GUNNISON, COLO.—The Black Hills State University women's basketball team's seven-game win streak came to a halt in their previous road contest when they fell to Colorado Mesa 71-58 on January 2. The Yellow Jackets entered Friday evening's contest at Western State with an opportunity to live up to their home win streak, which spans six games.

The Yellow Jackets had to overcome a few bumps and bruises in their lineup in order to prevail on Friday evening. The Mountaineers came off a 65-60 victory over New Mexico Highlands on January 9, which snapped a six-game losing streak. The green and gold put a stop to that momentum with a 70-46 victory over the Mountaineers.

The Yellow Jackets improve to 12-2, 9-1 RMAC while Western State falls to 4-8, 2-8 RMAC.

Yellow Jackets 70, Western State 46

Taylor Trohkimoinen and Bailey Kusser each notched a three-pointer to give BHSU a 6-2 lead out of the gates with 8:02 remaining in the first quarter. That was enough to fuel the Mountaineers to a 7-6 lead at the 6:00 mark thanks to Harlie Williams' three-pointer and Carra Jackson-Brown's layup. 

The Yellow Jackets regained a brief 10-9 lead with 3:38 left in the first quarter before the Mountainners responded with a 9-1 run. The run gave Western State their largest lead of the game at 18-11 with 1:11 remaining in the frame. 

Christine Thorn helped regain the momentum for BHSU with a three-pointer that narrowed their deficit to 18-14 after the first quarter.

The Yellow Jackets outscored the Mountaineers 20-5 in the second frame. Trohkimoinen was the first Yellow Jacket to reach double figures when she registered a layup with 7:37 left in the second quarter to narrow the Mountaineer lead to 22-21. She also registered three blocks at that point in the contest. 

Keely Bertram notched 10 of her career-high 16 points in the second frame to propel the Yellow Jackets to a 38-23 halftime lead. 

Trohkimoinen's three-pointer followed by Thorn's free throw to open the third quarter pushed BHSU's lead to 18 points, making the score 42-24 at the 8:34 mark. The Mountaineers outscored BHSU 14-12 in the third quarter, but never got within 11 points of the green and gold. 

Bertram put the finishing touches on her career night when she nailed a pair of free throws with 1:18 left in the fourth quarter, making the score 70-46. 

Trohkimoinen (15), Thorn (11) and Scott (10) round of the Yellow Jackets scoring in double-figures. Trohkimoinen paced the defense with three blocks and one steal.

BHSU will return to action tomorrow, January 16 at CSU-Pueblo. The Thunderwolves (13-3, 8-2 RMAC) trail the Yellow Jackets by one game in the RMAC standings. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m.