DENVER, Colo. - Black Hills State University women's basketball tipped off against Regis on Saturday afternoon from Denver, Colorado, falling to the Rangers 67-53 despite a fast start in the first quarter.
 
The Yellow Jackets (17-6, 12-5 RMAC) were 23-of-62 from the field, 4-of-20 from beyond the arc, and 3-10 from the charity stripe. Despite the loss, the BHSU defense played tough as they out-stole the Rangers 10-4 and out-blocked them 3-2.
 
The two double-digit scorers for the Yellow Jackets this afternoon was Danica Kocer, who led the team, and Niki Van Wyk as each athlete scored 13 and 11, respectively. Kocer was 5-of-13, with two of those from downtown while Van Wyk was 5-of-16 and 1-of-8 on her triples. Van Wyk led in rebounds with five, of which four were defensive boards.
 
After a Danica Kocer layup kicked off the matchup with BHSU on top, both teams exchanged consecutive scores until a Regis triple gave the Rangers an 8-7 lead. A pair of Ellie Moore layups kicked off a 9-0 scoring run from the Yellow Jackets, expanding their lead to 15-7. The Rangers were able to rack up a 7-2 series up to the final minute of the frame, but a Kocer trey and a Summer Fox layup ended the quarter with BHSU on top, 22-14.
 
Both teams slugged out a 5-4 start to the quarter until an 8-0 burst from Regis pulled the scoreboard to a 26-24 BHSU lead by the halfway mark. Three minutes later, hot shooting from the Rangers allowed for them to run up an 11-3 series to lead 35-29 with 1:14 to go in the half. A Kocer free throw was the last point for the Yellow Jackets in the quarter, sending the ladies to halftime down by five.
 
BHSU was able to pull within three at the start of quarter three and duked it out with Regis for most of the quarter. The Rangers and Yellow Jackets remained even throughout to keep the game a five-point advantage for Regis, who led 49-44 heading into the fourth.
 
Regis started the quarter, 4-3, to expand their lead by seven before a three-point play from Alessia Capley pulled the Yellow Jackets within four of Regis. A Kalla Bertram layup and foul gave the Yellow Jackets a chance to make it a one-point contest, but a defensive board and layup later became a 7-0 run for Regis to expand their lead to a more imposing 60-51 lead with 3:25 to go in the game.
 
The remainder of regulation was largely controlled by the Rangers, who held BHSU to one Van Wyk layup while cashing in seven of their own points to hand BHSU the 67-53 road loss.
 
Up Next
The Yellow Jackets will have a quick turnaround heading into next week as they're set for a Monday night matchup against Fort Lewis on Feb. 13 at 5 p.m.