Black Hills State University women's basketball hosted the Cougars of Colorado Christian on Thursday night, defeating CCU 73-60 to stretch their win streak to six in a row.
 
The Yellow Jackets (15-3, 10-2 RMAC) hit 45 percent of their total shots tonight, going 23-of-51 from the floor and hitting 10-of-23 from beyond the arc. From the free-throw line, BHSU went 17-of-19 versus a CCU 12-of-20. The Cougars also finished the game 20-of-62 from the floor and 8-of-28 from three.
 
Senior guard Niki Van Wyk led BHSU in scoring against the Cougars with a career-high 21-point game. She finished 5-of-12 from the floor and 3-of-7 from the three-point range. At the charity stripe, Van Wyk was a perfect 8-of-8 while she added two assists and two steals to her stat sheet.
 
Morgan Hammerbeck, Ellie Moore, and Danica Kocer all had double-digit scores for BHSU with each getting 13, 12, and 11, respectively. Moore and Hammerbeck were the heads of the Yellow Jacket defense as both racked up the three blocks for BHSU. Moore held two of those blocks as well as two steals and a team-leading five defensive boards.
 
Megan Engesser got things started with two technical free throws before tipoff, which was complimented by a Danica Kocer three-point ball to give BHSU a 5-0 score inside of the first minute. Kocer and Niki Van Wyk hit a pair of treys to give BHSU an 11-4 lead before CCU began to strum up some offense. After traded buckets, two CCU three-pointers brought the score to 15-14 with 4:39 to go in the quarter.
 
Down the stretch, CCU took the lead on an 8-0 run thanks to eight forced turnovers on BHSU. At the end of one, CCU led 22-18.
 
The Cougars stretched their run to 10-0 before a lone Kocer layup kicked off an 8-1 run from the Yellow Jackets to claim a one-point lead as both teams traded shots once again. Shooting slowed down in the latter half of the quarter, but a three from Haylee Weathersby and a pair of layups from Van Wyk near the end gave BHSU a 38-33 lead as the game's first half expired.
 
Both teams traded buckets to start the second half, with BHSU taking a brief eight-point lead before a trey from CCU maintained the five-point gap that was left at halftime. Launching off the three to create a 7-0 run, the Cougars were back to a one-point deficit with 4:59 left in the third. BHSU, however, ran up a 9-2 series to end the quarter, with BHSU holding their largest lead of the night at 57-48.
 
A lone Cougar free throw was the only point scored in the first 90 seconds of the game until a Kocer layup gave the Yellow Jackets a 59-49 lead, with both teams duking out a 7-6 quarter by the 4:46 mark. BHSU kept control of the wheel down the stretch despite a tough CCU defense as the game was decided from the charity stripe. BHSU claimed the last five points of the contest to take the 73-60 victory over CCU.
 
Up Next
The Yellow Jackets will get some time off before their next home game on Friday, Feb. 3 as they host Colorado Mines for a 5 p.m. tipoff.