SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University women's basketball team travels to Chadron State and Regis, trying to clinch a home playoff game. The Yellow Jackets play the Eagles on Friday, February 23, before heading to Denver to play Regis on Saturday, February 24. Friday's game is scheduled to tipoff at 5:30 p.m., while Saturday is set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

THE GAME - Chadron State College Eagles
» The two teams meet for the second time this season when they play on Friday. In the first meeting on Dec. 16, the Yellow Jackets cruised by the Eagles, 65-46, to earn the victory. Remi Wientjes led the way with 14 points, while Rachel Erickson added 10. Katie Messler pulled down 12 rebounds in the game.

» Chadron has lost four consecutive games entering the weekend, most recently falling to Regis, 85-76. The Eagles currently sit in 13th place in the RMAC.

» The Eagles average 62.0 points per game, led by Kalli Feddersen, who scores 15.2 ppg. Feddersen also leads the squad in rebounding, pulling down 7.3 boards per game.

THE GAME - Regis University Rangers
» The two teams meet for the second time this season when they play on Saturday. In the season's first meeting (Dec. 15), the Yellow Jackets defeated the Rangers, 65-58. Lyndzi Rich scored a career-high 22 points in the game, while Rachel Erickson and Keely Bertram each chipped in 10 points.

» Regis most recently fell to Westminster, 63-55, after defeating Chadron State, 85-76. The Rangers are currently in a tie for sixth place in the league.

» The Rangers average 66.5 points per game, led by Mary Sigler (13.2 ppg). Majestie Robinson (12.0 ppg) and Chante Church (11.8 ppg) also average double-figure scoring. Shelby Espinosa leads the squad in rebounding, pulling down 9.5 boards per game.

THE COACHES
» Black Hills State University head coach Mark Nore enters his 16th season with the Yellow Jackets and owns a 282-181 record. He is the all-time wins leader for the Yellow Jacket basketball team.

» Janet Raymer is in her second year as the head coach of the Eagles, taking the position after serving as an assistant at CSC.

» Molly Marrin is in her third year at the helm for the Rangers. An alum of Regis, she most recently was an assistant at the University of Denver.

Last Time Out
Black Hills State defeated Colorado Mesa, 60-54, in the lone game last weekend. The game was Senior Night for the Yellow Jackets' lone senior, Rachel Erickson.

Erickson led the way for the Green and Gold, scoring 19 points. She also had three rebounds, two assists, a block, and three steals. Keely Bertram recorded 11 points and dished out five assists, while Julia Seamans and Lyndzi Rich each added 10 points.

The Mavericks led, 19-15, at the end of the first quarter, but the Yellow Jackets outscored the visitors, 17-8, in the second quarter, and led 32-27 at the break. A fairly even second half led to the six point victory for BHSU.

Looking Ahead
The Yellow Jackets currently sit in a tie for third place with Colorado School of Mines with a 20-6 overall record and 14-6 RMAC record. The Green and Gold are looking to make their fourth RMAC Tournament appearance since joining in 2012. Black Hills State is 3-3 in postseason RMAC appearances. It finished runner-up in 2013-14, going 3-1 in the tournament falling to Colorado Mesa in the Championship game. In 2014-15 and 2015-16, BHSU fell in the first round. If the season were to end today, the Yellow Jackets would earn the No. 4 seed and host Fort Lewis in the first round.
 
Player of the Week
Rachel Erickson was named the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week for her play against Colorado Mesa (Feb. 17). Erickson scored 19 points, and filled up the stat sheet with three rebounds, two assists, a block, and three steals. The senior is the first Yellow Jacket to earn a conference weekly award since Dakota Barrie was named Defensive Player of the Week in January 2015. She is the first to earn Offensive honors since Callie Bechtel claimed the award in January 2013.
 
NEW YEAR, NEW SEASON
The Yellow Jackets are 10-3 in the 2018 portion of the season. Since joining the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and the NCAA era in 2012, the Yellow Jackets have captured their second best start to the second half of the season. In the 2015-16 season, the Yellow Jackets went 7-3 for the month of January and finished their season 21-8 overall, 17-5 in conference, and earned their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance losing in the second round to West Texas A&M, 63-48.
 
National Ranking
Black Hills State broke into the D2SIDA Top 25 at the No. 25 spot for the first time in program history. The two RMAC wins over UCCS and MSU Denver gave BHSU the edge to break into the national poll. The Yellow Jackets started the season 8-0, but dropped out of the poll after dropping the next two games.
 
Best Start
The Yellow Jackets surpassed their best start in the NCAA era by beginning 8-0. This puts them second in the all-time records list just six games short of the 14-0 start by the 1997-98 squad under the helm of Kevin Dobbs. Black Hills State was a part of the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference in the NAIA division during that 14-0 start.
 
Breaking Records
Julia Seamans broke the school record for 3-pointers made in a game with eight against Johnson & Wales (11/18/17) surpassing Rachel Erickson from the week before, who notched seven to tie the program record. Seamans set a new career-high of 24 points after her three-point performance. Erickson's seven 3-point performance helped her reach a new career-high of 26 points against Texas A&M International (11/11/17) and tied the program individual game record of 3-pointers made in a game. Hannah Cass scored her first collegiate double-figure game with 11 points as a redshirt freshman, while Keely Bertram notched her first career double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds in the game against Texas A&M International. Bertram's 13 rebounds was a new career-high for her as well.
 
Erickson on Fire
Rachel Erickson continues to tear up the floor, as she notched her second 20-point game of the season. Erickson notched 23 points against Minnesota State-Mankato (11/14/17) going 10-of-16 from the field, setting a new career-high for field goals made and attempted. The Cheyenne, Wyoming, native is averaging 22.7 points per game, three games into the season. Erickson tied the program record for 3-pointers made in a game with seven against Texas A&M International (11/11/17).
  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.