SPEARFISH, S.D.—The opening contest of the 2014-15 season on Nov. 18 pitted Black Hills State University women's basketball against the Hardrockers from South Dakota School of the Mines.  The only lead the Yellow Jackets held on the Hardrocker's home floor was after the opening basket of the game when Courtney Patterson nailed a jump shot to make the score 2-0.  Despite being behind for the rest of the contest the Yellow Jackets kept it close, only falling 57-52. 

It was the Hardrocker's turn to make the drive down I-90 on a rare Tuesday night contest to take on the Yellow Jackets.  Things went in reversal on this given night, with the Yellow Jackets defeating South Dakota School of Mines 55-47. 

The Yellow Jackets improve to (8-4, 6-2 RMAC) while South Dakota School of Mines drops to 5-10 overall.

Sloppy play was the story throughout the opening minutes of the first half on both sides of the floor.  However, it was clutch three-point shooting that bailed the Yellow Jackets out of trouble.

Cassisdy Kotelman opened the scoring in the contest with a three-pointer to give the Yellow Jackets a 3-0 at 18:12 of the first half.  However, the Yellow Jackets didn't do themselves any favors by putting the Hardrockers on the free throw line. 

A couple of free throw shots and a field goal by Devyn Asche gave the Hardrockers a 4-3 lead at 17:14 of the first half.  Dakota Barrie followed that with a jump shot at 17:01 of the first half to make the score 5-4, where things stood for a while. 

A couple of three point shots by Bailey Kusser and Taylor Trohkimoinen pushed the Yellow Jacket lead further to 15-8 half way through the first half, but foul trouble continued to haunt them.  

Asche narrowed the score to 28-24 with a pair of free throws to close out the scoring in the first half. The Hardrockers scored 12 of their 24 first half points on free throws.   

The Hardrockers slowly closed in on the Yellow Jackets to open the second half.  A three-pointer by Jordan Needens had the Yellow Jackets on their toes, narrowing their lead to 33-32 with 14:43 left in the second half. 

The Yellow Jackets continued to lead for the rest of the contest, but continued to flirt with danger by putting more Hardrockers on the free throw line.  Asche continued her hot streak at the free throw line for the Hardrockers with 7:50 left in the second half, hitting both of them to narrow the score to 41-35. 

It continued to be a two-possession game throughout the latter part of the second half, but a Dakota Barrie jump shot with 0:56 left put the nail in the coffin.  This made the score 54-47.   A Barrie free throw closed out the scoring with 0:33 left, giving the Yellow Jackets a 54-47 win.  

Kusser paced the Yellow Jackets offensively with 14 points; she also went 4-for-7 from beyond the arch. 

The Yellow Jackets will return to action on Saturday, Jan.10 when they travel to Chadron State.   Game time is at 5:30 p.m.