RAPID CITY, S.D. – The Black Hills State University women's basketball team used a pair of commanding 16-4 scoring runs in the first and second quarters on Tuesday night as the built a double digit lead en route to 64-50 win at South Dakota Mines. The victory marked the Yellow Jackets fourth consecutive in an RMAC opener as they used balanced offensive attack that moved the ball around and tied a season-high of 16 assists, while on the defensive side of the ball they collected a season-high of 14 steals as both Kalla Bertram and Bradie Schlabs each recorded four in the contest.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 64, South Dakota Mines 50
Team Records: Black Hills State 5-3 (1-0 RMAC), South Dakota Mines 0-8 (0-1 RMAC)
Attendance: 200
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first points of the night went to South Dakota Mines as Savea Mansfield knocked down a pair of free throws before Morgan Hammerbeck connected on her first of two first quarter 3-pointers as she hit a left-wing shot off an assist from Gracie Haneborg with 8:52 on the clock. As the Yellow Jackets maintained the lead from that point it wasn't until a layup by Haneborg off a dribble handoff from the left-wing with 6:41 to play sparked a 16-4 scoring run to create a double digit lead. Kalla Bertram poured in seven points during the nearly six minute run as five different players found the bottom of the basket as they shot a combined 6-of-8 from the field, capped by a left-handed layup by Sawyer Stoebner who drove the left side of the lane after receiving a pass from Bradie Schlabs with 1:17 to play, making it a 13-point advantage (23-10). Following a BHSU turnover, the Hardrockers trimmed the lead back to single digits (24-15) after the opening period of action as Miquedah Taliman knocked down a right-wing 3-pointer with nine seconds to play off an assist from Mansfield.
• A step back 3-pointer by Taliman momentarily cut the lead to six (24-18) after the opening possession of the second quarter with 9:29 to play till the break, but once against Black Hills State broke open their lead with another 16-4 scoring run that spanned nearly seven and a half minutes. Cami Curtis notched her only points of the game with a turnaround layup from the right block off a pass inside from Schlabs to start the run with 9:10 on the clock, and it was then capped with 2:03 left in the half as Audrey Norville sank a right-corner 3-pointer off the kickout pass from Hammerbeck to grow the Yellow Jacket lead to 18 points (40-22). A jumper from just above the free throw line by Morning Grace Spotted Bear and a right-corner 3-pointer by Taliman put both players into double figures in the first half for SDM and cut the halftime lead down to 40-27 for Black Hills State.
• Haylee Weathersby scored the first four points of the second half for Black Hills State, finishing the right-handed layup off the pass inside from Haneborg on the opening possession and then she added a left-handed layup off a power dribble to the basket off a pass from Hammerbeck, making it a 44-28 game with 8:30 remaining in the third quarter. After four unanswered points for South Dakota Mines cut the lead down to 12 points (44-32) with 5:25 to play in the period, the Yellow Jackets used five unanswered points of their own to extend the lead back to 17 points (49-32) as Haneborg knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key off a pass from Hammerbeck, forcing the Hardrockers to call a timeout with 3:37 on the clock. Mansfield ended the scoring run with a turnaround layup off the right block with 3:13 remaining to make it a 49-34 game. South Dakota Mines went on to end the quarter on a scoring drought of 2:40 and Black Hills State ended the period on a scoring drought of 2:27, however the Yellow Jackets continued to hold a 51-36 advantage entering the fourth quarter.
• Following a back-and-forth start to the fourth quarter, Black Hills State matched their largest lead of the contest at 18 points (58-40) as Weathersby converted an old fashioned 3-point play as she was fouled on a layup between two defenders on the right block with 7:33 to play in the game. South Dakota Mines, however, had a quick response with five unanswered points with a left-wing 3-pointer from Taliman and a step back jumper at the right elbow from Spotted Bear as they trimmed the lead back down to 13 points (58-45) once again, forcing a Yellow Jacket timeout with 6:07 left in the game. Out of a timeout by SDM, Hammerbeck got her own miss off a layup attempt, which led to a kickout pass by Schlabs who found Hammerbeck who relocated to the left-wing and sank the 3-pointer to make it a 63-46 contest with 2:44 to play. Piper Bauer, who had only made one basket in the game prior to the final minute and a half, added a pair of baskets with a midrange jumper from the right side of the court and a right-handed reverse layup to again trim the lead down to 13 points (63-50) with just 49 seconds remaining on the clock. Schlabs ended the scoring in the match-up by going 1-of-2 at the charity stripe with 40 seconds to play, bringing the final score to 64-50.

BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Kalla Bertram: 14 points, 6-of-8 free throws, 5 rebounds, 4 steals, 1 assist
Haylee Weathersby: 13 points, 6-of-9 field goals, 2 rebounds, 1 block
Morgan Hammerbeck: 11 points, 3-of-5 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals
 
UP NEXT
Black Hills State will return to A2 Arena for the lone home contest of the month as they face Chadron State in a 1 p.m. tip-off on Saturday, December 7.
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