Black Hill State University basketball is set to host a huge round of double headers heading into the first weekend of Februrary, with the BHSU lady Yellow Jackets (16-3, 11-2 RMAC) slated to go up against No. 14/22 Colorado School of Mines on Friday, Feb. 3 at 5 p.m. The ladies will then turn around for a 4 p.m. matchup against the MSU Denver Roadrunners on Saturday, Feb. 4.
 

BLACK HILLS STATE vs Colorado Mines  FRIDAY, FEB. 3 // 5 P.M. // SPEARFISH, S.D. // DONALD E. YOUNG CENTER Live Stream / Live Stats / Listen Live / Tickets

FRIDAY VS. COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
Earlier this season, BHSU traveled to Golden, Colorado for their first matchup against the Orediggers, falling 75-47 to what was the No. 12 team at the time. Since the Dec. 10 meeting between these two, Colorado Mines has sat at the top of the conference standings and has only fell to two RMAC teams this season: on the road for both, and on the same weekend, the Orediggers were upset by Regis in a 76-64 bout before falling in a tight contest against UCCS, 67-64.
 
BHSU has also been hot following that matchup, only dropping one game to Adams State on Dec. 30. Both teams are on fire heading into this weekend, with Colorado Mines on an active four-game winning streak while the Yellow Jackets have won their last seven matchups. Each squad boasts the top two defenses in the RMAC as BHSU has only allowed 55.6 points per tilt while the Orediggers have held opponents to 58.5 points per game.
 
OREDIGGERS' LAST TIMEOUT
GOLDEN, Colo. – Ashley Steffeck had a career night on Saturday as the No. 14 Colorado School of Mines Women's Basketball team notched an 80-69 win against Adams State inside Lockridge Arena.
 
Steffeck led all players with a career-high 29 points. She was 10-of-14 from the floor including a 7-of-8 mark from three-point range while converting both free-throw opportunities. Steffeck also dished out five assists and racked up four steals with one block. Jenna Siebert was the only other Oredigger to score in double figures. She had her own career high thanks to 13 points.
 
While there were three lead changes in the game and an 8-0 scoring run by the visitors, the Orediggers held the advantage 38:34 out of 40 possible minutes and led by as many as 17 points. The Grizzlies even scored first, but Mines finished the opening period with a 22-12 lead. Jessica Rios fueled that margin with five points and Steffeck notched five of her own. Howery and Van de Graaf combined for eight points total. After that, it was all Orediggers.
 
Mines ended the second quarter on a 9-0 run and rolled into halftime touting a 42-30 lead. Four of Nichols' six second-period points came as part of the surge. By the end of the third quarter, the home team had pushed its lead to 62-47.
 
Steffeck fueled the push with 10 points in the third frame alone, and 11 Oredigger points in just 71 seconds didn't hurt their chances. In the final quarter, Steffeck secured the home team win to close out Alumni Weekend by pouring in 11 more points on 3-of-3 shooting; all from behind the three-point arc. She also notched her first, and only free-throw attempts of the game.
 
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs CSMT (DEC. 10, 2022)
GOLDEN, Colo. – Black Hills State took on the No. 12 Colorado School of Mines on Saturday night, falling to the Orediggers 75-47.
 
Going up against a tough Oredigger defense, who forced 25 turnovers, Alessia Capley led the offense in the matchup. She was three-of-five from the field and made both attempted free throws in her 17-minutes off the bench. Capley also led the team with 13 rebounds.
 
Play opened up with both teams sinking a three-pointer in back-to-back possessions, with Morgan Hammerbeck knocking down the three for BHSU. After an exchange of two-point field goals, the Orediggers kicked off a 16-1 run at the 4:53 mark that stretched to the end of the first quarter.
 
Megan Engesser put up the first points of the second quarter with a jumper to bring the scoreboard to 8-23. Capley exchanged scoring possessions with CSM, putting up a layup and a floating jumper to keep pace with CSM. The Orediggers, however, did not slow down as they put up another seven-point spurt to maintain a 33-12 lead with 4:40 to go in the half.
 
Strong defensive play from CSM forced many Yellow Jacket turnovers down the stretch, with the Yellow Jackets putting up five points in the final two-and-a-half minutes of the half, heading to the locker room trailing 35-17.
 
Opening the second half, both teams traded scoring possessions, maintaining the Orediggers lead until they later expanded the lead to a 25-point gap with three minutes to go in the third. The Orediggers took the third quarter after outscoring the Yellow Jackets 22-16, with BHSU holding a 36.4 percent from the field and a 50 percent clip from three.
 
The Orediggers began the final quarter with five quick points before a Megan Engesser three put BHSU at a 62-33 deficit with 7:49 left in the game. At the 7:18 mark, however, CSM racked up another eight-point burst to all but close the door on BHSU. The quarter ended with a seven-point burst from the BHSU bench that included a pair of charity stripe shots from Summer Fox, a three-pointer from Natalie Holte, and a pair of free-throws from Alivia Pautz that helped BHSU end the game on a positive note.
 
A FRIDAY BHSU WIN WOULD...
Dependent on the results of Regis at Colorado Mesa, BHSU would jump over Colorado Mines in the rankings and put the Yellow Jackets in first. If Regis wins, BHSU would take the second-place spot in the RMAC standings.
 
