Black Hills State women's basketball came to play on Monday night as they hosted the South Dakota Mines Hardrockers, knocking down 45 percent of their shots in the night's 64-45 victory that closed out the ladies' non-conference slate.
 
The Yellow Jackets (3-1, 0-0 RMAC) posted season-high shooting numbers across the board, tapping out with 45.5 percent shooting from the field, a season-high 11-of-24 from beyond the arc (45.8 percent), and 76.5 percent from the charity stripe. BHSU opened the game with 3-of-8 from range and closed out the final quarter with a near-perfect 4-of-5 look from downtown.
 
Kalla Bertram and Gracie Haneborg finished with near-identical stat lines against the Hardrockers: Bertram landed 5-of-6 total shots in the game, which included a perfect 3-of-3 from range, for 13 points. Haneborg made it rain from three as the junior shot all five of her shots from distance, making four of them for 12 points on the night. Ellie Moore, Haylee Weathersby, and Morgan Hammerbeck were all perfect from the foul line as they combined for 13-of-13 on freebies, with Weathersby leading the team with seven made on seven trips.
 
Bertram and Jaylen Ostenson tied for the team-lead with four assists, each. On defense, Weathersby led BHSU with eight total rebounds against SDSMT, six boards from defense, and secured the lone block of the night. Ellie Moore led with two steals while four other Yellow Jackets reigned in a steal as well.  
 
Though South Dakota Mines nabbed an early steal to turn in for the first points and their only lead of the game, treys from Bertram and free throws from Moore gave the Yellow Jackets an 8-4 lead with six minutes to go in the first frame. A pair of layups from the Hardrockers pulled SDSMT to a two-point deficit shortly after, but a 7-2 run from BHSU kept the Green N' Gold on top. The remaining 2:56 went scoreless to bring a 15-7 Yellow Jacket scoreboard to the second quarter.
 
Both teams played an even quarter in the second, going back and forth in scoring up to the final 22 seconds of the half. A three-ball from the Hardrockers closed the gap to 25-20, but another jumper from Bertram with two seconds left evened the quarter to 12-12, allowing BHSU to take a 27-20 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
Out of the locker room, the Yellow Jackets recorded a 10-2 run to extend their lead to 37-22 up to the halfway point of the quarter, riding off four Weathersby free throws, a three-point play from the junior, and a triple from Ostenson. SDSMT would go on a hot streak, however, as the Lady Hardrockers threw down a four-minute, 13-5 run of their own that dragged the scoreboard to a slimmed 42-38 BHSU lead.
 
A triple from Haneborg opened the final quarter of action, with in-the-paint scores from Bertram and Moore keeping BHSU in front through the first few minutes. Another three from the Hardrockers put up a 49-43 scoreboard with 5:40 to go in the game, but the Yellow Jackets hammered down through the rest of the quarter.
 
Three-point daggers from Haneborg and Ostenson and points off SDSMT fouls lifted BHSU to score 15 points through the remaining 5:40 of the contest as the Yellow Jacket ladies held SDSMT to two points in the same timeframe. An offensive board and layup from Kaycee Groves notched the final score with 67 seconds left, holding the Hardrockers to two turnovers and a foul in the end to give the Yellow Jackets the 64-45 victory at home, and momentum heading into the RMAC regular season. 
 
Up Next
RMAC regular season basketball kicks off for BHSU on Friday, Dec. 1 at 5 p.m., as the Yellow Jackets head to Denver to debut conference play against Regis.