LUBBOCK, Texas – Black Hills State University owns a 1-0 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament after defeating Colorado State – Pueblo 78-60 in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.
The No. 7 Yellow Jackets upset the second-seeded ThunderWolves (26-6) and avenge a 65-64 loss during the regular season behind 17 points from Taylor Trohkimoinen and 16 points from Rachel Erickson.
The victory pushes the Yellow Jackets (21-7) to the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament and face nationally ranked No. 11 and regionally ranked No. 3 West Texas A&M on Friday at 4 p.m.
The Yellow Jackets owned the first half, building a lead as large as 15 points on multiple occasions before pushing ahead by 21 points. That push came on a 10-0 run that began with a pair of Cheyanne Balster free throws, and continued when the junior hit one-of-two free throws on the next Green and Gold possession.
"I thought we really came out and had a really great mindset. I thought our gals really played within themselves and defensively we were solid," head coach Mark Nore said. "We had a great inside and outside presence to start the game and we really set the tone from the get go."
With 1:05 remaining in the first half, Julia Seamans dished to Taylor Trohkimoinen for the wide open 3-point basket for a 44-27 lead.
After Balster blocked the CSUP layup attempt, Trohkimoinen was fouled bringing the ball up court, forcing the ThunderWolves bench to go into an uproar and a technical foul. That gave the Yellow Jackets a four-point possession as Bailey Kusser and Trohkimoinen sank all four free throw attempts and a 21-point lead at 48-27.
Colorado State – Pueblo hit a trey to cut into the lead but the Yellow Jackets entered intermission with a 48-30 lead after shooting 54 percent from the field and knocking down eight treys.
The third quarter had the Yellow Jackets build a 27-point lead at 67-40 behind a pair of Christine Thorn free throws. In a run that stretched into the fourth quarter, the ThunderWolves went on a 14-0 run to cut into the Yellow Jackets lead, getting as low as 13 points with 8:32 remaining in the game. The run came in a span of just over three minutes of game play before the Yellow Jackets put a stop to the run thanks to a pair of Remi Wientjes free throws for the 69-54 score.
The Yellow Jackets were able to stretch the lead out a little bit further thanks to a steal and layup by Balster and a trey from Trohkimoinen, for the 74-56 lead with four minutes remaining in the game.
After Trohkimoinen and Erickson's double-digit scoring, Balster added 12 points and Bailey Kusser with 10 points. For the game, the Green and Gold shot 44.7 percent from the field on 21-of-47 shooting and hit 10 3-point baskets.
The ThunderWolves, the RMAC Shootout Champions and winners of 11 of their last 12 games entering today, were led by Molly Rohrer with 18 points as CSUP shot 38.5 percent from the field.
Neither team would do much scoring in the final four minutes as the final score pushed to 78-60 as the Yellow Jackets win in their NCAA Tournament debut. The No. 7 Yellow Jackets face No. 3 West Texas on Friday at 4 p.m. (MST) in the Rip Griffin Center on the campus of No. 1 seed Lubbock Christian.
"I'm really proud of this team, with how they fought and how they battled," Nore added. "They did it with a lot of class. This is a great group and I am fortunate to coach them and I'm thankful for this opportunity."
