RAPID CITY, S.D. – The Black Hills State University women's basketball team won their second and final game of the 2024 East/West Challenge inside the King Center on Saturday evening as they downed Sioux Falls by a score of 70-51. The Yellow Jackets never trailed in the contest as the Cougars were only able to tie the game three times in the first five minutes of action before BHSU took the lead for good. Six consecutive points by Kalla Bertram to start the fourth quarter pushed the game out of reach for Black Hills State as their advantage grew to double digits and they would go on to outscore The Coo 18-6 in the period to earn the 19-point victory, securing their second win over an NSIC foe in non-conference play.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 70, Sioux Falls 51
Team Records: Black Hills State 3-2, Sioux Falls 2-3
Attendance: 50
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Haylee Weathersby scored Black Hills State's first four points of the contest on a pair of right handed layups, the first off an assist from Bradie Schlabs and then a pass from Gracie Haneborg on a pick & roll as the Yellow Jackets held an early 4-2 lead almost two minutes in. Midway through the first quarter back-to-back jumpers by Kalla Bertram helped start to provide some separation on the scoreboard at 10-6, before later on a left wing 3-pointer by Emily Cooper and a layup by Maureen Ulrich extended the lead to five on each occasion with scores of 15-10 and 17-12.
• After scoring five of the last seven points in the first quarter, Black Hils State extended their led to begin the second quarter to 9-2 with a pull up jumper at the right block from Bertram and a right handed layup by Weathersby off an assist from Morgan Hammerbeck, causing the Cougars to call a timeout as the Yellow Jacket lead grew to 21-12 with 8:22 left till halftime. USF chipped away at the BHSU lead the next few minutes as back-to-back 3-pointers sparked a 10-2 run to trim the deficit just one point following a fastbreak layup by Madison Wueben to make BHSU's lead only 23-22 with 4:44 left in the second quarter. The Yellow Jackets, however, had a response in the closing minutes of the period as they went on a 9-2 run capped by a steal and contested left handed layup Haneborg to push the score back to eight points (32-24) with 1:44 on the clock. Sawyer Stoebner connected from the right wing on a 3-pointer with just 40 seconds remaining to make the score 35-28 at the break.
• The lead teetered back-and-forth from four to nine points for Black Hills State as the teams traded baskets the majority of the third quarter. Bertram helped the Yellow Jackets match their largest lead (52-43) of the game up to that point as she knocked down a mid-range jumper from the right side of the court with 1:46 left on the clock. Danielle Minsaas added a pull up jumper from the right elbow off the dribble to make it a 52-45 game at the end of the third quarter.
• Bertram scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to push the Black Hills State lead to double digits for the first time in the contest as it grew to a 13 point (58-45) advantage with 7:22 left in the game. Then just a few minutes later the scoring run for the Yellow Jackets extended to 12-2 as Weathersby hit Hammerbeck on a back cut to the rim for a right handed layup to make it 64-47 with 4:10 remaining in the game. The BHSU defense held USF to just one made field goal in the fourth quarter as the Green & Gold ultimately outscored The Coo 18-6 in the period and recorded their largest lead of the game twice in the closing minute as Schlabs utilized a screen at the top of the key and drove the lane to finish on the left side of the rim to make it 68-49, while just 30 seconds later after a pair of Sioux Falls free throws, Hammerbeck added the final basket of the game with a mid-range shot from the right corner off an assist from Schlabs to make it 70-51. 

BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Haylee Weathersby: 17 points, 6-of-8 field goals, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 assist
Kalla Bertram: 16 points, 7-of-12 field goals, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals
Bradie Schlabs: 11 points, 4-of-4 free throws, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
 
UP NEXT
Black Hills State will return home this upcoming week to face yet another NSIC non-conference opponent as they welcome Minnesota Crookston to A2 Arena on Thursday, November 21, for a 5 p.m. tip-off in Spearfish.
  Read Full Article