LAS VEGAS, N.M.- After a tight first quarter, the Cowgirls dominated the second quarter and BHSU was unable to really close the gap as the Yellow Jackets fall in an important game in Las Vegas, N.M. 81-70. This loss knocks BHSU out of the second spot in the RMAC and into a tie for third with two games remaining. Brinlee McRae and Emily Cooper led the charge for BHSU as McRae had 17 and Cooper had 13.

QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 70, New Mexico Highlands 81
Team Records: Black Hills State 16-9 (13-5 RMAC), New Mexico Highlands 12-13 (8-10 RMAC)
Attendance: 197

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Brinlee McRae took the opening tip for an opening layup less than five seconds into the game and Sawyer Stoebner immediately got another basket on an outlet pass from Schlabs. Highlands answered with a 6-0 run to take the lead at 6-4. The Yellow Jackets made four straight free throws to take a 8-6 lead and then it turned into a back-and-forth game with neither team making back-to-back buckets the rest of the quarter. During that stretch, McRae had two layups and Tess Rule and Alli Glasscock each had a layup as well. Highlands made the final layup in the quarter to take an 18-16 lead through one period.
• The Cowgirls started the second quarter on a 10-2 run to take a 28-18 lead that included a three pointer, a layup, and a three-point play from Melika Samia. Each team scored two points, then Emily Cooper hit a three to make it 30-23, and Brynn Hargrove answered with a three of her own. McRae added a jumper to make it 33-25. After a Highlands 5-2 run, no one scored for over two minutes before Highlands hit a layup, a three-pointer and a half-court buzzer beater heave to take a massive 46-27 lead going into halftime.
• McRae led the Yellow Jackets at half with 10 points, while Maureen Ulrich had six points and three rebounds. For the Cowgirls, Samia had 14 points and two steals, while Aspen Salazar had 10 points and three steals. Hargrove and Aniya Johnson each had eight points.
• After an Aniya Johnson layup to put Highlands up 21, BHSU went on a 10-0 run that included two layups from Audrey Norville, two jumpers from Schlabs and a layup from Stoebner. Kamalani Anitielu went on a 5-0 run to make it 53-37. The Cowgirls then went on a 9-6 run to make it 62-43 before the Green and Gold ended the period on an 8-0 run with threes from Cooper and Schlabs and another jumper from Cooper. This cut the lead to 11 at 62-51 going into the final period.
• Highlands put the nail in the coffin early with a 7-0 run to begin the fourth quarter to put them back up 18 at 69-51. The Yellow Jackets only put up three points in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, but didn't allow Highlands to score after that 7-0 run either. As we approached five minutes left, the Yellow Jackets trailed 69-54. Hargrove hit a jumper to make it 71-54 and Stoebner and McRae each hit layups to cut it down to 71-58. The two teams split the next eight points before Cooper hit another three to get BHSU within 10 at 75-65. That was as close as they got as the two teams went back-and-forth to end the game and NMHU held on at 81-70.

 
BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS:
Brinlee McRae: 17 points, 6 rebounds
Emily Cooper: 13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
Maureen Ulrich: 10 points, 8 rebounds

UP NEXT
The Yellow Jackets will head home for the final weekend of the RMAC regular season where they will face Westminster and #4 Colorado Mesa in must win games. Senior night will be Saturday where the Yellow Jackets will honor there lone senior Brinlee McRae.
 
 
 
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