SPEARFISH, S.D.- It is rivalry week in Spearfish as the Black Hills State Yellow Jackets are at home Saturday to face South Dakota School of Mines. The Yellow Jackets, who are 11-7 (7-4 RMAC), have lost three straight games after losing last night to Chadron. While SD Mines (5-13 (5-6 RMAC)) has won four of their last six after only winning one game in their first 12.  

GAME DETAILS
Date & Time: February 1st at 5 PM
Location: Spearfish, South Dakota- A2 Arena

BLACK HILLS STATE STORYLINES:
•    Black Hills State enters this game versus SD Mines ranked tied for third in the RMAC at a 11-7 (7-4 RMAC) record. They are coming off of two straight home losses and a road loss to 4-14 Chadron State. During the CSU game, BHSU couldn't get the offense going outside of the third quarter making it the third straight game where they finished with less than 51, which is only the second time in our D2 history, where they have been held to 51 or less in three straight games
•    It was the first time this season that Black Hills State had a quarter without making a field goal, and it was the first time since November 17th, 2022, that BHSU went a whole quarter without hitting a field goal. In the second quarter of last night's game, BHSU went 0-14 from the field and only had five free throws in the quarter. 
•    The crucial part of the game that hurt Black Hills State was three-point shooting. Black Hills State didn't hit a three until 5:40 remaining in the third quarter, which is the fifth time in the last six games where they had a whole half without making a shot from behind the arc (Second Half versus MSU Denver, Second Half versus NMHU, First Half versus Colorado Mesa, and Second Half versus Western Colorado). BHSU went a combined 3-17 from behind the arc in that game, with all three of those coming in a 16-3 run in the third quarter. 
•    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 eleven games to begin RMAC schedule.
•    Through the first 18 games of the season BHSU is averaging 63.7 points, 38.1 rebounds, 12.8 assists, 6.3 steals, and 1.9 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 41.2 percent from the field, 27.6 percent from 3-point range, and 68.8 percent from the free throw line. Their opponents are averaging 59.2 points, 31.7 rebounds, 9.6 assists, 6.4 steals, and 2.4 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 38.6 percent from the field, 35.5 percent from 3-point range, and 77.2 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 (13.2), and 30th in rebound margin (6.4). In Saturday's loss, BHSU only had 12 turnovers, 17 fouls, which was their second highest of the season, and lost the rebounding battle 43-37.   
•    Leading four players in double figures scoring for Black Hills State is Haylee Weathersby, who is 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 94-of-173 (54.3%) shot attempts this year, and is 17th in free throw percentage as she is also shooting 53-of-72 (73.6%) from the charity stripe. She has reached double figures and has scored 12 or more points in 12 of 18 games this year in addition to grabbing five or more boards in 15 contests. She is coming off a team-leading 15-point performance versus the Eagles, where she shot 5-13 from the field (38.4%), went 5-6 from the free throw line (83.3%), and also added six rebounds. 
•    Kalla Bertram who is one of the top scorers and rebounders in the conference, ranking 11th in points per game (13.3) and 10th in rebounds per game (6.8). Additionally, Bertram adds 1.6 steals per game and 1.8 assists per game. She has been efficient shooting the ball as she ranks sixth in the RMAC in field goal percentage, knocking down 91-of-208 shot attempts (43.8%), and has scored in double figures in 13 of the 18 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 46-of-61 (75.4%) 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 was injured early in the game versus Chadron, and had seven points, which led the team in the first half and three rebounds, while only playing 23 minutes. 
•    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 41.0 percent from the field, 32.7 percent on 3-pointers, and 76.7 percent of free throws. She currently ranks ninth in the RMAC in total 3-pointers made (32) and is ninth in 3-pointers per game (1.78). Hammerbeck is coming off an 11-point, 5 rebound performance versus Chadron, where she was a crucial factor in our third quarter comeback. She made two threes during that run.  
•    The lone freshman in the starting lineup for each of the first 18 games this year has been Bradie Schlabs is averaging 10.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. She has scored in double figures in 12 games, including a season-high of 21 points versus MSU Denver. She has now had eight of her last nine games with double-digits and five of her last eight with 13 or more points. She has secured four or more boards on 16 occasions, including all the last 14 games. Schlabs has dished out four or more assists in 13 games, eight of the last 11, and has tallied a steal in 16 of 18 games this year. She ranks third in the RMAC in assists (78), assists per game (4.3), and assist/turnover ratio (1.63), while also ranking 53rd, 39th, and 55th nationally in NCAA Division II in the respective categories. Schlabs is coming off a 12-point, four-rebound, three-steal performance in the loss versus Chadron. It was her second highest number of steals in her career
•    Yellow Jacket alumna Rachel Erickson is in her first season as the head coach at Black Hills State, guiding BHSU to a 11-7 record thus far.

