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.
 
The RMAC's top offense defended their conference ranking as they made 52 percent of their total shots on the night, including a 39 percent look from beyond the arch. BHSU fought valiantly, posting a 43.6/36.8/64.0 slash of their own.
 
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. 
 
Up Next
BHSU will head south for a trip to Las Vegas, New Mexico on Friday, Dec. 15 to take on the N.M. Highlands Cowgirls for one last matchup in the 2023 calendar year.