RAPID CITY, S.D. – The South Dakota Mines women's basketball team looked to take some recent momentum into their home matchup against rival Black Hills State University but came up short in a hard-fought battle Wednesday night at the King Center.
Things were going well for the first three quarters as the Hardrockers built a 10-point lead, but Black Hills State came alive and held on for a 71-68 win in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play at Goodell Gymnasium. The loss dropped the Hardrockers to 5-8 in the RMAC, with the Yellow Jackets moving to 9-4.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hardrockers jumped out fast in the opening period as senior
Madelyn Heiser's 3-pointer put the 'Rockers up 7-2 and fastbreak layups by sophomore
Savea Mansfield and Heiser gave South Dakota Mines six-point lead with 4:46 to play.
A 3-pointer by senior
Piper Bauer and a layup by Mansfield, assisted by freshman
Morning Grace Spotted Bear, enabled the Hardrockers to double up the Yellow Jackets before South Dakota Mines took a 16-10 lead going into the second period.
The Hardrockers raced out to a nine-point lead early in the second on a 3-pointer by Heiser and five points from Spotted Bear. South Dakota Mines got two straight buckets from Mansfield – the second off a pass from senior
Naomi Hidalgo – for a 30-20 lead with 3:25 until halftime.
Mansfield continued her aggressive play offensively, with a layup and two free throws in the final seconds to put South Dakota Mines up 34-24 at halftime. Mansfield led the 'Rockers in first-half scoring with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, while Heiser added 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-4 3-pointers. As a team, the 'Rockers were 14-of-29 for 48 percent.
The Yellow Jackets began to chip away at the South Dakota Mines lead, outscoring the Hardrockers 8-4 in the first three and one-half minutes to cut the lead to 38-32. The 'Rockers responded with a basket by Hidalgo and two free throws by Mansfield to put the lead back to 10. The Hardrockers led 45-35 after a 3-pointer from sophomore
Lauren Herman with 4:29 to play in the third.
Again, BHSU clawed its way back with seven straight points to make it a three-point game with 2:30 left in the third. Spotted Bear ended the run with a pair of free throws, but the Jackets came back with a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 47-45 with 1:30 to play in the period. Black Hills State took its first lead (51-49) since 2-0 on a 3-pointer, followed by a steal and three-point play with 32 seconds remaining in the third. But the Hardrockers answered with a three-point play by Mansfield and South Dakota Mines regained the lead at 52-51 at the end of the third quarter.
The Jackets went back in front 58-54 early in the fourth on a three-pointer and two layups and led 66-60 with three minutes to play. The Hardrockers responded with four points from Hidalgo to cut the lead to two with just under a minute to play.
After a defensive stop, South Dakota Mines had an excellent opportunity to regain the lead but missed a 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining. The Jackets got the rebound and the Hardrockers were forced to foul. After BH hit one free throw, South Dakota Mines couldn't score in the final seconds to make the final score 71-68 in favor of the Jackets.
NOTES
Five Hardrockers finished in double figures in scoring, led by Mansfield's 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line. She also finished with a game-high six assists and added five rebounds and two steals on defense.
Morning Grace Spotted Bear finished with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line. She also finished with seven rebounds and added one steal.
Naomi Hidalgo chipped in with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 free throws, along with five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Piper Bauer had six points in the fourth quarter and scored 11 points on 5-of-13 shooting, including 1-of-4 3-pointers. She also had four rebounds and two steals. Heiser finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists and three steals. As a team, the Hardrockers shot 46 percent from the field on 26-of-57 and hit 4-of-14 3-pointers. The Hardrockers led for 69 minutes of the game, 27 minutes to 9 minutes. South Dakota Mines was a strong 12-of-13 from the free-throw line as Black Hills State was 17-of-29. The 'Rockers out-rebounded BHSU 31-26 and had 11 steals and eight assists.
UP NEXT
The Hardrockers hit the road to face another rival, Chadron State College, Saturday, Feb. 3 at 1 p.m. in Chadron, Neb.
Fans can find the latest on South Dakota Mines women's basketball all year long on X and Instagram (@hardrockerwbb), while also following on Facebook at South Dakota Mines Women's Basketball. The latest on South Dakota Mines athletics can be found by following us on X at @GoHardrockers, hardrockerathletics on Instagram and Hardrocker Athletics on Facebook.
ABOUT SOUTH DAKOTA MINES
South Dakota Mines is a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) and NCAA Division II offering 13 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic programs. The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is a premier NCAA Division II conference with 15 members, as well as four associate members, located in the states of California, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Utah.