SD MINES STORYLINES
•    SD Mines enters this game 5-13 (5-6) in the RMAC but have won four of their last six and are starting to find their groove late in the season. They are coming off a one point win over Chadron State 65-64, where they nearly blew a fourth quarter ten point lead, but were saved by a Savea Mansfield layup with four seconds left to give them the win. 
•    SD Mines Head Coach Jeri Owsley is in her sixth season as head coach for the Hardrockers. She has a career record of 52-97 (50-67 RMAC) and has had three straight seasons of less than ten wins. 
•    Four of SD Mines five wins have come against the four bottom teams in the conference, with their other coming against Colorado School of Mines in Rapid City. It was their only win versus a team with a .500 or above conference record, but they have yet to beat a team with a winning record this season. They are ranked 88th in the country in free throw percentage with 73.2, and are one of the top RMAC teams in offensive rebounding averaging 12.0 a game. 
•    Redshirt Sophomore Forward Grace Morning Spotted Bear is the leading scorer for the Hardrockers with 13.4 points per game and averages 8.8 rebounds per game, which is 53rd in the country. She also is 23rd in the country in defensive rebounds per game with 6.9. She also leads the team in assists with 2.4 a game Spotted Bear is ranked 35th in the country with five double doubles, with her most recent being an 11 and 10 game versus Adams State. She has reached double-digits in ten of her last 11 games and has grabbed eight or more rebounds in all of her last ten games. Her best game of the season came against Fort Lewis, where she had 32 points and 13 rebounds. She is coming off her third straight near double-double, where she had 13 points and nine rebounds versus Chadron, which was her third straight game with over ten points, and exactly nine rebounds. 
•    Savea Mansfield, the hero of the Chadron State game, is second on the team in points with 13.4, she also averages 5.5 rebounds, and is shooting 44.7 percent from the field, which is sixth in the conference. She is top 100 in the country in offensive rebounds per game with 2.9 and is coming off a 21-point game versus Chadron where she went 9-11 from the field. 
•    Piper Bauer is the final player in double-digits for the Hardrockers and is the three-point shooter. She averages 12.2 points per game, while shooting 32.8 percent from three and 32.9 percent from the field. She is ranked 38th in the country in three pointers per game with 2.50, 29th in three-point attempts with 138, 46th in total three pointers with 45, and 96th in three-point percentage. She has hit a three pointer in every game this season and has hit multiple in all but one, with her best performance being a game versus Colorado Christian where she went 6 for 11 from behind the arc. She is coming off a quieter night, where she had six points, shooting 2-9 from behind the arc. 

SERIES HISTORY
•    Saturday will be the 112th matchup between the two schools, and right now BHSU holds a slight 56-55 lead over the Hardrockers, with the Yellow Jackets being 30-16 since 2004. The last time SD Mines beat BHSU was in 2022 in Rapid City.  
•    The Yellow Jackets got their fifth win in a row earlier this year, when they beat the Hardrockers 64-50 on December 3rd. Bertram was the leading scorer with 14, while Weathersby put up 13, and Hammerbeck added 11.