Spearfish, S.D.- The Yellow Jackets are continuing their home stand Saturday afternoon in A2 Arena versus Western Colorado. The 11-5 (7-2 RMAC) Yellow Jackets are looking to bounce back from a blowout loss to Colorado Mesa 57-41 Thursday night. They will now face a tough Western Colorado team, who is also ranked in the D2CSC South Central Regional top 10 and tied with the Jackets for first in the RMAC.

GAME DETAILS
Date & Time: January 25th at 1 PM
Location: Spearfish, S.D.- A2 Arena in the Donald E. Young Center

BLACK HILLS STATE STORYLINES:
•    Black Hills State enters this game versus Western Colorado ranked T-1 in the RMAC. They currently sit at 11-5 (7-2 RMAC). As stated earlier, they are coming off a 57-41 blowout loss versus Colorado Mesa, where they had allowed a 14-2 run early in the first quarter and could never catch up. The Yellow Jackets struggled from everywhere on the floor, but especially behind the arc early. They went 0-10 from three-point range in the first half.
•    The Yellow Jackets were held to their lowest scoring output of the year yesterday with 41 points, the previous low in points was 57 in the opener versus West Texas A&M, and was the lowest output since November 19th, 2016, when the Yellow Jackets only scored 40 versus Northern State. We also had our worst field goal percentage of the season, only shooting 25.9 percent, which was the lowest since we shot 24.6 percent versus Westminster on December 11th, 2021.
•    The crucial part of the game that hurt BHSU was the free throw shooting. Black Hills State went 7-21 from the line, good enough for a 33.3 percent clip, which is tied for second lowest in the school's DII history. It was the most misses from the line in that same time period. However, one positive from this game is that Black Hills State had their season low in turnovers, only turning it over eight times all night. 
•    Black Hills State is the highest ranked of four RMAC schools in D2CSC South Central Regional Media Poll, appearing for the ninth consecutive week as they jumped one spot to No. 4 on Monday morning. This marks their highest rank of the season. They also received four votes for the D2CSC Top 25 Poll. 
•    Black Hills State had been picked to finish ninth in the RMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, receiving 94 points in the vote among head coaches. They are currently tied for first in the conference standings after seven wins in their first nine games to begin RMAC schedule and are one of four teams in the RMAC with two conference losses.
•    The 11-5 start to the season is the best for the Yellow Jackets since they started 13-3 in the 2022-23 season. The 7-2 start to RMAC play is the best start to a season since that same year, where we went 7-2 as well. 
•    Through the first 16 games of the season BHSU is averaging 65.4 points, 37.9 rebounds, 13.3 assists, 6.4 steals, and 1.9 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 42.7 percent from the field, 28.9 percent from 3-point range, and 68.1 percent from the free throw line. Their opponents are averaging 59.3 points, 30.8 rebounds, 9.7 assists, 6.3 steals, and 2.3 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 38.6 percent from the field, 36.3 percent from 3-point range, and 77.1 percent from the free throw line.
•    The Yellow Jackets currently rank 17th in NCAA Division II in fewest turnovers per game (12.8), seventh in fewest fouls per game (13.3), and 22nd in rebound margin (7.1). In yesterday's loss, BHSU only has eight turnovers, their fewest of the season, 11 fouls, but lost the rebound battle 47-40, which was tied for the most rebounds allowed this season to Southwest Minnesota State.  
•    Leading four players in double figures scoring for Black Hills State is Kalla Bertram who is one of the top scorers and rebounders in the conference, ranking eighth in points per game (13.6) and 11th in rebounds per game (7.2). Additionally, Bertram adds 1.7 steals per game and 2.1 assists per game. She has been efficient shooting the ball as she ranks fourth in the RMAC in field goal percentage, knocking down 81-of-183 shot attempts (44.3%), and has scored in double figures in 12 of the 16 games this year. She has notched a pair of double doubles this season against Lubbock Christian (17 points, 11 rebounds) and Chadron State (19 points, 11 rebounds). She is also among the league leaders in free throw percentage, ranking seventh as she has knocked down 42-of-53 (79.2%) at the charity stripe. She has reached her season-high mark in steals on three different occasions and has recorded multiple steals in seven games. Bertram is coming off a very quiet six-point performance against Colorado Mesa, where she went 2-13 from the field and 2-3 from the free throw line. 
•    Haylee Weathersby is second on the team and 11th in the conference in scoring with 13.4 points and adds 6.2 rebounds per game. She currently ranks second in the RMAC in field goal percentage and 14th in the country, knocking down 86-of-153 (56.2%) shot attempts this year, and is sixth in free throw percentage as she is also shooting 43-of-58 (74.1%) from the charity stripe. She has reached double figures and has scored 12 or more points in ten of 16 games this year in addition to grabbing five or more boards in 13 contests. She is coming off a quiet two-point night versus Colorado Mesa, where she went 1-6 from the field.   
•    Morgan Hammerbeck is another player to keep an eye on. She is averaging 12.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.1 assists. She is shooting the ball 42.9 percent from the field, 34.5 percent on 3-pointers, and 74,4 percent of free throws. She currently ranks seventh in the RMAC in total 3-pointers made (30) and is sixth in 3-pointers per game (1.88). Hammerbeck had ten points versus CMU and shot 3-12 from the field and 3-9 from three-point range. All ten of her points came in the second half.
•    The lone freshman in the starting lineup for each of the first 16 games this year has been Bradie Schlabs, who recently joined the double-digit points per game club averaging 11.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. She has scored in double figures in 11 games, including a season-high of 21 points versus MSU Denver. She has now had seven straight games with double-digits and five of her last six with 13 or more points. She has secured four or more boards on 14 occasions, including all the last 12 games. Schlabs has dished out four or more assists in 12 games, seven of the last nine, and has tallied a steal in 14 of 16 games this year. She ranks third in the RMAC in assists (72), assists per game (4.5), and assist/turnover ratio (1.71), while also ranking 45th, 27th, and 41st nationally in NCAA Division II in the respective categories. Schlabs is coming off a team leading 11-point performance versus Mesa, with four boards as well, but only went 2-6 from the free throw line.
•    Yellow Jacket alumna Rachel Erickson is in her first season as the head coach at Black Hills State, guiding BHSU to a 11-5 record thus far.

