SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University women's basketball team was one of four RMAC squads to improve to 2-0 in league play on Saturday afternoon as they fended off a third quarter rally from Chadron State to earn a 60-52 win in A2 Arena. The Yellow Jacket defense stifled the Eagles in the first half, as a stretch of ten consecutive missed shots from the field for CSC in the first 7:52 of action in the second quarter allowed BHSU to build a 14 point advantage. Despite the early shooting woes, Chadron State refused to go away and a 27-6 scoring run saw the Eagles take a seven point lead midway through the third quarter, but Black Hills State weathered the storm and went on to close the game by outscoring CSC 25-10 over the final 14 minutes of action.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 60, Chadron State 52
Team Records: Black Hills State 6-3 (2-0 RMAC), Chadron State 2-6 (1-1 RMAC)
Attendance: 873
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After Black Hills State started the scoring in the contest with a driving left-handed layup by Kalla Bertram, Chadron State responded with a jumper by Camren Morris and a driving layup by Ashayla Powers to take a 4-2 advantage with 7:57 with play. A 1-of-2 trip to the free throw line followed by back-to-back layups all by Haylee Weathersby, the Yellow Jackets took control of the game with a 7-4 lead with 6:18 on the clock. BHSU led by as many as six points (14-8) in the opening period as Bertram converted an old-fashioned 3-point play, drawing contact on a right-handed layup before sinking the free throw with 1:26 to play. The Eagles capped the scoring in the first quarter with step-through layup in the paint by Morris to make it a 14-10 game with just 33 seconds left on the clock. In the first quarter of action only Bertram and Weathersby found the scoreboard for Black Hills State, combing for 5-of-8 shooting from the field while everyone else was 0-of-8 from the field.
• A right-handed layup by Weathersby off a bounce pass in the paint from Gracie Haneborg sparked a 10-2 scoring run for Black Hills State to begin the second quarter as they opened up a 12 point advantage (24-12). The Yellow Jackets held their largest lead of the contest with 2:37 to play till the halftime break as Bertram connected on a right-wing 3-pointer off the dish from Morgan Hammerbeck to make it a 29-15 game. It wasn't until the ensuing possession the Chadron State made their first field goal of the second period as Morris hit a right-wing 3-pointer off the inbounds pass from Kyra Tanabe with 2:08 remaining in the half, ending a stretch of ten consecutive missed shots to start the quarter. After eventually seeing the ball go through the hoop, Tanabe banked in a left-wing 3-pointer the ensuing possession off the kickout pass by Powers, and then Allison Richards knocked down a pair of free throws for an 8-2 CSC run entering the break as they cut the Black Hills State lead to 31-23 at the half.
• The Chadron State run continued into the third quarter as a quick fastbreak 3-pointer from the left-wing by Morris off the assist from Tanabe was the third basket from beyond the arc in the first two and a half minutes of the period for the Eagles as it gave them a 32-31 advantage. Free throws by Weathersby and Haneborg, as well as a pull up jumper from the left elbow by Bradie Schlabs, momentarily slowed the run but eventually it grew to a 27-6 run back to the end of the second quarter as CSC held their largest lead of the game at 42-35 with 4:14 left in the period. A free throw line jumper by Morgan Hammerbeck off the assist from Haneborg got the Yellow Jacket rolling once again as they scored nine unanswered to regain the lead on a straight away 3-pointer by Emily Cooper after an offensive rebound by Audrey Norville, giving BHSU the 44-42 lead with 49 seconds on the clock. BHSU would end the third with a 12-1 scoring run as Hammerbeck capped the scoring with a left-wing 3-pointer with just four seconds remaining off a pass from Cooper, making it a 47-43 contest entering the fourth.
• The Black Hills State scoring run continued into the fourth quarter as Haneborg connected on a two free throws and Bertram hit three as the rally stretched to 17-1 to give the Yellow Jackets a 52-43 advantage with 6:44 on the clock. Chadron State briefly cut the lead down to five points (52-47) with 4:42 to play after baskets by Bati Assefa and Powers. BHSU, however, kept the Eagles at bay as they strung together another 8-0 that saw Schlabs sink a right-corner 3-pointer off the pass from Hammerbeck to push the lead to 60-47 with just 2:15 remaining. CSC was able to cut the final margin to eight points (60-52) with a layup by Morris and an old-fashioned 3-point play by Richards in the closing minutes.

BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Kalla Bertram: 19 points, 8-of-9 free throws, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 steal
Haylee Weathersby: 14 points, 10 rebounds, 1 block
Morgan Hammerbeck: 13 points, 3 3-pointers, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals
Bradie Schlabs: 7 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 1 block
 
UP NEXT
Black Hills State will begin their final week of play in the 2024 calendar year with a trip to UCCS on Thursday, December 12, as they are slated for a 5 p.m. tip-off in the Gallogly Events Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
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