FORT COLLINS, Colo. – While the teams might not have faced each other on the hardwood in more than a decade, it was a return trip for first-year head coach Rachel Erickson who brought her team on the road to face NCAA Division I Colorado State, the school she spent two prior seasons coaching at, for an exhibition match-up on Monday night. Although Black Hills State was able to limit the effect of Preseason Mountain West Player of the Year, Emma Ronsiek, holding her to just three points on 1-of-6 shooting from the field, the Yellow Jackets fell to the Rams by a score of 59-39 in Moby Arena. A near double-double for Kalla Bertram led the way for BHSU in the contest as she was one of three players with eight points in the game, joined by Gracie Haneborg and Morgan Hammerbeck.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 39, Colorado State 59
Team Records: Black Hills State 4-3, Colorado State 5-2
Attendance: 1,199
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Starting the scoring in the contest with an opening possession left-wing 3-pointer for Colorado State was Sanna Strom off a pass from Emma Ronsiek in the paint. The defenses kept the offenses in check early as it wasn't until the 6:16 mark of the first quarter that Kalla Bertram gave Black Hills State their first basket with shot from just inside the 3-point arc at the top of the key, cutting the early deficit to 5-2. A strong take to the basket by Haley Weathersby gave her the opportunity to convert an old-fashioned 3-point play as she knocked down a free throw out of the media timeout with 3:45 to play to make it a 7-5 contest in a low scoring opening period. After forcing a turnover on the defensive end, the Yellow Jackets took their first lead at 8-7 with a left-wing 3-pointer by Morgan Hammerbeck. The Rams answered by ended the period with five unanswered points to take a 12-8 advantage.
• Colorado State extended their scoring run to 11-0 and pushed their lead to ten (18-8) with a right-wing 3-pointer by Hannah Simental off the assist from Storm, however Black Hills State was able to end the run with a right-wing 3-pointer by Gracie Haneborg after she got the pass from Bradie Schlabs at the top the key with 7:58 to play in the second quarter. In the midst of holding the Rams scoreless for an extended stretch in the period, Weathersby was able to get the friendly bounce off the back of the rim on a shot from the top of the key to trim the deficit back down to five (18-13) before the teams entered the media timeout with 4:19 on the clock. The Yellow Jacket defense held Preseason Mountain West Player of the Year, Emma Ronsiek, without a point until she snapped the Colorado State scoreless streak of more than four minutes with a free throw with 4:02 left in to make it a 19-13 game. The free throw would be the only point of the half for Ronsiek who entered the match-up averaging 17.5 points on the year. Black Hills State would outscore the Rams 6-3 in the final two and a half minutes of the half, capping the scoring in the first 20 minutes of action with a right handed layup by Hammerbeck as Weathersby found her cutting into the paint to make it a 26-19 game at the break.
• Colorado State used a 6-2 run out of halftime to push their lead back to double digits for the first time since the early minutes of the second quarter as Ronsiek made her first field goal of the game with 5:39 left in the third quarter. The Rams extended their lead to 13 points (34-21) as the teams entered the media timeout with 4:26 on the clock before the Yellow Jackets eventually ended a nearly six minute scoring drought with their first basket of the second half as Hammerbeck connected on her second 3-pointer of the match-up with 2:08 remaining, trimming the deficit 37-24. Haneborg gave the Yellow Jackets a spark entering the fourth quarter, as following an inadvertent whistle with two seconds left on the clock, she banked in a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer after fighting through a pair of defenders to bring the score to 39-27 in favor of the Rams.
• Colorado State pushed their lead to more than 20 midway through the fourth quarter with a 15-4 run that saw the Rams take a 54-31 lead as Jadyn Fife made a layup with 3:53 remaining in the game. Black Hills State snapped a more than five minute scoring drought as Sawyer Stoebener was fouled on a hard drive to the rim with 1:58 to play as she connected on both shots from the charity stripe to make it a 54-33 game. CSU then extended their lead to 57-33, their largest lead of the game, the ensuing possession with a right-corner 3-pointer by Kaylee Headrick. A 1-of-2 trip to the free throw line by Cami Curtis and a left-wing 3-pointer by Emily Cooper off her own steal and an assist by Curtis trimmed the deficit down to 20 points (57-37). Following a Colorado State second chance layup by Fife, Audrey Norville capped the scoring in the contest with a pair of free throws to bring the final score to 59-39.

BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Kalla Bertram: 8 points, 10 rebounds
Gracie Haneborg: 8 points, 2 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, 1 steal
Morgan Hammerbeck: 8 points, 2 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
 
UP NEXT
Black Hills State will begin RMAC action following the Thanksgiving break as they travel down I-90 to Rapid City to face South Dakota Mines in the King Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on December 3.
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