A FRIDAY BHSU LOSS WOULD...
See BHSU still hold onto the third spot in the conference rankings, leaving the top two spots to Colorado Mines and Regis.
 

BLACK HILLS STATE vs MSU Denver  SATURDAY, FEB. 4 // 4 P.M. // SPEARFISH, S.D. // DONALD E. YOUNG CENTER Live Stream / Live Stats / Listen Live / Tickets

 
SATURDAY VS. METRO STATE UNIVERSITY OF DENVER
Following their 74-56 loss to BHSU on Dec. 9, the Roadrunners have gone 7-4 and are currently riding a three-game winning streak. MSUD has held very close contests against top teams in the RMAC: they held their own against the Regis Rangers, only losing by three in the final minutes of that contest. They also ran the No. 19/24 Colorado Mines squad, 63-62.
 
Kendra Parra, their 5'8'' sophomore guard, has been a huge boost in their offense as the leading RMAC scorer is averaging 18.4 points per game. Just last weekend, Parra hit a career high 28-point game against Fort Lewis.
 
The Roadrunners are riding into Western South Dakota on a three game winning streak and will dance with South Dakota Mines on Friday night before making their appearance in Spearfish.
 
ROADRUNNERS' LAST TIMEOUT
DENVER, Colo. – The MSU Denver women's basketball team kept the wins coming Saturday with a 71-66 victory over Fort Lewis.
 
Behind Kendra Parra, who matched a career high with 28 points while making all 12 of her free throw attempts, the Roadrunners won for the sixth time in their last eight games to improve to 10-10 overall and 8-6 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
 
Ashlyn Yow made back-to-back second-quarter 3-pointers while scoring a career-high seven points. Brooklynn Jones, another true freshman guard, also made two second-quarter 3s. Yow had a game-high plus-15 rating in her 10 minutes of action.
 
MSU Denver held its biggest lead, 38-28, at halftime. And though it never trailed in the second half, the lead fluctuated from comfortable to concerning.
 
"We kind of came out flat the second half, and they're pretty much in desperation mode," Coach Tanya Haave said. "They didn't have anything to lose. We had an emotional game last night, and they had gotten blown out – so this was their game for the weekend. But we kept our composure."
 
The Roadrunners are still in sixth place in the RMAC, but are only a half-game behind fifth place Westminster (9-6) and a game behind the fourth-place Adams State team (9-5) it beat Friday night.
 
LAST MATCHUP: BHSU vs MSUD (DEC. 9, 2022)
DENVER, Colo. - Black Hills State's lady Yellow Jackets held off the MSU Denver Roadrunners in a commanding 74-56 victory against the Roadrunners.
 
Nine Yellow Jackets left Denver with points tonight that included 18 bench points. Four double-digit scores were recorded by Danica Kocer, Niki Van Wyk, Ellie Moore, and Alessia Capley, who all combined for 60.
 
As a team, BHSU shot 46 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three while making 10-of-13 free throws against the Roadrunners.
 
Both teams were quick to get on the board to start the game, with Kocer laying up a bucket before MSUD quickly responded with a three to give MSUD their only lead of the first half. A Morgan Hammerbeck three and Van Wyk layup gave BHSU the 7-3 lead inside the first two minutes of the game that expanded into a 14-5 run for BHSU.
 
BHSU shooting cooled off at the 2:00 mark, allowing for the Roadrunners to slowly climb out of the hole created by the hot start from BHSU. However, a Niki Van Wyk three-pointer kept the Yellow Jackets with a double-digit margin over MSUD, with the quarter ending with a 12-point BHSU lead.
 
Van Wyk opened the quarter up with a pair of layups to extend the Yellow Jacket lead to 16 points. Later on, MSU Denver began to chip away at the BHSU lead but a pair of Roadrunner fouls gave BHSU three points from the charity stripe. A three-point play from Kocer closed the first half with a 43-28 BHSU lead.
 
Megan Engesser knocked down a three-pointer to open the second half, with both teams trading two-point scores until a Kocer trey gave BHSU a 51-34 lead with 5:55 to go in the quarter. The Roadrunners put up six points in the final three minutes, but BHSU still held the 59-42 lead heading into the final frame.
 
Multiple turnovers from both sides created a slower start to the fourth quarter, but BHSU revved up a 9-4 run that stretched to the 4:40 mark, giving BHSU the commanding 68-46 lead. The Roadrunners were able to put up a quick seven points with 3:29 left in the quarter, but a Van Wyk layup and a successful trip to the free throw line from Kocer kept the door closed on MSUD, with the Yellow Jackets finishing the game up 74-56.
 
COACHES
In his 21st season as head coach of the Yellow Jackets, Mark Nore is the winningest coach in BHSU Athletics history for the women's basketball program with an overall record of 366-225.
 
A three-time RMAC coach of the year, Tanya Haave enters her 13th season as the head coach of the Roadrunners. She is the winningest coach in school history, carrying a 221-124 record as MSU Denver's head coach.
 
Brittany Simpson enters her eleventh season as the head coach of Orediggers women's basketball, holding an all-time 174-107 record at the helm. In her time as head coach, Simposn has guided the women to their first three RMAC titles in program history.