RAPID CITY, S.D. – The Black Hills State University women's basketball team (12-5, 9-4 RMAC) used stifling defense, a hot-shooting second half, and a career-high 14 points from
Kaycee Groves to overcome a 10-point halftime deficit on the road to pick up their fourth-straight win over South Dakota Mines (5-14, 5-8 RMAC) in a rare Wednesday night Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) showdown inside the King Center. The Yellow Jackets also extend their overall win streak to four games.
It was the Hardrockers in front of the home crowd who used a 7-0 run before
Gracie Haneborg (Jr., North Plate, Neb.) hit a 3-pointer of her own to end the early push, making it 7-5 a couple of minutes into the contest. South Dakota Mines looked to push the ball in transition in the first part of the game and led 11-5 at the first media time out. The Hardrockers would push their lead to 16-10 using a 5-2 run to end the frame.
Groves (So., Faith, S.D.) continued to bring a spark for the Yellow Jackets in the second quarter, after her five points off the bench in first quarter. Finding themselves down 23-14,
Raven Cournoyer (Mission, S.D.) knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key for her first points nearly midway through the frame. The Yellow Jackets started to heat up from deep from deep, cutting the deficit to 26-20 at the media break. Mines would take their first double-digit lead after the time out (30-20). South Dakota Mines would take a 10-point, 34-24, lead into the locker room.
Groves led the offense with nine points in the half, while
Haylee Weathersby (Jr., Glendale, Ariz,),
Kalla Bertram (Jr., Colome, S.D.), and
Alessia Capley (Gr., Arvada, Colo.) all with three rebounds in the first half. The Yellow Jackets held one of the RMAC's best pure shooters in Piper Bauer to just five first half points.
Black Hills Stated chipped away at the Mines lead early in the second half, holding Mines scoreless for over two minutes in the frame. The Hardrockers found ways to limit the BH attempts to claw back, getting baskets of their own and would hold a 42-35 advantage at the third quarter media time out. Groves would be the first Yellow Jacket to reach double digits on the night with a lay-up leading into the break in the action. A top of the key 3-pointer from the home squad would push the lead back up to double digits.
Ellie Moore (Gr., Phoenix, Ariz.) would snag her first points of the night with a pair of free throws, as it would start a 4-0 run for BH. The Jackets would continue to use hot shooting in the quarter as back-to-back
Jaylen Ostenson (Fr., Newcastle, Wyo.) 3-pointers pulled BH to within one, 49-48 as part of a 13-4 run. A steal and fastbreak lay-up, plus the foul, from Moore would give BH their first lead since it was 2-0 in the opening minutes of the game. Mines would retake the lead at 52-51, but the momentum stated to shift sides by the end of the quarter. The third quarter would prove to be the best shooting frame for Black Hills State at 64.3% (9-for-14)
Despite the best efforts from the home student section, the fourth quarter belonged to the Yellow Jackets for the second-straight game. Ostenson would pull the game even again with a 3-pointer of her own and a fastbreak lay-up from Bertram gave Black Hills State their third lead of the night at 56-54, forcing Mines to use a time out with eight and change remaining in the game. The defensive pressure from the Jackets continued to get to the Hardrockers, as BH used their aggressive defense to get easy buckets on the other end of the floor. Haneborg picked up four-straight points at the free throw line for the Yellow Jackets with her attacking the hoop at will in the fourth.
Black Hills State led by six with five minutes to play as the green and gold continued to utilize RMAC-leading defense, forcing turnovers, shot clock violations, and getting blocks. The BH defense held Mines to without a field goal for nearly four minutes of game action, before Bauer cut the BHSU lead to 66-62. With the lead being at just three, Groves hit a 3-pointer to make it 70-64 with just under two minutes to play.
South Dakota Mines would cut the lead to just two (70-68) with under a minute left on the clock on an and-one but could not convert at the free throw line. Mines would miss a 3-pointer that would've given them the lead with 10 seconds left as Haneborg would give the Yellow Jackets a 3-point lead. The Hardrockers would be unable to get a shot off in the remaining seconds as Black Hills State prevails 71-68 for their fourth-straight win over South Dakota Mines in the rivalry series.
GAME NOTES
- Kaycee Groves recorded a new career-high 14 points to lead the team in scoring.
- Jaylen Ostenson hit a career-high four 3-pointers in the victory (4-for-6), scoring all 12 of her points in the second half.
- Three Yellow Jackets scored in double digits in the win: Groves (14), Gracie Haneborg (13), Jaylen Ostenson (12).
- Haneborg recorded a game-high four steals and shot 8-for-10 from the free throw line.
- Alessia Capley grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to go along with her seven points.
- Both teams shot over 45% from the floor tonight, but BH held the advantage with their 46.9% to Mines' 45.6%.
- BHSU shot 50% from behind the arc (8-for-16).
- BH shot 30% better from the floor in the second half in comparison with the first half (1H, 33.3% - 2H, 68.0%).
- BHSU extends their win streak up to four-straight games and with their ninth win in RMAC play, BHSU keeps pace with UCCS (10-4 RMAC) in the standings.
- The win marks the fourth-straight win over S.D. Mines in the series, improving to 29-14 against the Hardrockers since the 2003-04 season.
Up Next: Black Hills State heads back to the state of Colorado on Saturday for the first of two meetings with the Cougars of Colorado Christian University (10-9, 6-7 RMAC) with tip-off from Lakewood is set for 5:00 p.m.