WESTERN COLORADO STORYLINES
•    Western Colorado enters this game tied with the Yellow Jackets and two other teams for first in the RMAC with a 12-4 (7-2 RMAC) record. The Mountaineers have won five of their last six games, with their most recent coming against South Dakota Mines Thursday in Rapid City 68-51. 
•    Western Colorado's Head Coach Adam Jacobson is in his third year as head coach and has turned it into his best year so far. After going 13-41 in his first two seasons, Jacobson has nearly doubled his total wins this season with 12. Making him 25-45 overall as a head coach. 
•    The Mountaineers have been perfect on the road this season, going 5-0. They are averaging 73.4 points per game, 41 rebounds, 12.6 assists, and 14.2 turnovers on the road this season. The Mountaineers have the top defense in the conference, ranking 22nd in the nation in scoring defense (55.6), eighth in rebound margin (10.2), 11th in defensive rebounds per game (30.1), and 27th in defensive field goal percentage (35.2). 
•    Senior Center Rachel Cockman is the leading scorer for the Mountaineers with 12.1 points per game, while also leading the team in rebounds with 7.8. She is third in the RMAC in blocks per game with 1.38 and is shooting 52.6 percent from the field and leads the team in free throw percentage shooting 78.8 percent. She has made it to double-digits in 11 of 16 games but has finished below that in her previous two games. She is coming off a 3-4 from the field night, where she only scored six points in the win against South Dakota Mines. 
•    Junior Guard Ivey Schmidt is second on the team in scoring with 12.0 points per game, she is also second on the team in rebounds with 6.3, while leading the team with 2.8 assists per game. She is coming off an 18-point performance versus the Hardrockers, where she shot 7-18 from the field with four rebounds. It was her fourth game out of her last five where she made it to 13 points and her tenth double digit game of the season. 
•    Jayde Tschritter is third on the team with 7.8 points per game but is the best three-point shooter for the Mountaineers. She ranked 4th in the RMAC in three-point percentage (31.4) and three pointers per game (2.00). She has made a three in all but two games this season. She scored 11 points with one three pointer versus SD Mines yesterday. 

SERIES HISTORY
•    Black Hills State is 13-4 all-time versus Western Colorado and have won all of their last four games. The last time they fell to the Mountaineers was in 2020, when they were swept in the season series. 
•    The last time these two faced off, Black Hills State won 60-45 in A2 Arena on January 13th, 2024. Hammerbeck had 13 points, while Schmidt had 16 for the Mountaineers.