Spearfish, S.D. – The Black Hills State women's basketball team (2-4, RMAC 1-1) hung with Colorado Mesa (6-0, RMAC 2-0) for the first 12 minutes of play, but eventually fell  48-77 on Saturday night.

The Yellow Jackets were led by Calli Bechtel who had 10 points, six rebounds and five assists. Four Jackets scored eight points on the night, including Chelsey Biegler, Cassidy Kotelman, Dakota Barrie and Logan Cowan. Kotelman led the Jackets with seven rebounds.

"We started off well, in the first ten minutes we played with their level of intensity and energy," said head coach Mark Nore. "We need to do a better job playing disciplined when we're tired. Physically, that got to us."

The Yellow Jackets trailed 9-10 at 14:53 and tied the game at 21-21 with 8:50 remaining in the half. Mesa then went on 19-2 to end the first half. The Yellow Jackets trailed 40-21 at halftime. The Yellow Jackets shot 32.1 percent from the field and the Mavericks shot 42.9 percent.

BHSU couldn't keep up with the Mavericks' high-powered offense and the Yellow Jackets recorded their first RMAC loss of the season 48-77. On the game, the Jackets shot 39.6 percent from the floor and 30 percent (3-of-10) from behind the arc.

The Yellow Jackets recorded 18 turnovers, but won the battle on the boards with 33, compared to the Mavericks' 30.

"I thought our post played well tonight," said Nore. "Calli had a great stat line and I thought inside, Logan was great. I thought Logan was a big spark and played well."

The Yellow Jackets will now go on a four-game road trip starting with Colorado Christian on Friday, Dec. 7. BHSU will not return home until its January 4 contest against Adams State.