Black Hills State women's basketball hosted their final home game of the 2022-23 regular season on Saturday night against the Adams State Grizzlies, defeating them 67-60 to stand alone in third place in the RMAC.
 
The Yellow Jackets (20-6, 15-5 RMAC) shot well against the Grizzlies tonight, totaling 23-of-53 (43.4 percent) that included a 7-of-21 look from beyond the arc (33.3 percent). BHSU was also 14-of-16 from the charity stripe. To their credit, the Grizzlies out-defended the Yellow Jackets with 10 steals and four blocks versus a BHSU three and one, respectively. BHSU, however, held 43 rebounds over ASU's 22 boards.
 
Niki Van Wyk held another high-scoring bout against the Grizzlies tonight, logging 21 points in 32 minutes of game time. The senior was 6-of-13 from the field, 5-of-9 from downtown, and perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
 
Ellie Moore was a force from inside the paint as the graduate forward tallied 12 points with a 6-of-9 shooting performance, combining with 10 rebounds for a double-double on the night. She also held the lone block for the Yellow Jackets tonight.
 
The seniors of BHSU took the court to start the matchup against the Grizzlies and hit a solid start on a Van Wyk triple to draw the first strike. After exchanging turnovers, the Grizzlies turned on an eight-point run to take an 8-2 lead at the five-minute mark. A layup from Kocer and a triple from Van Wyk tied the game at 8-all, with an Ellie Moore and a last-second Alessia Capley layup giving BHSU the 12-8 lead.
 
Two consecutive buckets from ASU put the game into another tie at 12-all, with both teams going back and forth down the line from here. At the 3:08 mark, however, the Grizzlies were able to strum up a 13-3 down to the final ten seconds, but it was an Engesser jumper that ended the half with BHSU down 30-25.
 
Van Wyk got things moving for BHSU at the start of the second half with two treys, which helped make up an 8-2 start for the Yellow Jackets, giving them the lead back at 33-32 by the 6:48 mark. Both teams were neck and neck down to the final two minutes where a layup and three charity-stripe points gave the Yellow Jackets a 48-45 lead heading into the fourth.
 
The Yellow Jackets popped the cork on an 8-2 series in the fourth off triples from Engesser and Hammerbeck with two freebies to Van Wyk, taking their largest lead of the game at 56-47 with 6:12 remaining in the game. An 11-2 series from the Grizzlies, however, brought ASU back into the game with a 58-58 tie in the final three minutes.
 
A huge triple from Van Wyk with two minutes left gave BHSU a 63-58 lead with two minutes left in the game as another Moore layup gave them the lead by six. ASU hit one free throw in the final moments, but a foul put Engesser on the line where she put the nail in the coffin with her final two free throws to give BHSU the seven-point victory. The Yellow Jackets finished the season 12-3 at home and moved to 20-6 on the season.
 
Up Next
BHSU wraps up the regular season on the road in a pair of midweek games against Colorado Christian on Wednesday, Feb. 22 before a matchup with Chadron State on Thursday, Feb. 23. Both games are at 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., respectively.