Black Hills State University women's basketball defended their six-game home streak on Saturday night against the Westminster Griffins, defeating the visitors 58-54 to stretch their home streak to seven consecutive games. It is also the first time BHSU has defeated Westminster since March of 2021, when the Yellow Jackets toppled Westminster 71-66.
 
Overall, BHSU shot 37 percent from the field while hitting a .385 clip from beyond the arc. Danica Kocer led the team in tonight's matchup from the bench, going 5-of-10 from the floor that included a 3-of-5 look from downtown. She also held a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe and held four defensive boards against Westminster.
 
Haylee Weathersby and Niki Van Wyk also came up big for the Yellow Jackets as they both held double-digit scores. Both starters were 40 percent or better from the floor, with each putting up at least one three-point shot in the game. Weathersby led the team with five rebounds and a pair of steals, while Van Wyk held a single defensive rebound and three steals.
 
Weathersby kicked off the game with a layup off the controlled tip by BHSU, with a steal leading up to a three-point dime from Megan Engesser. Two more threes courtesy of Van Wyk and Megan Engesser stretched the BHSU lead to 11-4 by the first media timeout at 6:56.
 
Both teams went cold for nearly three minutes until Kocer broke the silence with two good free throws, giving BHSU a nine-point lead with 3:22 to go in the first. A Kocer three and a Griffin layup ended the first quarter 16-8 with the Yellow Jackets out front. The Griffins were only 4-of-13 from the field and 0-of-4 from beyond the arc in the quarter.
 
Weathersby drained a three from the top of the key to start the second, and along with an Ellie Moore two-point dish, the Yellow Jackets led 21-10 inside of the first few minutes of the second quarter. Westminster, however, found some offensive rhythm inside three minutes with a 12-point run, slicing the BHSU lead to just 29-23 with 20 seconds left on the clock.
 
Van Wyk provided a response before the end of the half on a last-second layup to give BHSU a 31-23 lead at halftime.
 
An eight-point can opened up by Westminster tied the game at the 7:14 mark of the third, but an Engesser trip to the free throw saw one of two bounce in for the senior while a Capley dish gave BHSU the 34-31 lead by the halfway mark. Both teams traded up to the final minute, with each squad putting up threes at the end of the quarter, with Weathersby sinking two free throws to make it a 43-38 game heading into the fourth.
 
Off the Weathersby freebies, BHSU opened the fourth with a layup from Weathersby and a three-point shot from Morgan Hammerbeck, giving the Yellow Jackets a double-digit lead for the first time since the second quarter. The Yellow Jackets continued to keep the pressure up on the Griffins, outscoring them 12-8 by the 2:54 mark in the fourth.
 
Once again, however, a late 9-0 push by Westminster kept them in the game and cut the BHSU lead to just four points inside of the final 90 seconds of the game. After a costly turnover on the Yellow Jacket's end of the court, Westminster was able to get down the court and put up a three with 17 seconds left in the game, setting the score to a tight 55-54 scoreboard in favor of the Yellow Jackets.
 
Kocer connected with Van Wyk on a football-like cross-court pass to give BHSU the 58-54 lead, with a double-dribble call on Westminster effectively taking away any chance to draw a foul for extra points.
 
Up Next
The Yellow Jackets head for a lengthy road trip next weekend as they're slated for matchups against New Mexico Highlands and CSU Pueblo. They hit Las Vegas, New Mexico on Friday, Jan. 20 for a 5 p.m. tipoff against the Cowgirls before heading to Pueblo, Colorado for a 5:30 p.m. showdown against the Thunderwovles.