Spearfish, SD – The Black Hills State University women's basketball team managed to thwart a third quarter rally by the SDSMT Hardrockers to open RMAC play with a big win, defeating the Hardrockers 55-47. The Yellow Jackets move to 4-2 on the season and 1-0 in the RMAC.
 
The Yellow Jackets came out hot, putting up a quick nine answered points in the first 7 minutes of play. However, the Hardrockers would respond with a 9-2 run for themselves. The second quarter was much of the same and saw the Green and Gold heading into half with a slight advantage over SDSMT leading 22-17.
 
The third quarter was ugly. The Yellow Jackets only hit 25 percent of their shots from the field and 14 percent from beyond the arc. They also struggled at the charity strip, hitting five of eight.
SDSMT posted 20 points to BHSU's 12 to take the lead heading into the fourth.
 
The fourth quarter proved to be the best for the Yellow Jackets as they put up 21 points and shut down the Hardrockers attempts from behind the arc. This spark allowed the Yellow Jackets to secure the win.
 
On the night, the Yellow Jackets did not look good shooting. They averaged 31 percent from the field, making 18 of 58 buckets and made 5 for 23 beyond the arc. They were saved by making 14 of 18 free throws. Morgan Ham was the leading scorer on the night posting 18 points. Racquel Wientjes also posted double digits scoring 11.
 
Katie Messler arguably turned the tide tonight as she post 9 rebounds, eight of them defensive. She allowed the Yellow Jackets to capitalize on the Hardrockers 25 turnovers as the team scored 17 points off rebounds.
 
The Green and Gold will enjoy a quite Thanksgiving before they put in a long haul down to Utah. The Yellow Jackets will face Westminster college on Friday, December 6^th, and Dixie State Saturday December 7^th.