Spearfish, S.D.- The Yellow Jackets, coming off two straight home losses, are heading down to face rivals Chadron State at the Chicoine Center in Chadron, Nebraska. Black Hills State, who is no longer first in the RMAC sitting at an 11-6 (7-3 RMAC) record, will now try to get back in the win column Thursday night, against a struggling 3-14 (2-9 RMAC) Chadron State team. 

GAME DETAILS
Date & Time: January 30th at 5 PM
Location: Chadron, Nebraska- Chicoine Center

BLACK HILLS STATE STORYLINES:
•    Black Hills State enters this game versus Chadron State ranked tied for third in the RMAC at a 11-6 (7-3 RMAC) record. They are coming off of two straight home losses by Colorado Mesa and Western Colorado. During the WCU game on Saturday, the Yellow Jackets scored a season low three points in the third quarter, which saw their halftime lead turn into a very large deficit as the Mountaineers went on a 13-3 run to take a 12-point lead that BHSU could never recover from. 
•    It was the first time this season that Black Hills State had lost two in a row and the first time since February of last year, when they lost to UCCS and Regis at A2 Arena. The 92 points combined this weekend by the Yellow Jackets was the lowest scoring conference weekend in our D2 history and was the second lowest weekend since we joined D2, only behind a first weekend 88 points in the 2016-17 season.
•    The crucial part of the game and the weekend that hurt Black Hills State was three-point shooting. Black Hills has made 14 of their 70 attempts (20%) and went 6-34 over the weekend (17.6%). They also went a combined 16-36 (44%) from the free throw line this weekend. 
•    Black Hills State is ranked third of four RMAC schools in D2CSC South Central Regional Media Poll, appearing for the tenth consecutive week as they dropped three spots to No. 7 on Monday morning. This marks their lowest rank since the week of December 3rd, when they were ranked 8th 
•    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 third in the conference standings after seven wins in their first ten games to begin RMAC schedule and are one of four teams in the RMAC with two conference losses.
•    The 11-6 start to the season is the best for the Yellow Jackets since they started 13-3 in the 2022-23 season. The 7-3 start to RMAC play is the best start to a season since that same year, where we went 8-2. 
•    Through the first 17 games of the season BHSU is averaging 64.5 points, 38.2 rebounds, 13.1 assists, 6.3 steals, and 1.9 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 42.2 percent from the field, 28.2 percent from 3-point range, and 67.7 percent from the free throw line. Their opponents are averaging 59.1 points, 31.1 rebounds, 9.7 assists, 6.3 steals, and 2.5 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 38.7 percent from the field, 35.2 percent from 3-point range, and 77.0 percent from the free throw line.
•    The Yellow Jackets currently rank 8th in NCAA Division II in fewest turnovers per game (12.7), sixth in fewest fouls per game (13.0), and 30th in rebound margin (7.1). In Saturday's loss, BHSU only had 11 turnovers, nine fouls, which was their second lowest of the season, and won the rebounding battle 42-35.   
•    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 11th in points per game (13.6) and 10th in rebounds per game (7.0). Additionally, Bertram adds 1.7 steals per game and 1.9 assists per game. She has been efficient shooting the ball as she ranks sixth in the RMAC in field goal percentage, knocking down 88-of-203 shot attempts (44.3%), and has scored in double figures in 13 of the 17 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 11th as she has knocked down 45-of-59 (76.3%) at the charity stripe. She has reached her season-high mark in steals on three different occasions and has recorded multiple steals in eight games. Bertram is coming off a team leading 15-point performance versus Western Colorado, where she shot 7-20 from the field and had four rebounds. 
•    Haylee Weathersby is second on the team and 14th in the conference in scoring with 13.4 points and adds 6.3 rebounds per game. She currently ranks third in the RMAC in field goal percentage and 19th in the country, knocking down 89-of-160 (55.6%) shot attempts this year, and is 17th in free throw percentage as she is also shooting 49-of-67 (73.1%) from the charity stripe. She has reached double figures and has scored 12 or more points in 11 of 17 games this year in addition to grabbing five or more boards in 14 contests. She is coming off a 12-point performance where she shot 3-7 (42.8%) from the field and 6-9 (66.7%) from the charity stripe. She also added eight rebounds. 
•    Morgan Hammerbeck is another player to keep an eye on. She is averaging 11.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists. She is shooting the ball 41.7 percent from the field, 33.0 percent on 3-pointers, and 75.0 percent of free throws. She currently ranks ninth in the RMAC in total 3-pointers made (30) and is ninth in 3-pointers per game (1.76). Hammerbeck is coming off her second lowest scoring game of the year, where she had three points versus WCU, shooting 1-7 from the field, 0-4 from three, and 1-1 from the free throw line. 
•    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 10.8 points, 6.4 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 of her last eight games with double-digits and five of her last seven with 13 or more points. She has secured four or more boards on 15 occasions, including all the last 13 games. Schlabs has dished out four or more assists in 13 games, eight of the last ten, and has tallied a steal in 15 of 17 games this year. She ranks third in the RMAC in assists (76), assists per game (4.5), and assist/turnover ratio (1.65), while also ranking 53rd, 39th, and 55th nationally in NCAA Division II in the respective categories. Schlabs is coming off her first game in since December 7th, where she did not reach double digits. Schlabs only scored eight on 4-15 shooting, but also had five rebounds and four assists. 
•    Yellow Jacket alumna Rachel Erickson is in her first season as the head coach at Black Hills State, guiding BHSU to a 11-6 record thus far.

