LAKEWOOD, Colo. – While the Black Hills State University women's basketball team has spent a majority of the young conference season playing with the lead, on Saturday afternoon it was the opposite as they had to overcome an early deficit and come from behind to defeat Colorado Christian 77-70 in the CCU Event Center. The Yellow Jackets took control of the game and remained one of just two undefeated teams in RMAC play as they out-scored the Cougars by ten in the fourth quarter and were led by Haylee Weathersby who poured in a career-high 29 points on 11-of-13 shooting from the field while she also matched a career-high of ten rebounds. It was just the second career double-double for the senior from Glendale, Arizona, as both have occurred within the first two weeks of conference play.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 77, Colorado Christian 70
Team Records: Black Hills State 8-3 (4-0 RMAC), Colorado Christian 1-9 (0-4 RMAC)
Attendance: 100
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Colorado Christian ran out to an early 10-2 lead with 3-pointers by Hayley Luther and Nicole Bowlin in the first 2:39 of action in the first quarter. Eventually another basket beyond the arc on left-wing from Luther gave the Cougars their largest lead of the game at nine points (19-10) with 3:43 left to play in the opening period. The made shot marked the fifth 3-pointer of the first quarter for CCU as they began the game by connecting on five of their first six attempts from beyond the arc. Black Hills State began to chip away with seven unanswered points late, starting with a pull up jumper off the right block and ending with a right-handed layup by Kalla Bertram as it became a 19-17 contest with 1:27 left on the clock. Colorado Christian ended the scoring in the first quarter with a turnaround jumper at the free throw line by Elise Grossdidier with 34 seconds to play, giving them a 21-17 advantage after ten minutes of action.
• The teams continued to go back-and-forth early in the second quarter as Black Hills State could not get any closer than two points (21-19) following the first basket of the period on a left-handed layup for Gracie Haneborg after she secured an offensive rebound. The margin then teetered back-and-forth from three to six points the remainder of the quarter, even though the BHSU defense began to cool of the CCU shooting as they were held to just 5-of-15 (33.3%) from the field in the frame. Following a 3-pointer from the top of the key by Victoria Perez, the Yellow Jackets had an answer to close the half as Bradie Schlabs found Morgan Hammerbeck with the bounce pass around the double team, and she proceed to knock down the shot with 24 seconds remaining from the left-wing to cut the deficit to 35-32 at the break.
• Colorado Christian maintained the lead in the opening minutes of the third quarter until Black Hills State briefly took their first lead of the game with 6:00 left on the clock as Bertram used a hesitation move at the right elbow to get to the rim for a layup to make it a 43-42 game. The BHSU advantage was short lived for the time being as the Cougars regained the lead with a driving layup by Bowlin the ensuing possession to give CCU the 44-43 edge with 5:45 to play. Haylee Weathersby tied the game at 49 apiece with a pair of free throws with 1:02 left on the clock and again at 51 apiece with a strong left-handed layup with 21 seconds to play. Colorado Christian, however, once again had an answer with a 3-pointer as Bowlin connected on yet another deep shot, sinking a right-wing step back jumper to beat the buzzer and give CCU a 54-51 advantage going into the fourth quarter.
• Sparked by a tough turnaround jumper in the paint by Weathersby just four seconds into the final quarter of play off the pass inside from Schlabs, Black Hills State opened the period on a 9-1 scoring run to take control of the game. Giving the Yellow Jackets the lead for good was a pair of free throws by Weathersby with 8:57 remaining to make it a 57-56 game. Capping the early run was a left-wing 3-pointer by Hammerbeck off the dish from Schlabs after a steal by Haneborg, forcing Colorado Christian to call a quick timeout as the momentum was shifting as Black Hills State took a 60-56 lead. Weathersby took control of the game late for BHSU as she scored all eight points for the Yellow Jackets in an 8-2 scoring run that gave them their largest lead of the game at ten points (75-65) as she knocked down a pair of free throws with 54 seconds remaining. Schlabs would end the scoring in the game for the Green & Gold with a pair of free throws with 27 seconds on the clock and CCU brought the final score to 77-70 the ensuing possession with a jumper by Perez off the left block with just eight seconds to play.

BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Haylee Weathersby: 29 points, 11-of-13 field goals, 10 rebounds, 1 assist
Bradie Schlabs: 13 points, 4-of-5 free throws, 7 rebounds, 6 assists
Kalla Bertram: 13 points, 6-of-11 field goals, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal
Gracie Haneborg: 13 points, 5-of-8 field goals, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Morgan Hammerbeck: 9 points, 3 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, 2 assists
 
HIGHLIGHTS


UP NEXT
It will be nearly a month until Black Hills State is back in action when they are set to host another RMAC contender in Regis on Thursday, January 9. The Yellow Jackets and Rangers will tip-off at 5 p.m. inside A2 Arena.
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