SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University women's basketball team opened the regular season with a 66-41 victory over Texas A&M Kingsville on Friday evening.  

Rachel Erickson led the way for the Yellow Jackets (1-0) with 16 points. Julia Seamans added 11 points, while Katie Messler had six rebounds to lead the squad.

The two teams took a few minutes to get into the game, and Keely Bertram opened the scoring with a layup with 7:44 remaining in the first quarter. BHSU began to pull away with four minutes remaining, as Abby Switzer and Seamans each hit a three-pointer to put the Green and Gold up, 12-5. The Javelinas (0-1) scored the next three points, but the Yellow Jackets scored the final 11 points of the period, and led 22-8, after the first quarter.

Texas A&M Kingsville made a bit of a run to begin the second quarter, drawing with seven, however, by the end of the half, the home team had extended its lead to 14 points, and led, 37-23. The third quarter was more of the same, with the Yellow Jackets outscoring the Javelinas, 9-3, to close out the period. Overall, BHSU outscored TAMUK, 15-7, in the period, and entered the fourth leading 52-30.

The Yellow Jackets extended their lead to as many as 29 in the fourth quarter, and ultimately earned the season-opening victory, 66-41.

BHSU shot 43.1 percent from the field (25-for-58), while TAMUK was 29.6 percent from the floor (16-for-54). The Yellow Jackets were 8-for-28 (28.6 percent) from beyond the arc, while the Javelinas were 0-for-8 (0 percent) on three-pointers. The Green and Gold were edged out in rebounds, 42-36.

???????Racquel Wientjes, Katie Messler, Lyndzi Rich, and Rebecca Stevenson all scored their first career points as Yellow Jackets.

???????Shaq Debose and Kristina Kana each had seven points to lead the Javelinas, and Jaiton Walls pulled down nine rebounds.

The Green and Gold are next on the court on Saturday, November 11, when they host Texas A&M International. The game is scheduled to tipoff at 6 p.m.
  Black Hills State is located in the Northern Black Hills of South Dakota, sponsoring 13 NCAA sports with membership in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the NCAA emerging sport of women's triathlon and NIRA rodeo. For all information regarding Yellow Jacket Athletics, please visit BHSUAthletics.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @BHSUAthletics.