LAS VEGAS, N.M. - Black Hills State women's basketball hit the road on Friday night to compete in their final contest of the 2023 calendar year, defeating the New Mexico Highlands Cowgirls, 63-46, from the John A. Wilson Complex.
 
The contest was a well-rounded effort on the offensive side of the ball for the Yellow Jackets (6-3, 3-2 RMAC), who held a hot first-half start that carried them through for the victory. BHSU finished the first two quarters with a .469/.636/.667 slash in the first half, holding NMHU to an eight-point quarter in the second while dropping 20 in the same frame.
 
Morgan Hammerbeck led the charge for the Yellow Jackets on the night, clocking out with a 6-of-10 look from the field, 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, and 1-of-2 from the free throw line against the Cowgirls. Hammerbeck also nabbed two boards, a pair of assists, and a steal on the night.
 
Jaylen Ostenson came out of the gate red hot in the first half. Though quiet in the second half of the game, the freshman came off the bench and scored all eight points in the first quarter as she dropped two three-pointers and buried a driving layup to aid BHSU's 19-11 lead in the first period.
 
Alessia Capley led the team with eight total rebounds on the night, coming off the bench for seven points in the contest in 11 minutes of playing time. Raven Cournoyer and Kaycee Groves also contributed to the victory with seven points as well, both draining 1-of-2 treys on the night and passing two assists in the game. Kalla Bertram and Ellie Moore grabbed both blocks for the Yellow Jackets on the night, with Bertram recording two steals to lead the team in that category.
 
The Yellow Jackets wasted no time to get shots up in the first, with Morgan Hammerbeck redeeming her missed three-ball to start the game with a triple from the same place. Though the Cowgirls were able to catch up with a pair of jumpers, Cournoyer and Ostenson buried more three-point shots to boost BHSU to a 14-7 lead with four minutes to go in the quarter. Another triple from Ostenson and layup in the later portion of the frame would erase a jumper from NMHU to give the Yellow Jacket ladies an eight-point, 19-11 lead through one.
 
BHSU continued to rock in the second quarter as the ladies went on to outscore the Cowgirls 20-8 in the frame, knocking down 50 percent of their shots through the quarter and forcing five turnovers on NMHU, giving the basketball up only twice.
 
A hook shot from Weathersby opened play in the second half and paired with another layup from Bertram to stretch the BHSU lead to 23-11 with 7:01 to go in the half. Juliana Aragona of NMHU drained a three to pull the Cowgirls back within nine, but another layup from Hammerbeck led to a two more from a Cournoyer jumper erased the three-ball with just under five to go in the quarter. Groves responded to consecutive two-point shots from the Cowgirls with a three-ball of her own, later draining a jumper to keep BHSU on top with a comfortable 32-18 lead. NMHU was held to a single free throw inside the final ten seconds, but Hammerbeck connected from deep at the last second to send the Yellow Jackets to the locker room with a 20-point, 39-19 lead.
 
Play slowed down in the opening period of the second half as both teams exchanged missed shots to start. A trey from NMHU's Maiah Rivas was the first score of the half at the 7:41 mark, which went with a pair of two-point scores to draw up a 43-24 scoreboard. NMHU took the edge through the latter half of the quarter, using a three-pointer from Aja Scott at the end to finish the quarter on a four minute, 7-4 run to slim the BHSU lead to 48-31.
 
NMHU opened the first half of the final quarter with two triples to take a slight 6-4 edge in the fourth, but a Weathersby freebie and three-ball from freshman guard Karissa Smith kept BHSU up by 19 with 4:06 to go in the game. After a 3-3 stretch drew the game to the final two minutes in the contest, quick shots from Weathersby and Groves enlarged the gap to 63-40. Triples from NMHU, via Emily Burk, inside the final minute posted the final points of the contest, which resulted in a 63-46 victory for the Yellow Jackets, keeping them in stride to compete for the top-five in the RMAC upon returning from the holiday break.
 
Up Next
BHSU will return to the court on Friday, January 5, to host a pair of big matchups against top-five RMAC teams to open the New Year. On Friday night, the Yellow Jackets will match up against Adams State before turning to a Saturday, Jan. 6 contest against Fort Lewis.