Black Hills State University women's basketball held their first of three road games on Friday night against the UCCS Mountain Lions, securing a 59-56 victory that also completed a season sweep of UCCS.
 
The Yellow Jackets (17-5, 12-4 RMAC) finished the night off with a 38.3 percent mark from the floor (23-of-60), a 29.2 percent look from beyond the arc (7-of-24), and 54.5 percent from the charity stripe (6-of-11). On the defense, BHSU was able to record six steals and five blocks against the Mountain Lions.
 
Leading the BHSU offense was Niki Van Wyk, who continues to put up strong performances for the Yellow Jackets. Van Wyk finished the game with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting and 5-of-11 three-pointers in 36 minutes of playing time. BHSU's bench players had a huge part in their victory over UCCS as they secured 22 points, led by Alessia Capley (11), Haylee Weathersby (8), and Kammie Ragsdale (6).
 
After both teams knocked down mid-range buckets to start the game, UCCS tacked on a six-point run to take the early 8-2 lead over the Yellow Jackets. BHSU, however, got hot through the rest of the quarter as threes from Van Wyk, jumpers from Megan Engesser, and in-the-paint points from Kammie Ragsdale ended the quarter with a BHSU 14-4 run to give the Yellow Jackets a 15-12 lead.
 
Van Wyk had a promising start to the second quarter with a three giving BHSU an 18-12 scoreboard, but a 9-0 run from UCCS lasted nearly four minutes, bringing the Mountain Lions back to a small lead. An Alessia Capley jumper woke the Yellow Jacket offense back up at 3:38 as both teams exchanged scores down the stretch.
 
A trey from UCCS gave them the high ground over BHSU, who now trailed 29-26. A lone Weathersby free throw gave BHSU only their eleventh point of the quarter and sent them to the locker room down by two, 29-27.
 
Van Wyk hit another shot from beyond the arc to start the second half, but following a three-minute scoring hiatus, UCCS kicked off a 9-2 run to expand their lead to 38-32 with under two minutes to go in the quarter. A trey from Weathersby and a layup from Capley, however, helped bring the Yellow Jackets back within one by the end of the third, sending a 40-39 scoreboard to the final frame.
 
Back-to-back jumpers from the Mountain Lions and Yellow Jackets opened the fourth quarter of play, but a three from Van Wyk and a layup from Weathersby notched a 7-0 run to give BHSU a 46-42 lead. Shortly after a layup from UCCS, BHSU laid down another six-point burst to expand their lead to eight, the largest up to this point.
 
The Mountain Lions were able to charge back to a two-point deficit on an 8-2 run over BHSU, fighting to regain the lead down the wire. A UCCS foul would be their undoing as it allowed for Van Wyk to make 1-of-2 free throws to put the Yellow Jackets up by three. The Mountain Lions were able to get a three off at the buzzer, but their shot did not connect allowing BHSU to slip by and secure the season sweep with a final score of 59-56.
 
Up Next
BHSU heads to Denver, Colorado for a 3 p.m. matchup against Regis University on Saturday, Feb. 11.