Spearfish, SD – In the longest road trip of the year, the Black Hills State University women's basketball team heads to Utah for a pair of conference match-ups. On Friday, the Yellow Jackets take on Westminster College at 5:30 pm in Salt Lake City. Then, on Saturday, they head to St. George to face Dixie State, also at 5:30pm.
 
The Yellow Jackets are 4-2 on the season and 1-0 in the RMAC. They are currently shooting 39 percent from the field, 31 percent from the three-point line, and 70 percent at the charity strip. The team has the third best defense in the RMAC only allowing an average of 55 points per game.
 
"We have a very challenging weekend ahead of us," said head coach Mark Nore. "We play two really quality opponents. With the travel and short turn around of games we must maintain focus and have a good understanding of the challenges we will face.  We will have to be ready to make plays and handle adversity." 
 
Leading the offensive attack is Racquel Wientjes and Morgan Ham. Wientjes is averaging 15.2 points a game which is the seventh best in the RMAC. She also boasts the third best connection rate in the league for three pointers averaging 49 percent and overall is currently the fourth best shooter. Ham sits at 12^th in the RMAC with her average of 13.8 points a game.
 
The Griffins (6-1, 1-0 RMAC) opened the season with five straight wins and opened conference play last weekend with a 63-59 win at Dixie State. Westminster's lone loss came to No. 13 Alaska Anchorage. Mariah Martin leads Westminster with 16.6 points and 4.4 assists per game while Sarah McGinley is posting 15.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Since 2016, the Yellow Jackets lead the series 4-1. The Green and Gold lost to Westminster a year ago at home 92-89.
 
The Trailblazers (5-2, 0-1 RMAC) went fifty-fifty to start the season before going on a 4-0 run. Recently they have lost to Westminster and Utah State in an exhibition match. Ali Franks is the top scorer averaging 14 points a game and 5.9 rebounds a game. Madi Loftus is also averaging double digits, putting up 11.7 points per game while pulling down 4 boards a game. Dixie State and the Yellow Jackets last met a year ago at home with the Green and Gold walking away with a convincing 89-70 victory.
 
"I am very excited about the opportunities that we face this weekend.  It'll be huge for the growth of our team and to see where we are at," said Nore.