RAPID CITY, S.D. – South Dakota Mines' women's basketball team had a rare early-week matchup on Tuesday night as they took on Chadron State.
The Hardrockers led for a large majority of the contest, 36 minutes to be exact but still needed great performances from
Alexis Backhaus and
Savea Mansfield. A late basket by Mansfield wound up being the game-winner, pushing the Rockers to their fifth conference win and just one game back from .500 in league play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
To start the game, the Hardrockers got a quick lead at 12-7, which they expanded to 20-12 at the end of the first thanks to a pair of
Alexis Backhaus threes.
Backhaus kept cooking early in the second quarter, hitting another three and a pair of layups, giving her 13 early points, a season-high, and giving the Hardrockers a 29-23 lead with just under three minutes to play in the first half and the Hardrockers would expand that to 33-25 at the half.
Early in the first half, a
Savea Mansfield three gave the Hardrockers a 39-29 lead with just under seven minutes to go off
Emily Thomas' fourth assist of the game.
Throughout the third, the Hardrockers remained in control, keeping their lead at eight-plus through much of the quarter. However,
Morning Grace Spotted Bear put her imprint on the game at the end of the quarter, converting on a layup, then getting a steal and score and knocking the ensuing pass out of bounds, ending the quarter with the Hardrockers leading 52-39.
Chadron State would work its way back into the game, cutting the Hardrockers' deficit to six points, 56-50, with 5:13 to play in the fourth.
The Eagles would continue to cut that deficit. They would push it to a one-point Hardrocker lead, 56-55, with just under four minutes to play before Spotted Bear ended the run with a two-point basket, but Chadron State would later tie it up with a three-point play by Ashayla Powers with 1:50 to play.
One made free throw by Spotted Bear gave the 'Rockers the lead but only briefly, as Kyra Tanabe scored in the paint to provide Chadron State their first lead of the game with just 14.8 seconds to play at 64-63.
Savea Mansfield would convert on a clutch basket on the other end, taking the lead back, 65-64, and the Hardrockers would get a stop on the other end, picking up the 65-64 victory.
NOTES
Savea Mansfield scored 21 points to lead the team, Alexis Backhous added a career-high 15, and
Morning Grace Spotted Bear scored 13…Spotted Bear added nine rebounds…
Emily Thomas had five assists along with five rebounds…The Hardrockers shot 47.2% from the field and 38.9% from the three-point range…Overall, the Hardrockers led for 36:05 of the 40 minutes.
UP NEXT
The Hardrocker women's next game is against Chadron State on Tuesday night. The tip is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
You can find the latest on South Dakota Mines women's basketball all year long on X and Instagram (@hardrockerwbb), and you can also follow on Facebook at Hardrocker Women's Basketball. The latest on South Dakota Mines athletics can be found by following us on X at @GoHardrockers.
About South Dakota Mines
The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology 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.
