WOMEN'S RMAC SHOOTOUT BRACKET
DURANGO, Colo. – The Yellow Jackets women's basketball team (14-13, 13-10 RMAC) took full advantage of their first ever Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference playoff bid in program history on Tuesday night, as they beat Fort Lewis College for the second time this season, by a score of 81-71.
With the victory, the Yellow Jackets will continue to make history by advancing to the semifinals of the RMAC Shootout playoff tournament when they face No. 2 CSU-Pueblo on Friday, Mar. 7, from Grand Junction, Colo.
"Our team played awesome tonight," BHSU head coach, Mark Nore, said after the game. "They just shared the ball, helped each other out all night and stayed the course."
"This is the second game in a row that I just feel so proud of them for coming together and playing as a team," Nore said.
All nine players that dressed for the Yellow Jackets saw action against FLC, with a total of four players scoring in double figures as BHSU again showed how deep they are as they totaled 43 bench points.
Junior guard, Shanna Halalilo, led the way off the bench as she was the Jacket's leading scorer in the game with a career-high 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting with six rebounds and three steals. Halalilo now has scored 38 points over the last two games.
Halalilo paired with true freshman, Gabby Haefs, who also dropped a career-high with 16 points off the bench as well.
The two other Yellow Jackets to score in double figures was junior Chelsey Biegler and senior Calli Bechtel. Biegler, 2014 First Team All-RMAC guard, scored 17 on the night before fouling out with just less than two minutes to play. Biegler also had five rebounds and went 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.
Senior forward, Calli Bechtel, finished with 10 points, six rebounds, and three assists while going a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. Junior guard, Dakota Barrie, was the team's leading rebounder as she finished with nine boards and four assists to go with three points.
The story of the night early on was the Jackets ability to score and score often as they took a 9-point, 43-34, halftime lead thanks to shooting nearly 74-percent from the field as a team after going 14-of-19 on field goals. BHSU was also 5-of-6 (83.3-pct) on 3-pointers in the first half.
The Jackets traded baskets with FLC the entire second half as they sustained the 10-point lead most of the way to edge the Skyhawks, 38-37, in the half. The Jackets shot 38.5-percent in the second as they ended up going 24-of-45 from the field in the game, good for 53.3-percent shooting overall. The Jackets did toss in five more 3-point shots to put them at 55.6-percent (10-18 3-pt) from beyond the arch in the game.
The game's leading scorer was FLC guard, Erika Richards, who finished with 25 points (10-10 FT) and nine rebounds. Ashley Kuchar and Christie Groh were the two other Skyhawks to score in double figures as they combined for 22 points and 12 rebounds.
The Jackets defense forced the Skyhawks to 23-of-58 (39.7-pct) shooting as they went 7-of-20 (35-pct) on 3-pointers. For the second game in a row, the Jackets outrebounded their opponent as BHSU grabbed 35 boards to FLC's 30.
FLC lost just three times at home in Durango all season, two of which came at the hands of Coach Nore and the Yellow Jackets.
"We're just having fun," Nore stated. "I have a group of gals that are just awesome and they are really believing – we don't want to leave yet. My hats off to them staying the course and making plays. We'll ride this momentum wave as long as we can."
The Jackets will face a CSU-Pueblo squad that has defeated the Jackets both times the team's have played this season. The game's tip-off will be either at 5 or 7:30 p.m. from host school and No. 1 seen Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction, Colo. The final time has yet to be announced by the conference. A full preview for Friday's match-up will be coming soon.
Below is an updated tournament bracket, showing the team's to move onto the semifinal round:
(Photo/Bracket updates, BHSU Sports Information)
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