SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University women's basketball team will travel to Colorado to start the 2019 portion of the schedule. The Yellow Jackets will take on Western State Colorado University on January 4, before traveling to Colorado Mesa University on January 5.

THE GAME – Western Mountaineers

» The Yellow Jackets and Mountaineers meet for the first time on the hardwood when they play this weekend.  Last season the Green and Gold defeated Western, 67-61.

» Western is 7-2 overall (3-2 RMAC), after defeating Wisconsin-Parkside, 79-65, for its fourth consecutive win. 

»The Mountaineers average 63.3 points per game, which is ninth in the RMAC.  Western has two players averaging double-figure scoring, led by Katie Dalton averaging 11.3 ppg.  Samantha Coleman leads the Mountaineers and the RMAC shooting 53.3 percent beyond the arc.

THE GAME – Colorado Mesa Mavericks

» The Yellow Jackets and Mavericks will meet for the first time on the court this season. Last season, BHSU swept Colorado Mesa in conference play, defeating the Mavericks, 56-53, and 60-54. 

» Colorado Mesa moved to an 8-1 overall record, and remained undefeated in conference play after defeating Chadron State, 70-53.  The Mavericks lead the RMAC, alongside Westminster, with a 5-0 conference record.

»The Mavericks are seventh in the conference, averaging 65.7 points per game.  Jaylyn Duran leads Colorado Mesa and the RMAC, averaging 24.2 points per game.  She averages 4.1 3-point field goals per game to lead the conference.  As a team, Colorado Mesa is second in the league in blocked shots per game (4.1) and three-point shots made per game (8.3).

THE COACHES

» Black Hills State University head coach Mark Nore enters his 17th season with the Yellow Jackets and owns a 294-184 record. He is the all-time wins leader for the Yellow Jacket basketball team.

»Lora Westling is in her third season as the Mountaineers head coach.  Under Westling, Western has seen an improvement in wins.  Last season's performance of nine wins was the most for the program in six seasons.

» Taylor Wagner heads into his seventh season as the head coach at Colorado Mesa.  Wagner has a 141-37 overall record, and has made three appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including one Elite Eight appearance. 

LAST TIME OUT

Black Hills State University moved to a 8-1 overall record, and 4-1 in RMAC play.  The Yellow Jackets swept the weekend after defeating Adams State, 76-51, and Fort Lewis, 65-55, for the final games of the 2018 part of the schedule. 

In the Green and Gold's victory over Adams State, four Yellow Jackets had double-figure scoring led by Lyndzi Rich with 19.

Ham led the Yellow Jackets in the win against Fort Lewis, with a new career-high of 23 points.  She also recorded seven rebounds.  Julia Seamans tallied 17 points, while Racquel Wientjes had 13. 

Weekend Sweep

The Yellow Jackets men's and women's basketball teams went 4-0 against Adams State and Fort Lewis on the road December 16-17. This was the first time since BHSU joined the RMAC (2012-13) that the two teams swept a weekend on the road. The Green and Gold are a combined 9-1 in league play during the 2018-19 season.

share the rock

Julia Seamans has averaged 3.6 assists per game this season. That total is good for ninth in the conference. The senior's assist to turnover ratio of 2.1 is fourth in the RMAC, and 41st in the nation.

knock it down

Seamans is making 3.3 three-pointers a game to lead the Yellow Jackets, which puts her in second in the conference, and 12th nationally.

pull it down

Morgan Ham and Katie Messler lead the Green and Gold, averaging 6.2 rebounds per game each, which is 18th in the RMAC.

Texas hold 'em

The Yellow Jackets are allowing just 71.6 points per game this year. That ranks third in the RMAC.

NATIONALLY RANKED

The Yellow Jackets sit at No. 19 in the WBCA National Poll. BHSU is the only RMAC team to appear in the rankings.

accuracy wins

BHSU is second in the conference in field goal percentage, making 45.1 percent of its shots from the field.