Black Hills State women's basketball hosted a quarterfinal matchup against Metro State Denver on Tuesday night. In another tough defensive battle between these two teams, MSUD hung in long enough to slip by the Yellow Jackets to secure a 56-50 victory to advance to the semifinals.
 
The Yellow Jackets held solid defense against the Roadrunners, tallying up six blocks, seven steals, and 27 defensive rebounds on the night while MSUD recorded one block and eight steals. Both teams had 15 turnovers on the night.
 
The Roadrunners won the game from inside the paint and thanks to support from their bench as the visitors tallied 22 and 29 points in each category. The Yellow Jackets kept it close thanks to hot three-point shooting early combined with a 16-11 difference in points off turnovers.
 
Danica Kocer, Morgan Hammerbeck, and Megan Engesser each made two three-point shots throughout the game, with Kocer and Hammerbeck leading BHSU with 15 points and 10 points, respectively. Kocer finished 4-of-8 from the floor and was 2-of-3 from beyond the arch while Hammerbeck was 4-of-9 overall and 2-of-6 from three-point land.
 
Ellie Moore led the team with four blocks tonight against the Roadrunners while securing a steal and four defensive boards. Hammerbeck led the team with nine total rebounds, including seven on defense.
 
Morgan Hammerbeck put up the first strikes of the contest on a turnaround jumper and later a three-point shot to put BHSU up 5-0 within the first couple of minutes. The Roadrunners were 0-of-5 through the first five minutes, allowing the Yellow Jackets to stretch their lead to 9-0 before MSUD was able to knock down a two-pointer.
 
MSUD caught their stride and tied the game with just over two minutes left in the quarter, with both teams going back and forth to end the frame. An Engesser three in the final seconds gave BHSU the 14-12 scoreboard heading into quarter two.
 
After exchanging threes, a Kocer triple and a Moore scoop gave BHSU the 22-17 lead halfway through the second quarter, but five straight from MSUD kept the contest tight. Both squads struggled to put up points through the rest of the quarter, but BHSU kept on top to lead 24-22 as the game went into the intermission.
 
Both teams came out swinging to start the second half, but a Weathersby freebie and a trey from Hammerbeck gave BHSU some space on a 35-28 score by the halfway point. An MSUD layup brought the Roadrunners within three, but another trey from Engesser kept the Yellow Jackets on top. After both squads exchanged trips to the charity stripe, the quarter ended 40-34 in favor of BHSU into the final frame.
 
Two trips to the free throw line for Kocer gave BHSU an eight-point lead to start the final quarter, but a 10-2 series from the Roadrunners tied the game with four minutes left to be played. MSUD later took the lead at the charity stripe and led by two heading into the final two minutes.
 
Down 50-48 with 2:13 to go, a Danica Kocer trey at 1:42 brought the Yellow Jackets within one, but a costly foul in the last seconds gave the Roadrunners a freebie to lead 52-50 with 6.1 seconds left in the contest. BHSU was unable to get the ball back in time, allowing for MSUD to claim the 56-50 victory to advance to the semifinals.