SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University women's basketball team opens Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action at home on Friday, December 1 and Saturday, December 2, hosting the University of Colorado Colorado Springs Mountain Lions and the Metropolitan State University Denver Roadrunners. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 p.m. on Friday and 4 p.m. on Saturday.
THE GAME - UCCS
- The two teams meet for the 11th time on the hardwood on Friday with a tipoff scheduled for 5:30 p.m. UCCS leads the all-time series against the Yellow Jackets, 9-1.
- The Mountain Lions are looking for their first win on the season after starting out, 0-5. The last time the Mountain Lions started a season 0-5, they went 7-20 and 8-20 overall in the 2002-03 season and 2008-09 season, respectively. The worst start they had was back in the 2006-07 season, going 0-9, but finishing 10-20 overall. UCCS is slated to finish seventh in the conference, according to the Preseason Poll, as voted on by the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference coaches.
- Shanah Leaf leads the UCCS offense with 11.2 points per game and holds a .512 field goal percentage. Maddie Golla leads the Mountain Lion's defense with a 4.8 rebound per game average and has grabbed 24 rebounds on the season.
THE GAME- MSU Denver
- Georgia Ohrdorf and Jaelynn Smith lead the Roadrunners offense, averaging 14.5 and 11.2 points per game, respectively. Ohrdorf and Smith are both members of the Preseason All-RMAC team.
- Ohrdorf and Smith each earned RMAC honors after the 2016-17 season. Ohrdorf was named to the First Team All-RMAC and Smith earned Second Team All-RMAC. J'Nae Squires-Horton joined Smith on the Second Team. Ohrdorf was named Academic Player of the Year last season as well.
- The Roadrunners are picked to finish fifth in the conference, after finishing 18-12 overall and 14-8 in conference last season.
THE COACHES
- Black Hills State University head coach Mark Nore enters his 16th season with the Yellow Jackets and owns a 268-175 record. He is the all-time wins leader for the Yellow Jacket basketball team.
- Lynn Plett enters his second season at the helm of the UCCS women's basketball program. Plett led the Mountain Lions to the RMAC Championship and its third NCAA Tournament in the 2016-17 season.
- Tanya Haave enters her seventh season with the Roadrunners. She has led MSU Denver to its best three-year stretch in school history. Haave has posted the top two win totals and winning percentages for the school, on top of putting together the only three teams to win NCAA tournament games. Haave has earned Coach of the Year twice, in 2011 and 2012.
LAST TIME OUT
Black Hills State dominated Yellowstone Christian on Tuesday, November 21, grabbing its sixth straight win, 100-27.
Cortez Standing Bear and
Abby Switzer led the way, each scoring a career-high 23 points.
Hannah Cass and
Alyssia Martinez were right behind with 13 points. Cass shot 100 percent from the floor and the line. Cass went 2-for-2 on the floor and 9-of-9 from the line.
Katie Messler dominated the boards, grabbing a team- and season-high 12 rebounds, five of them offensively.
HOT BENCH
The Black Hills State bench is making it rain, as it is averaging 36.5 points per game, making up almost half of the team's points. The bench has 219 points against the 268 points scored by starters. The starters are averaging 44.7 points per game. The team has 487 points combined on the season.
BHSU STREAKIN'
The Yellow Jackets have tied their best start, 6-0, with the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. Since joining the RMAC and the NCAA, the 6-0 start is the best the Green and Gold have had in program history, dating as far back as 2003. Black Hills State looks to surpass that streak this weekend against UCCS and MSU Denver. The longest home streak BHSU has had was 8-0 in the 2013-14 season, and they are currently 5-0 at home.
Following the weekend, the Yellow Jackets will hit the road for Colorado to face Colorado Mines and Colorado Christian on Friday, December 8 and Saturday, December 9. Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m. both nights.
