 on a Sydnee Durtshce layup only to see USF answer with another 9-0 run, taking a 58-32 lead into the fourth.
 
South Dakota Mines would continue to battle, but Sioux Falls was too much on this night, winning, 78-50. Piper Bauer led the team, scoring 15 points, adding five rebounds. Durtsche led the team with seven rebounds and three assists.
 
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs. SDSMT (Jan. 24, 2023)
Black Hills State University women's basketball (15-3, 10-2 RMAC) hosted rival South Dakota Mines on Tuesday night, defeating the Hardrockers 52-46 in a gritty defensive matchup.
 
Despite the Yellow Jackets being held to a 29.3 percent look from the floor, they were 45 percent from beyond the arc. BHSU's defensive unit played a large role in the win against SDSMT as they forced 20 turnovers in the game, in which they churned for 21 points.
 
Leading the Yellow Jackets scoring totals was Niki Van Wyk, who dropped 16 against the Hardrockers on 5-of-13 shooting, 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, and 2-of-2 on freebies. Niki also played well defensively, recording a team-leading five steals and five defensive boards.
 
Danica Kocer was the second of two double-digit scorers for BHSU, recording 10 points on her night with 4-of-8 shooting totals and 1-of-2 from long range. Ellie Moore and Alessia Capley both carried the three blocks on defense for the Yellow Jackets with Moore knocking down two of her own.
 
South Dakota Mines struck first on a layup to take an early lead, but two good Van Wyk shots from the charity stripe tied it right back up by the two-minute mark. BHSU had the shot look but could not hit their shots early, allowing SDSMT to jump to a 10-4 lead on an eight-point run.
 
Shots from Bertram and Capley got BHSU back on track in the quarter, bringing the score to a 15-10 game as an Ellie Moore layup was the final score tallied for the quarter.
 
After a handful of turnovers to start quarter number two, an Engesser trey tied the game, and a Danica Kocer scoop-and-score gave BHSU their first lead of the game at 17-15. BHSU continued to expand their lead on what became a 14-0 run, leading 24-17 by the time SDSMT responded.
 
Scoring on both sides began to heat up at this point, with the Yellow Jackets holding a 27-24 lead heading into the final minute of play. A trio of free throws from Weathersby brought the Yellow Jacket lead to 30-24 as the second quarter came to a close.
 
SDSMT started hot in the third frame with a quick six-point burst to slim the Yellow Jacket lead to 32-30. Treys from Van Wyk and Morgan Hammerbeck kept BHSU on top, however, as shooting cooled down in the final four minutes of the third quarter.
 
Following a Hardrocker layup, a pair of treys from Van Wyk expanded the Yellow Jacket lead to 45-36 with 6:52 to go in the game. Both teams went neck-and-neck down the stretch from the charity stripe, with a three-pointer from the Hardrockers at 3:26 updating the score to 47-43 before Kocer nailed one from long-range to keep the Yellow Jackets up by seven.
 
Another layup from Kocer gave BHSU their largest lead since the second quarter, nine, with just over a minute to go in regulation. A block from Ellie Moore all but ended the game in the final moments, with SDSMT hitting one last three-point gasp before time expired, giving BHSU the 52-46 victory over the Hardrockers.
 
COACHES
In his 22nd season as head coach of the Yellow Jackets, Mark Nore led BHSU to their sixth RMAC tournament appearance in a row last season, with their NCAA tournament appearance marking the third time the BHSU ladies have competed in the tournament since their DII integration in 2013.
 
Jeri Owsley was named the head coach of the women's basketball program at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in 2019 and has coached the program to a 34-40 overall record heading into her fifth season at the helm.