KINGSVILLE, Texas – In the opening game of the 2018-19 season, the No. 22 Black Hills State University women's basketball team defeated Texas A&M-Kingsville, 48-40, on Friday evening.

"Defensively we were really solid tonight. They made a good run to start the third quarter, but we bounced back. We have some work to do offensively, but we're still learning each other, and it's going to take time," said head coach Mark Nore. "It's hard to go on the road and win and we did that and we're just going to get better."

Julia Seamans led the way for the Yellow Jackets (1-0) with nine points. Racquel Wientjes had eight points, and Remi Wientjes had seven. Katie Messler and Lyndzi Rich each pulled down eight rebounds. BHSU saw 26 points come from the bench in the win.

The Javelinas (0-1) opened the scoring, with Brynae Thompson scoring on the team's first possession. However, the Yellow Jackets immediately answered back, with Remi Wientjes scoring the first BHSU points of the season. Remi Wientjes would score the next four points for the Green and Gold as well, before her sister, Racquel Wientjes made a bucket to give the visitors an 8-3 lead heading into the first media timeout. Freshman Morgan Koepsell scored the final five points of the quarter for the Yellow Jackets for her first career collegiate points. BHSU led, 16-11, at the end of the first period.

While the Yellow Jackets were not prolific offensively in the second quarter, the defense held the Javelinas to no points in the period. Outscoring Texas A&M-Kingsville, 7-0, BHSU took a 23-11 lead into halftime.

The Javelinas used an 8-2 run to begin the third quarter and narrow the Yellow Jackets' lead to 25-19. Racquel Wientjes's jumper with 4:55 left in the third stopped the run, and BHSU led, 32-23, as the two teams entered the final period.

As time wound down, Texas A&M-Kingsville attempted to extend the game. The Javelinas got within six points, 46-40, with 18 seconds remaining, but a pair of free throws by Seamans put the Yellow Jackets back up eight, which would be the final spread, as BHSU moved to 1-0 on the year with a 48-40 victory.

BHSU shot 34.8 percent from the field (18-for-52), while TAMUK was 21.4 percent from the floor (12-for-56). The Yellow Jackets were 5-for-22 (22.7 percent) from beyond the arc, while the Javelinas were 3-for-23 (13.0 percent) on three-pointers. The Green and Gold outrebounded TAMUK, 44-42. Each team had 16 turnovers.  

Cloe Lane led the Javelinas with nine points and 11 rebounds.  

The Green and Gold will next play at Texas A&M International on Saturday, November 10. The game is scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m. mountain time.

###

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.

---BHSUAthletics.com---