SPEARFISH, S.D.- The Yellow Jackets have now won three in a row after surviving UCCS on Saturday. They will now begin a two-week road trip that will begin in Golden, Colorado at the Lockridge Arena Thursday night when they face Colorado School of Mines (8-14 (6-8 RMAC)). Black Hills State (14-7 (10-4 RMAC)) will look to keep their winning streak going this weekend and hope to keep up their recent offensive explosion. 

GAME DETAILS
Date & Time: February 13th at 5:30 PM
Location: Golden, Colorado- Lockridge Arena

BLACK HILLS STATE STORYLINES:
•    Black Hills State enters this game versus Colorado School of Mines ranked tied for second in the RMAC at a 14-7 (10-4 RMAC) record. They are coming off of a battle versus UCCS where they won 72-68 over the Mountain Lions. Black Hills State was able to secure their third straight victory with that win and are now two games clear of UCCS, who dropped to sixth in the RMAC  
•    The Yellow Jackets shot the most free throws of the season during that game with 31 and were able to make 22 of them marking a 71 percent clip, which is the third time in the last three games that they made over 70 percent of their shots from the charity stripe. This was partially due to the fact that there were the second most number of fouls called of any game this season. There were 38 fouls called, which is second only behind the New Mexico Highlands game where there were 41.
•    The crucial part of the game that helped Black Hills State was the shooting. Black Hills State had their best shooting performance of RMAC play with a 52.3 percent clip. This was also the second-best shooting performance of the season only behind 53.1 percent versus USF. It was the first time we had shot over 50 percent from the field in three quarters since Regis earlier this year.
•    The 10 double-doubles BHSU has this year is the most in BHSU's D2 history, the four different players with at least one is also the most in team history and the three players with multiple double-doubles is once again the most in team history. Currently, Kalla Bertram, Haylee Weathersby, and Bradie Schlabs each have three, while Morgan Hammerbeck has one. 
•    Black Hills State is ranked third of four RMAC schools in D2CSC South Central Regional Media Poll, appearing for the 12th consecutive week as they moved up the rankings to 7th and now sit just above CSU Pueblo. 
•    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 second in the conference standings after ten wins in 14 games to begin RMAC schedule.
•    Through the first 21 games of the season BHSU is averaging 64.3 points, 38.2 rebounds, 13.0 assists, 6.2 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 41.8 percent from the field, 29.0 percent from 3-point range, and 68.1 percent from the free throw line. Their opponents are averaging 58.8 points, 31.7 rebounds, 9.7 assists, 6.3 steals, and 2.5 blocks per game, while shooting the ball 38.6 percent from the field, 34.5 percent from 3-point range, and 76.4 percent from the free throw line.
•    The Yellow Jackets currently rank fifth in NCAA Division II in fewest turnovers per game (12.2), eighth in fewest fouls per game (13.2), and 29th in assist/turnover ratio (1.07). In the win over UCCS, BHSU had 14 turnovers, 16 fouls, and a 1.07 a/t ratio.  
•    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 12th in points per game (13.7) and 11th in rebounds per game (6.9). Additionally, Bertram adds 1.5 steals per game and 2.3 assists per game. She has been efficient shooting the ball as she ranks ninth in the RMAC in field goal percentage, knocking down 107-of-250 shot attempts (42.8%), and has scored in double figures in 16 of the 21 games this year. She has notched three double doubles this season against Lubbock Christian (17 points, 11 rebounds), Chadron State (19 points, 11 rebounds), and CSU Pueblo (17 points, 10 rebounds). She has reached her season-high mark in steals on three different occasions and has recorded multiple steals in 14 games. Bertram is coming off a 16-point performance versus the Mountain Lions, where she added four rebounds and three assists. She shot 5-10 from the field and 6-8 from the free throw line.  
•     Haylee Weathersby, who is second on the team in scoring with 12.9 points and adds 6.4 rebounds per game. She currently ranks third in the RMAC in field goal percentage and 31st in the country, knocking down 105-of-197 (53.3%) shot attempts this year. She has reached double figures and has scored 12 or more points in 13 of 21 games this year in addition to grabbing five or more boards in 17 contests. She is now at three double-doubles this season against Chadron State (14 points, 10 rebounds), Colorado Christian (29 points, 10 rebounds), and UCCS (15 points, 10 rebounds). She is coming off that third double-double on Saturday when she had 15 points and ten rebounds versus UCCS. She shot 4-8 from the field and 7-8 from the charity stripe.    
•    The lone freshman in the starting lineup for each of the first 21 games this year has been Bradie Schlabs is averaging 12.1 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. She has scored in double figures in 15 games, including a season-high of 24 points versus CSU Pueblo. She has now had 11 of her last 12 games with double-digits and eight of her last 11 with 13 or more points. She has secured four or more boards on 18 occasions, including 16 of the last 17 games. Schlabs has dished out four or more assists in 15 games, ten of the last 14, and has tallied a steal in 19 of 21 games this year. She ranks third in the RMAC in assists (85), assists per game (4.3), and assist/turnover ratio (1.67), while also ranking 56th, 39th, and 57th nationally in NCAA Division II in the respective categories. Schlabs is coming off a week where she earned RMAC Offensive Player of the Week, which is the first weekly award for a BHSU Women's player since January of 2023. She had a career high 24 points versus CSU Pueblo, and then followed it up with a team high 18 points and five assists versus UCCS. She shot 7-10 from the field and 2-2 from three and added four rebounds. Schlabs has now made her last seven threes in a row spanning over four games. 
•    Morgan Hammerbeck is another player to keep an eye on. She is averaging 11.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists. She is shooting the ball 42.9 percent from the field, 34.5 percent on 3-pointers, and 70.6 percent of free throws. She currently ranks seventh in the RMAC in total 3-pointers made (39) and in 3-pointers per game (1.86). Hammerbeck has one double-double this season coming against South Dakota Mines (18 points, 12 rebounds), and is coming off her 11th double-digit game in the past 14 games, where she had 11 points and six rebounds versus UCCS.
•    Yellow Jacket alumna Rachel Erickson is in her first season as the head coach at Black Hills State, guiding BHSU to a 14-7 record thus far.

