The women's basketball squad at Black Hills State University will cap off the 2023 calander year on the road this upcoming Friday as the Yellow Jacket ladies travel down to Las Vegas, New Mexico to tipoff against the NMHU Cowgirls. Tipoff on Friday night between both squads is slated for a 5 p.m. start time from the John A. Wilson Complex. 

The Yellow Jackets (5-3, 2-2 RMAC) hosted their second set of RMAC matchups last weekend, with the ladies picking up a win over the MSU Denver Roadrunners last Friday night before dropping a gritty matchup against the No. 11/23, nationally-ranked Colorado School of Mines Orediggers on Saturday evening. 

Heading into the matchup, both teams are tied in the conference at 2-2 marks in the RMAC, which locks the Yellow Jackets and Cowgirls for eighth in the RMAC in the early stages of the 2023-24 season. 

YELLOW JACKETS' LAST TIMEOUT
Black Hills State women's basketball hosted the nationally ranked Colorado School of Mines Orediggers on Saturday night, where they dropped a match to the visitors in a hard-fought, 87-71 loss.
 
Three Yellow Jackets finished with double-digit scoring against the Orediggers. Gracie Haneborg paved the way for BHSU with 15 points against the Orediggers, which paired with another 15 off the bench from freshman guard Jaylen Ostenson. Haneborg threw down 5-of-10 shots on the night, a lone three, and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe while Ostenson nailed 5-of-6 from the floor, was perfect from range on three shots, and cashed in on both free throw trips.
 
Ellie Moore put her 24 minutes on the court to good use as well, cashing in 14 points on a 5-of-8 mark in the paint and 4-of-8 on freebies. Moore finished with two rebounds, two steals, a block, and a pair of assists against CSM.
 
On the defensive efforts, Kalla Bertram and Ostenson both logged a block to bring the BHSU team total to three. Morgan Hammerbeck joined three other Yellow Jackets with three defensive boards, leading the team with five overall.
 
Bertram cashed in one of two free throw attempts following a Steffeck foul in the first minute, but the Orediggers' hot offense wasted no time getting started afterwards, putting up a quick 8-0 run that put them in the lead for the remainder of the contest. A pair of free throws, both good from Haneborg, were once again met with another six-point burst from CSM saw the Yellow Jackets trail further behind with 6:21 to go in the frame. An Ostenson layup kicked off back-and-forth play from both sides through the halfway point of the quarter, leading to a 21-10 CSM scoreboard with four minutes remaining. BHSU kept pace with CSM through the remainder of the quarter, but a 15-point deficit would be waiting for them in the second after a 1-of-2 Moore trip to the free throw line and a last-minute three-ball miss from Kaycee Groves ended the frame.
 
The Orediggers continued to keep the pressure up in the second period, meeting a Haneborg two-point jumper with an 8-2 series to stretch their lead to 36-17 at the 7:11 benchmark. Another dominant 11-2 stretch from the visitors saw CSM take their largest lead of the night, 47-21, with 2:24 to go in the half. Kylie Sanger came off the bench to nail a pair of treys, but free throws and scores in the paint would maintain the 26-point lead held by the Orediggers through halftime.
 
BHSU changed their pace after coming back to the floor, opening second-half play with a 7-0 burst through the first two minutes to cut the lead to 53-34. Both teams traded points on the next four possessions, but another scooping score from Haneborg kicked off a thrilling 10-0 run from the Yellow Jacket ladies that nearly brought BHSU within single digits as the run drafted a 57-46 scoreboard with 4:42 left to play in the third. A three-ball from Josephine Howery of CSM, however, killed the momentum as the Orediggers secured another large, 10-2 run that dragged out through the rest of the quarter, sending a 67-48 score into the final frame of regulation.
 
The Yellow Jacket ladies continued to fight through the start of the final quarter, which began with a pair of triples from Ostenson split by a two-point bucket from Moore. Another triple down the stretch from Raven Cournoyer and three made freebies from Ostenson and Groves drew the Yellow Jackets to an 11-point deficit with 4:24 to go, but foul trouble led to both teams landing in the bonus. Exchanged free throw trips turned into a pair of two-point buckets from CSM, with the Yellow Jackets being held to two free throws by Moore before a three-point dagger from Jenna Siebert iced the game for the Orediggers, who remain undefeated in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. 
 

Black Hills State  vs.  NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS   FRIDAY, DEC. 15 // 5 P.M. // LAS VEGAS, N.M. // JOHN A. WILSON COMPLEX Live Stream / Live Stats / Radio

FRIDAY vs. NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS
New Mexico Highlands (3-6, 2-2 RMAC) bounced back from a 1-4 start to the season with a successful weekend against Colorado Christian and Chadron State, defeating the Cougars and Eagles at home, 74-73 and 60-47, respectively, before dropping a pair of matchups against hardy defenses in Fort Lewis and Adams State on the road, 64-57 and 91-60. Picked to finish 11th in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference after a 14-14 (8-14 RMAC) campaign under now fourth year head coach Garett Sherman, the Cowgirls are looking to bounce back at home before the holiday break against BHSU and South Dakota Mines, who they're set to face off against on Saturday evening. 

COWGIRLS' LAST TIMEOUTS
FRIDAY: Durango, Colorado - Despite a strong third quarter effort, the New Mexico Highlands women's basketball team fell to Fort Lewis 64-57 on Friday evening in Durango. With the loss the Cowgirls are 3-4 overall and 2-1 in the RMAC. Fort Lewis is 5-4 overall and 2-1 in the conference.

Fort Lewis led 30-19 at the half, but the Cowgirls outscored the hosts 24-12 in the third quarter to grab a 43-42 lead heading into the fourth quarter. They would extend that lead to 50-46 three minutes into the final quarter but could not hold home the Skyhawks down the stretch.

The Cowgirls went 21 of 59 from the floor and nine of 16 from the free throw line in the game and out rebounded the Skyhawks 41-37.

Vanessa Herrera led NMHU with 15 points as she made good on five three point attempts in the contest. Juliana Aragon scored 13 points and dished out a game high 10 assists. Delani Harris registered a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Aja Scott grabbed a game high 13 rebounds.

SATURDAY: ALAMOSA, Colo. - The New Mexico Highlands women's basketball team lost to Adams State 91-60 on Saturday in Alamosa. With the loss the Cowgirls are now 3-6 overall and 2-2 in the RMAC. The Grizzlies improve to 9-3 overall and 4-0 in conference play.

Adams State led Saturday's contest wire-to-wire jumping out to a 50-28 lead at halftime and cruising to the final margin of victory.

On the night the Cowgirls were 25 of 57 from the floor, five for 13 from three-point range and five of 12 from the free throw line. Rebounds were even in the contest at 34.

For the Cowgirls, Juliana Aragon led the scoring with 11 points. Delani Harris added 10 points and six rebounds. Aja Scott scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds.

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. 

Garett Sherman enters his fourth season as the head women's basketball coach at NMHU. Before his tenure in Las Vegas, Sherman spent seven years at the junior college level as a head women's basketball coach at Allegany College of Maryland and Western Wyoming Community College, earning three NJCAA Region Coach of the Year awards, three region championships, and two national tournament appearances.