By Matt Gade

605 Sports

SPEARFISH — In between her freshman and sophomore years in high school, Kalla Bertram had to start anew.

Going from Elk Point-Jefferson to Winner, Bertram said it was her Warrior teammates who made the move easy.

“The girls, like all throughout the sports; track, volleyball, basketball, the girls were just so welcoming. And Morgan (Hammerbeck) was a part of that group, just a really good person who welcomed me,” Bertram said. “It was like I was going to school there for my whole life.”

That was in 2018. Seven years later, Bertram and Hammerbeck’s tenure as teammates is finally winding down.

Now at Black Hills State University, Hammerbeck, a graduate student and Bertram, a senior, are both closing out their college careers while helping first-year head coach Rachel Erickson transition into her first head coaching gig.

“I've known Kalla forever, playing with her sister (Keely) and Morgan, just from being in the program when I was coaching, and those two together, they’re our rocks,” Erickson said. “The fact that I get to come in and a team that I didn't recruit to have those players, have those seniors that just gives me peace of mind. And I got eight freshmen here, so just to have them has been calming for me. This job is new to me. I've realized there's a lot more to it than you would expect. And they've just, they've been just so leveling for me.”

Erickson played for BHSU from 2014 to 2018 playing with Kalla’s older sister Keely before becoming a graduate assistant in 2019-20 under former Head Coach Mark Nore.

Erickson would then go on to be an assistant at the University of Sioux Falls before becoming an assistant coach at Colorado State University.

“She's very similar to Nore and what she expects and defensive principles — just the way she runs a program, she brings a different energy being a female. I think she's very relatable in that sense, and she just loves each and every one of us.”

Bertram said she never thought of leaving BHSU when Nore stepped down as coach to become the Yellow Jackets Athletic Director, but having Erickson step into the role was an exciting announcement.

“When I heard Rachel was coming on to the staff, I was like ‘This couldn’t be more perfect than how it could’ve turned out,’” she said.

Erickson noted how welcoming the team was to her as well.

“Nore recruits great people, and I didn't come into a dumpster fire at all. I came into a group that wants to work, that's willing to work, and it could have been the complete opposite,” Erickson said. “They could have totally stuck their nose up to me just not recruiting them. It's hard buying into somebody you don't really know. So building those relationships was huge right away. I don't pretend to know everything, I definitely don't. So having great assistants, and just those upper-class men, I've learned so much from them”

With Hammerbeck and Bertram leading a group of four senior classmen, the Yellow Jackets have leaned on a young roster that features eight true freshmen to give the BHSU women depth on the court.

BHSU head coach Rachel Erickson talks to Hammerbeck, left, and Bertram during the Yellow Jackets game against South Dakota Mines on Saturday. (Matt Gade/605 Sports)

Not only does Coach Erickson rely on her seniors for leadership, she said the younger women do as well.

“Grandma Mo (Morgan). She's somebody that the girls look up to and just how she is as a person, the way she treats people. She's always looking out for the person next to her,” Erickson said. “She's the most selfless person that I've ever coached, to be honest.

“And Kalla is just somebody who you want to be like, that aggressor — just seeing her grow from her freshman year to her senior year, these girls are, are looking up, like, oh my gosh, this is what I could be. So they've just taken those freshmen under their wing. That gap has been, has been broken through, and it's, it's fun to see them all interact with each other, some conversations a little more adult-like than others, but it's really cool to see them just in that leadership role for these young players.”

Heading into the season, BHSU was picked to finish ninth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Yellow Jackets are currently in a 4-way tie for second at 8-4 following a six-game win streak to start conference play. Colorado Mesa is currently at the top at 10-2. 

Bertram leads the BHSU women in scoring with 13.4 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game. Hammerbeck is third on the team with 11.8 points per game and 5 rebounds per game.

BHSU's Morgan Hammerbeck shoots a 3-point basket in front of the Yellow Jacket bench during a game against South Dakota Mines on Saturday in Spearfish. (Matt Gade/605 Sports)

“Seeing that preseason poll, I mean, when those come out, you try not to decipher what you're going to do and how that kind of like affects you,” Bertram said. “I think that came out and we were just like, whatever we're gonna prove to the RMAC who we are. And that's kind of what we did when we came out.”

As the conference season is beyond the halfway point, Hammerbeck and Bertram are enjoying their final season.

“I just love the sport, and I know I'd regret it down the road if I didn't,” Hammerbeck said of playing as a graduate student. “Just having this last year to enjoy it, I just felt like last year, my true senior year. I didn't really appreciate all of the ‘lasts’ and now I'm just taking it all in day by day.”

Especially getting the sweep over rival South Dakota Mines.

BHSU's Kalle Bertram drives to the basket as South Dakota Mines' Miquedah Taliman (25) defends during a game on Saturday at BHSU. (Matt Gade/605 Sports)

“Absolutely great to get that last rivalry win here at the end of my senior year, career,” Bertram said.

But Hammerbeck, Bertram aren’t satisfied with where they are now, they want to make a run into the post-season.

The Yellow Jackets have eight regular-season games remaining on their schedule as they host Colorado State University-Pueblo on Thursday and the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs on Saturday. 

The RMAC post-season conference will start March 4.