SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University women's basketball team starts the 2018 portion of the season on the road at New Mexico Highlands and at Colorado State University-Pueblo for a rematch on Friday, January 5 and Saturday, January 6. Tipoff is slated for 5 p.m. on Friday and 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.

THE GAME - New Mexico Highlands

• The two teams meet for the sixth time on the hardwood on Friday, January 5, with tipoff slated for 5 p.m.
• Ari Baca leads the way for the Cowgirls averaging 11 points per game and 4.8 rebounds per game. Allyah George works alongside Baca and averages 4.8 rebounds per game as well. Savannah Madrid-Andrews is right behind Baca with a 10.6 ppg average.
• The Cowgirls were picked to finish 14th in the conference in the Coaches' Preseason Poll, and currently sit in 12th with a 4-8 record overall and 2-5 record in conference play.

THE GAME - CSU Pueblo

• The Yellow Jackets and ThunderWolves meet for a rematch on Saturday, January 6 with tipoff slated for 5:30 p.m.
• The two teams met a week ago, where CSUP came out on top, 60-49. Lauren Heyn and Katie Cunningham led the way for the ThunderWolves, each registering a double-double. Heyn notched 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Cunningham scored 10 points and grabbed 11 boards. Molly Rohrer scored 14 points to lead the CSUP scorers.
• The Green and Gold was led by Remi Wientjes, notching 9 points. Katie Messler, Lyndzi Rich, and Hannah Cass all grabbed seven boards.

THE COACHES

• Black Hills State University head coach Mark Nore enters his 16th season with the Yellow Jackets and owns a 272-178 record. He is the all-time wins leader for the Yellow Jacket basketball team.
• Joseph Anders enters his second season, as the Cowgirls head coach. Anders has been coaching for more than 30 years and prior to New Mexico Highlands, Anders had stints at the University of New Mexico, Arizona State University, Cal State Sacramento, New Mexico State, and Mississippi State University. He has been a part of 13 postseason appearances combined with those schools.
• Curtis Loyd enters his first season at the helm of the ThunderWolves women's basketball program. Previously to CSU-Pueblo, Loyd coached at Louisiana State University Shreveport, where he led the team to a program-record of 15 conference wins in the NAIA and a 22-10 record. He earned Coach of the Year honors in just one season with the Pilots. During his helm, he also guided the Pilots to their first Red River Athletic Conference Tournament Championship.

Following the weekend, the Green and Gold return home to host Fort Lewis College and Adams State University on Friday, January 12 and Saturday, January 13. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Friday and 4 p.m. on Saturday.