PUEBLO, Colo. – The Black Hills State women's basketball team came back late to defeat MSU Denver, 52-50, in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Semifinals on Friday evening. The Yellow Jackets took their first lead of the game with a little more than one minute left in the game, and held on to earn a spot in the league championship game.

Lyndzi Rich had 13 points and eight rebounds to lead the way for the Yellow Jackets (24-6). Remi Wientjes and Keely Bertram each added eight points.  

With 4:03 remaining in the fourth, at the final media timeout, the Green and Gold trailed by four, 50-46. With 2:39 remaining, Lyndzi Rich got the ball down low and found Julia Seamans at the top of the key, who drained a three-pointer to put the Yellow Jackets down by one, 50-49. With 1:17 left in the game, Rich was fouled down low. The freshman stepped to the charity stripe and drained her two free throws to give the Green and Gold their first lead of the game, 51-50.

With 18 seconds left, MSU Denver (22-8) had the ball down by one, but after a missed shot, Bertram grabbed the defensive rebound and was fouled. She hit the first free throw with one second left, before missing the second on purpose. Time ran out as the teams battled for possession, giving the Yellow Jackets the 52-50 victory and a spot in the RMAC Championship game.

The first quarter was a low scoring affair, with neither team able to get on the board until 4:28 into the game, when MSU Denver took a 2-0 lead. At the first media timeout, the Roadrunners led the Yellow Jackets, 4-2, and at the end of the quarter, BHSU trailed 13-6, after shooting just six percent from the field.

The Green and Gold got things going in the second quarter, outscoring the Roadrunners, 15-10, in the period, including ending the half on an 8-1 run. After 20 minutes of play, the Yellow Jackets trailed MSU Denver, 23-21.

Remi Wientjes scored the first five points for the Yellow Jackets in the third, including a three-pointer, the first of the game for the team, with 6:40 left in the period, to bring BHSU within one, at 27-26. However, the Roadrunners responded with a 5-0 run, and eventually held a six-point lead at the end of the quarter, 43-37, before the fourth quarter theatrics occurred.

BHSU shot 30.8 percent from the field (16-for-52), while MSUD was 31.6 percent from the floor (18-for-57). The Yellow Jackets were 2-for-8 (25.0 percent) from beyond the arc, while the Roadrunners were 3-for-16 (18.8 percent) on three-pointers. The Green and Gold were 16-for-19 (84.2 percent) from the free throw line and were outrebounded by MSU Denver, 42-34.  

Emily Hartegan led all scorers with 16 points, while J'Nae Squires-Horton had 12 points for the Roadrunners.

The Yellow Jackets earned a spot in the RMAC Championship game on Saturday, March 3. The game, which will be against the winner of CSU-Pueblo and Regis, will tip off at 7 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.