CHADRON STATE STORYLINES
•    Chadron State enters this game 3-14 (2-9 RMAC), and they have now lost nine of their last ten games. This includes a 65-64 loss to South Dakota School of Mines last night in Rapid City. 
•    Chadron's Head Coach Travis Brewster is in his second year as the head coach of CSU going 9-34 as head coach of the Eagles. Before Chadron State, he was the head coach of University of North Dakota for eight seasons, where he went 128-120. Which makes his career overall record 135-154. 
•    Chadron State has all three of their wins this season at home, going 3-6 in Chicoine Center. They have averaged 70.3 points per game, 43.1 rebounds, and 12.8 assists, which is all a lot more than their season average. On the season they average 63.0 points per game, 38.4 rebounds, and11.3 assists. They are also shooting 37.8 percent from the field and 28.1 percent from three. Their only top stat is that the Eagles are ranked seventh in the country in free throw percentage at 79.3 percent. 
•    Senior Forward Ashayla Powers leads the team in scoring with 10.9 points per game, she also leads Chadron State in rebounds with 5.9 rebounds per game. She shoots 47.8 percent from the field and is 79.2 percent free throw shooter. She has two double doubles on the season and is coming off her eighth game with double digits, where she dropped 14 versus SD Mines with 7 rebounds on 4-8 shooting. 
•    Allison Richards is second on the team in scoring with 10.4 and leads the team in three pointers per game. She is 13th in the RMAC with1.64 threes per game and is coming off a nine-point performance versus SD Mines, where she had two of them. She also added a rebound and an assist. She also shoots 83.8 percent from the charity stripe.
•    Kylie Krise is the last player averaging double digits for the Eagles with 10.3 points per game, she is second on the team in rebounds with 5.2 per game and leads the team in blocks with 12. She also is the best three-point shooter at 36.2 percent and is tenth in the RMAC with a 77.2 percent clip from the free throw line. She is coming off a 10-point game versus the Hardrockers, where she went a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line. It was her seventh double digit game this season. 

SERIES HISTORY
•    Black Hills State is 26-2 all-time versus Chadron State having won the last 13 matches. The last time Chadron State beat the Yellow Jackets was February 24th, 2017, in Chadron.
•    The last time these two faced off was earlier this year when BHSU won 60-52 on December 7th. Bertram led the Yellow Jackets with 19 points, and both Weathersby and Hammerbeck made it to double digits, while Morris led for the Eagles with 15.