Paxton Ritchey-CSC Sports Information
CHADRON, Neb. – Allison Richards scored a game-high 16 points, Megan Counts logged her first career double-double and the Chadron State women’s basketball team earned a statement win over rival Black Hills State by a 60-50 margin Thursday evening at the Chicoine Center.
The win snaps a 13-game losing streak for the women’s program against the Yellow Jackets, as CSC’s last win over the Spearfish school prior to Thursday was back on February 24, 2017.
Chadron State improved its record to 4-14 overall and 3-9 in the RMAC. Black Hills State dropped to 11-7 overall and 7-4 in the RMAC. The Yellow Jackets began 6-0 in conference play but have lost three straight and four of their last five.
Richards, who scored the second-most points in her Chadron State career Thursday, shot 6-for-8 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range in 29 minutes off the bench. Counts added an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double for the Eagles, setting a career-high in rebounds in the process.
Chadron State’s offense was the story in the first quarter, with the Eagles coming out of the gate hot and shooting 72 percent (8-11) in the opening period featuring a three from Kyra Tanabe and two threes from Richards to lead 21-12 after 10 minutes.
The Eagle defense dominated the second quarter, holding the Yellow Jackets without a field goal as the visitors were 0-14 from the field and scored five points in the second frame, all from the free throw line. Chadron State led 27-17 at halftime.
Chadron State withstood a BHSU run in the third period. A 10-0 Yellow Jackets run turned a 12-point Eagle lead into a one-basket lead at 33-31, and Black Hills took the lead for the first time in the second half with a Morgan Hammerbeck three that made it 38-36, BHSU.
The Eagles held their nerve, with Richards answering immediately with a three at the other end to put Chadron State back up by one when the third quarter ended. After the Yellow Jackets scored a three-point play to open the fourth quarter, Counts answered with a three-ball to hand the lead right back to CSC.
Counts took over, scoring six of eight CSC points as the home team built a 52-46 lead. The Yellow Jackets hung tough, with free throws keeping it a four-point game at 54-50 with 1:38 left, but the Eagles iced it at the line and Black Hills didn’t score again.
In a statistical quirk, three of the four quarters featured one team outscoring the other 21-12, with the Eagles having the advantage in the first and fourth quarters and Black Hills outscoring CSC by that margin in the third.
Chadron State shot 35.8 percent from the field, 41.2 percent from three and 78.9 percent from the line. The Eagles held Black Hills to a season-low 24.1 percent from the field and 17.6 percent from deep.
The two teams were tied in points in the paint with 20 apiece, but the Eagles outscored BHSU 33-0 in bench points, led by 16 from Richards and nine from Tanabe. Behind Counts’ 10 boards, Bati Assefa and Kylie Krise grabbed six apiece for CSC.
The Eagles are off the rest of the week and are home again next week, facing Colorado Christian on Thursday, February 6 and CSU Pueblo on Saturday, February 8.