SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University women's basketball team (17-9, 14-8 RMAC) finished the home slate inside A2 Arena with a dominant 61-41 win over Chadron State College (6-20, 4-18 RMAC). Graduate student
Alessia Capley grabbed a season-best 11 rebounds in the victory, while
Kalla Bertram led all scorers with her 19 points.
Back-to-back 3-pointers for the Eagles helped them jump out to an early four-point lead in the opening minutes. A
Kalla Bertram (Jr., Colome, S.D.) 3-pointer with five and a half to play in the first half knotted the game up at 7-7, as Bertram had hit her last four-straight deep balls dating back to last night. Chadron State battled hard the entire first quarter, going bucket-for-bucket with BH, using yet another three-ball to hold a 14-11 lead after one quarter of play.
Aggressiveness with the basketball saw the Eagles push their lead up to five points early in the second, but it continued to be Bertram to keep BHSU in it with a bucket of her own to quickly hit double digits in scoring on the night.
Jaylen Ostenson (Fr., Newcastle, Wyo.) knocked down a 3-pointer of her own to again tie the game up at 16-16. Black Hills State continued to look for their first lead of the contest and Bertram would earn a trip to the free throw line to do just that with a 17-16 midway through the second quarter. For the next two minutes of game action, that score would hold and up to that points only Bertram and Ostenson had put points up on the scoreboard for BHSU.
Haylee Weathersby (Jr., Glendale, Ariz.), just the third Jacket to score, would put BH up by two possessions for the first time in the game with a lay-up. Black Hills State would wind up pushing that lead up to six points, taking a 24-18 lead into the halftime break. The Yellow Jacket defense would prove to hold the Chadron State offense to just four points in the second quarter.
It was another big half for Bertram who put up 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting, being just one of four Yellow Jackets to put up points in the first half.
Alessia Capley (Gr., Arvada, Colo.) grabbed seven rebounds and
Morgan Hammerbeck (Sr., Hamill, S.D.) dished out a pair of assists. The Jackets grabbed seven first half offensive rebounds, helping them hold a +6-rebounding margin at the break (23-17).
Both sides had decent looks at the hoop early in the second half and the Jacket spark came from a corner 3-pointer in the far corner as BH looked to extend their lead. Chadron State used a six-point run off a BHSU technical foul to pull within three points in the third quarter at 29-26. Black Hills State would respond with a push of their own to push the lead back up to nine points as the quarter wore on. Bertram hit another deep ball to give BHSU their first double-digit lead of the evening at 39-28.
The fourth quarter saw Back Hills State flex their muscle as the lead would be extended up to 17 points midway through the final quarter.
Ellie Moore (Gr., Phoenix, Ariz.) would be the second Yellow Jacket to hit the double-digit mark at the free throw line, scoring all 10 of her points in the second half. Black Hills State would keep the pressure on the rest of the way, going on to pick up the 61-41 victory on Senior Night to close out the home slate inside A2 Arena for the 2023-24 season.
GAME NOTES
- Black Hills State outscored the Eagles 13-4 in the second quarter to take complete control of the contest.
- A 20-point fourth quarter (20-11, BHSU) would seal the deal in front of the home crowd.
- Alessia Capley grabs a season-best 11 rebounds in the victory.
- Kalla Bertram led all scorers with her 19 points on 7-for14 shooting, while also recording three steals.
- 10 points from Ellie Moore marks five-straight games in double digits for the graduate student.
- Jaylen Ostenson also added nine points in the win, also dishing out three assists to lead the team.
- BHSU picks up their 12th-straight win over Chadron State, improving to 14-0 all-time in Spearfish and 25-2 overall.
Up Next: Black Hills State will hit the road for the Quarterfinals of the RMAC Tournament on Tuesday, March 5. The Yellow Jackets will head back to Alamosa, Colorado as the No. 6-seed to face the No. 3-seeded Grizzlies of Adams State at 6:00 p.m. on the RMAC Network ($).
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