SPEARFISH, S.D. – The RMAC Tournament run ends for BHSU as they fall to Colorado Mesa 68-53 in the second round of the conference tourney. BHSU fell behind early as Mesa outscored them 22-12 in the first quarter, and the lead was too much to overcome as the Yellow Jackets head into Selection Sunday at 18-11 (14-8).
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 53, Colorado Mesa 68
Team Records: Black Hills State 18-11 (14-8 RMAC), CSU Pueblo 25-4 (18-2 RMAC)
Attendance: 1,142
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Colorado Mesa started the game on a 13-3 run with BHSU's only points coming on a
Haylee Weathersby three-point play. Riley Hayes and Kylie Kravig had six points and four points each in that run before Mykaela Moore hit a three pointer.
Kalla Bertram hit a couple of jumpers in between two-pointers from Olivia Reed-Thyne and Moore to make it 17-7.
Bradie Schlabs hit a three pointer to cut the lead to seven before Brooklyn Palmer answered with a three of her own. Reed Thyne hit a jumper and
Audrey Norville made two free throws to send it to the second at 22-12.
• BHSU started the second quarter on a 6-2 run with layups from Weathersby,
Morgan Hammerbeck, and Schlabs to bring the lead down to six. After CMU made the next two baskets, BHSU went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to four with Weathersby, Hammerbeck, and Schlabs each making shots again. Right, when it was getting close, the Mavericks ended the half on a 7-0 run started with a three pointer from Moore and finished with a buzzer-beater running layup from Reed-Thyne to send CMU into the half up 11 at 35-24.
• After three minutes of back-and-forth shooting, Mesa led by nine with a 41-32 lead. Mesa then went on a 11-2 run to increase their lead to a 21-point lead that really felt like it was going to be hard to fight back from. Five different scorers for Mesa scored during that run and they led 55-34. Schlabs went on a 5-0 run by herself to get the lead down to 16 and after a couple more baskets, Mesa's Kravig hit a buzzer-beater layup to end the third quarter with Mesa leading by 19 at 59-40.
• There were only three total baskets scored in the first 4:30 of the fourth quarter, with Schlabs starting the scoring and Moore hitting the other two shots. BHSU went on a 7-0 run with Norville scoring three of them to cut the lead to 14, before Palmer hit a three to end the run. Bertram hit all three free throws after a three-point foul, but BHSU was unable to find the basket late and one free throw from Schlabs was all that was left for BHSU in the game as Mesa won 68-53.
BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS:
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Bradie Schlabs: 17 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists
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Haylee Weathersby: 14 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists
UP NEXT
BHSU's RMAC tournament run ended, and they will now await their fate as they are right on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament. The Selection Show is at 8:30 PM Sunday night, where the Yellow Jackets will see if they have done enough to get into the tourney.
