SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Black Hills State University women's basketball team (9-5, 5-4 RMAC) responds yet again after a loss to pick up a dominant 72-48 road win in Utah over the Griffins of Westminster University (3-14, 1-10 RMAC) in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) action Saturday night inside the Behnken Field House. The Yellow Jackets set a new season-best with a 49.2 percent mark from the floor, leading by as many as 26 points in the convincing road victory.
There was plenty of scoring early in the game, as
Kalla Bertram (Colome, S.D.) knocked down a 3-pointer to knot things up at 7-7 in the first four minutes of the contest to spark a run.
Gracie Haneborg (North Platte, Neb.) would give BH their first lead since the first bucket of the game at 9-7 with a driving lay-up, utilizing a 11-0 run to take control of the first quarter. In the latter half of the frame, Black Hills State's offense went through the post where easy buckets from
Alessia Capley (Gr., Arvada, Colo.). By the end of the first 10 minutes, it was the Yellow Jackets with the 17-15 advantage.
The Jackets started the second with a five-point run to open up a 22-15 lead in the first two and a half minutes. Upping the defensive pressure, Black Hills State continued to make a statement when
Jaylen Ostenson (Fr., Newcastle, Wyo.) knocked down a 3-pointer to extend the lead to double digits. The quarter was highlighted by a 12-0 BH run that saw them open up a comfortable lead, outscoring the Griffins 23-13 in the second quarter to take a 12-point lead into the locker room. The Jackets shot a blistering 58.8 percent (10-for-17) from the floor in the second quarter to build their lead.
At the break, BH was shooting 53.1 percent from the floor and 40% from deep. The defensive pressure put on the Griffins forced 10 turnovers that turned into 16 Jacket points, while BH turned the ball over only three times in the half. Additionally, eight offensive rebounds turned into seven second chance points. Ostenson led the team with her eight points in the half, while nine different Yellow Jackets put points up in a balanced scoring effort.
Black Hills State wasted no time putting the ball in the basket to start the second half, scoring the first seven points, and limiting Westminster to just one shot per possession. 12 straight points from the duo of
Morgan Hammerbeck (Hamill, S.D.) and
Raven Cournoyer (Gr., Mission, S.D.) saw the lead get extended to 16 points and push the Jackets over the 50-point mark with four minutes to play in the third.
Continuing the trend of starting quarters fast, the fourth quarter was no different as the Yellow Jackets started the frame with a 12-0 run and a steal and fastbreak lay-up from Bertram forced a Griffin time out, leading 65-39 with six minutes to go in the contest. Head coach
Mark Nore would go to his bench the rest of the way, allowing more athletes to see minutes as BH would leave Utah with a 72-48 win over Westminster.
GAME NOTES
- The Yellow Jackets shot a season-best 49.2% from the floor (30-for-61).
- BHSU led for 36.5 minutes of the game, leading by as many as 26 points in the victory.
- Black Hills State dominated in the paint tonight; scoring 36 points to Westminster's 18 paint points.
- Morgan Hammerbeck and Jaylen Ostenson led the team in scoring with 15 and 11 points, respectively.
- As a team, BH shot 45.0% from 3-point range (9-for-20).
- The Jackets committed the second fewest amount of turnovers this season, turning it over just six times tonight.
- Active defense saw BH force 18 Griffin turnovers (11 steals) and turned that into 22 points.
- Gracie Haneborg and Ellie Moore both dish out four assists.
- Kalla Bertram grabbed a team-high six rebounds and also had three assists, plus seven points of offense.
- It's the third-straight opponent BHSU has held to under 60 points.
- BHSU has followed every loss this season with a victory, improving to 5-0 this season following a loss.
- 14 Jackets saw minutes in the win tonight, while 11 put points on the board.
- The Yellow Jackets had 30 bench points to Westminster's 10.
- Black Hills State improves to 7-3 when they control the tip and 2-1 in the green uniforms.
- BH takes an 8-4 all-time series lead over Westminster and makes it back-to-back wins over the Griffins.
Up Next: Black Hills State returns home next weekend for a pair of games against New Mexico Highlands and CSU Pueblo on January 26-27 inside A2 Arena in the Donald E. Young Center.
