SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University women's basketball team fell on their home court for the first time in the 2024-25 season on Friday evening as they ended a stretch of five straight NSIC non-conference opponents with an 82-60 loss to Southwest Minnesota State. The Mustangs used the 3-point shot to create separation early in the game as they started 6-of-7 from distance in the first quarter and ended 13-of-25 (52.0%) in the game.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 60, Southwest Minnesota State 82
Team Records: Black Hills State 4-3, Southwest Minnesota State 5-0
Attendance: 762
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• A left wing 3-pointer by Maddie Thorfinnson opened the scoring in the contest and they extended their advantage to 6-0 after a second 3-pointer came by Bri Stoltzman also from the left wing with 7:36 to play in the first quarter. Black Hills State cracked the scoreboard when Gracie Haneborg found Kalla Bertram on a back cut for a right handed layup the ensuing possession. The Mustangs added another two baskets from beyond the arc as they stretched their lead to 13-4 with 5:34 on the clock, forcing BHSU to call an early timeout. SMSU began the game 6-of-7 from 3-point range and led by as many as 13 points on a pair of occasions before the first quarter ended with Southwest Minnesota State in front 25-14.
• Black Hills State made the first two baskets of the second quarter, starting with a driving layup by Bradie Schlabs and then a layup by Haneborg as Schlabs found her cutting down the lane for the basket, trimming the deficit to 25-18 with 8:30 left in the period. Southwest Minnesota State, however, had a quick response with a 6-0 run to push their lead back to 14 points (32-18) with 5:52 remaining till the break, forcing BHSU to call another timeout. While a floater a couple steps into the paint by Bertram momentarily halted the scoring run, the Mustangs ended the half on an 18-5 run to take a 48-25 lead into the locker room.
• Southwest Minnesota State burst out of the gates in the second half with a 10-0 scoring run to bring their lead to 58-25 with 6:42 to play in the third quarter, forcing another quick timeout for Black Hills State. The first basket of the period for the Yellow Jackets came at the 6:00 mark as Sawyer Stoebner made a left handed layup after driving through the paint after receiving a pass from Audrey Norville. Despite trailing by as many as 35 points in the period, a young group of Yellow Jackets on the court continued to battle as a pair of 3-pointers by Emily Cooper and one by Cami Curtis were the lone baskets from beyond the arc in the contest for BHSU, and Stoebner capped a 7-1 run to end the third quarter with a pair of layups in the final minute to trim the deficit to 72-43.
• The fourth quarter began with the Black Hills State starters returning to the court and extending their scoring run to 12-1 as Schlabs connected on 1-of-2 free throws to make it a 72-48 game in favor of SMSU. The Mustangs halted the run with six straight points of their own and brought their lead back up to 30 on a pair of occasions. The Yellow Jackets, however, continued to fight through the final buzzer, ending the contest on an 8-0 run that was sparked by a layup by Tess Rule off a missed 3-pointer and capped by a long 2-point shot from the right corner by Alivia Pautz off an assist by Curtis with ten seconds to play.

BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Sawyer Stoebner: 10 points, 5-of-7 field goals, 2 assists, 2 steals
Kalla Bertram: 9 points, 4-of-7 field goals, 3 rebounds, 1 steal
Haylee Weathersby: 8 points, 5 rebounds
Emily Cooper  8 points, 2 3-pointers, 3 rebounds
 
UP NEXT
Before conference play begins Black Hills State will have one final tune-up as they travel to Colorado State for a 6:30pm tip-off in an exhibition game on Monday, November 25.
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