SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University women's basketball team cruised to their sixth consecutive home opening victory with a convincing 83-57 win over Minot State inside A2 Arena on Friday night. After a tight first quarter, the Yellow Jackets used an 11-2 scoring run to break open the game in the second quarter and never looked back as four of five starters reached double figure points in the match-up.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 83, Minot State 57
Team Records: Black Hills State 2-1, Minot State 1-3
Attendance: 1,057
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Black Hills State momentarily built a 7-3 advantage, sparked by a right wing 3-pointer by Morgan Hammerbeck to begin the game off an assist by Bradie Schlabs, however Minot State battled to stay within striking distance. Another 3-pointer from Hammerbeck gave the Yellow Jackets a 12-9 advantage entering the media timeout with 4:02 left in the period. Both teams then ended the opening ten minutes of action by shooting 1-of-4 as BHSU remained with an 18-15 advantage.
• A drive to the rim with a layup through contact by Maureen Ulrich started the scoring in the second quarter, pushing the Black Hills State lead to five. A few possessions later a 3-pointer by Schlabs extended the scoring run to 11-2 as the Yellow Jacket lead blossomed to ten (27-17) with 6:45 left in the second quarter. Minot State momentarily trimmed the lead back to single digits (31-22) on a layup by Taylor Goss with 2:54 left, but a pair of Hammerbeck free throws quickly pushed the lead back to double digits the ensuing possession. Gracie Haneborg connected on just her second basket from beyond the arc on the young season with 35 seconds remaining, giving BHSU the 15 point advantage at the break (40-25).
• Black Hills State kept their foot on the gas to start the third quarter as Schlabs attacked the rim on the opening possession and drew the foul. She went 1-of-2 at the charity stripe but an offensive board by Hammerbeck resulted in second chance points with a strong layup by Haylee Weathersby. The Yellow Jacket scoring run grew to 9-0 the ensuing possession as Schlabs knocked down a 3-pointer from the right wing to make it a 46-25 game with 8:23 left on the third quarter clock. BHSU eventually cooled off and a Minot State layup by Jessica Mogen made it a 48-31 game entering the media timeout with 4:48 left in the period. A stretch where the Beavers made 4-of-5 shots from the field saw the Beavers trim the lead down to 15 points (52-37) as Natalie Holte converted an old fashioned 3-point play. BHSU stalled the MSU momentum as Ulrich found Emily Cooper in the left corner for the 3-pointer with 2:48 left in the third quarter. Schlabs dished out her sixth assist of the contest in the closing seconds of the period as a dribble drive pulled in the defense and opened up a look for Haneborg to knock down her second 3-pointer of the game to make it a 60-42 contest entering the fourth.
• Schlabs once again put on a display with her ball handling as the opening possession of the fourth quarter resulted in a pull up jumper just inside the paint to push the Black Hills State lead back to 20 points (62-42) with 9:12 left in the contest. The Yellow Jacket defense once again held Minot State scoreless for an extended period of time with a 9-0 scoring run, as it was approximately a five minute stretch from the last minute of the third quarter to 5:34 left in the fourth quarter when Jessica Mogen gave the Beavers their first points of the period to make it a 66-44 game at the media timeout. Kalla Bertram cashed in on a left wing 3-pointer with 4:20 left in the game to give BHSU a 25 point (71-46) advantage. Following a Beaver turnover and timeout, Hammerbeck pushed the lead to 28 points (74-46) with a right wing 3-pointer off an assist from Bertram. Sawyer Stoebner scored her first career points in the Green & Gold with a free throw and a layup, but a pair of MSU 3-pointers trimmed into the lead late. Black Hills State pushed their lead to their largest of the night at 29 points with back-to-back layups by Ulrich with assists by Audrey Norville and Alivia Pautz. The game came to a close with a 3-pointer by Ashley Wacha off an assist by Holte for Minot State to make it an 83-57 final. 

BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Kalla Bertram: 17 points, 4-of-4 free throws, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 assist, 1 block
Morgan Hammerbeck: 15 points, 3-of-6 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Maureen Ulrich: 13 points, 6-of-7 field goals, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block
Gracie Haneborg: 12 points, 2-of-4 3-pointers, 2 steals, 1 rebound
Bradie Schlabs: 10 points, 2-of-4 3-pointers, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal
 
UP NEXT
Black Hills State will continue their journey through NSIC non-conference opponents as they face Northern State in the first game of the East/West Challenge in Rapid City, South Dakota. The Yellow Jackets and Wolves will tip-off at 1 p.m. in the King Center.
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