UCCS STORYLINES
•    Colorado School of Mines enters this game 8-14 (6-8 RMAC) and is ninth in the RMAC and lost three straight games. They are coming off a 78-76 loss to Westminster, where they were down eight at half and nearly pulled off the comeback. They took the lead early in the fourth but couldn't hold it and missed a last second shot to tie. 
•    UCCS's Head Coach Brittany Simpson in in the middle of her 13th season as head coach of the Orediggers, she is officially the winningest coach in CSM history with a record of 227-137. Simpson has been named coach of the year three times, won three RMAC titles, and has made it to the NCAA Tournament five times, including all of the last four seasons. However, she is in the midst of by far her worst season of her career with looking to be only the third time in her tenure that she has a losing record. 
•    One of the main issues for Mines has been fouls. They are averaging the most fouls per game in the RMAC with 10 games this season fouling more than 20 times, and they are bottom three in the conference in free throw attempts per game, which means they are sending other teams to the foul line a lot and are not getting there themselves. They have two instances this season in RMAC play, where the free throw margin has been large enough to cover the score margin. They are also only ranked top three in the conference in one stat and that is offensive rebounds per game (12.0). 
•    Mines is averaging 65.2 points per game, 38.0 rebounds, 12.8 assists, 6.6 steals, and 3.0 blocks, while shooting 39.8 percent from the field, 29.7 percent from three, and 73.1 percent from the free throw line. On the other hand, they are allowing 68.0 points, 34.4 rebounds, 12.4 assists, 8.2 steals, and 3.8 blocks, while opponents are shooting 41.2 percent from the field, 31.3 percent from three, and 77.9 percent from the charity stripe.  
•    CSM is led by Jenna Siebert, who is ranked 15th in the country in scoring with 19.5 points per game. She also averages 4.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists. She is shooting 40 percent from the field and 28.8 percent from three, which is good enough for sixth in the RMAC. She is third in three pointers per game with 2.09. She has reached 20 or more points 11 times this year and hit 30 four times. She has hit three or more three pointers in five of the last six games. Siebert is coming off a 31-point, four rebound performance versus Westminster, where she shot 10-22 from the field and 6-13 from three-point range,
•    Josephine Howery is tied for the second leading scorer on the team with 10.5 points per game, while leading the team in rebounds with 5.5 per game, and also adding 2.5 assists per game. Howery has made it to double-digits ten times this year but has only reached it twice in the past eight games. Howery is coming off a four-point performance with five rebounds and five assists.
•    Emma Sixta is also at 10.5 points per game, while adding 3.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Sixta is shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 31.4 percent from behind the arc. Sixta has made it to ten or more points in seven of the last 12 games and that includes a high of 20 in the first matchup versus Westminster. She is coming off a quiet eight point, three rebound, two assist night versus the Griffins. 

SERIES HISTORY
•    Colorado School of Mines currently leads the all-time series 11-9 and has won four of the last five games versus the Yellow Jackets. 
•    The last time these two faced off was last season, where BHSU broke a four-game losing streak to the Orediggers and won in Golden 69-61. Hammerbeck had a team high 15 points in that game, while Gracie Haneborg had 11.