SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Regis University women's basketball team fought hard against Black Hills State University but came up short 65-58 after giving up a 22-point fourth quarter. The Rangers dropped to 4-6 overall and 3-2 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference after Friday night's loss.
 
How it Happened: Senior Chante Church converted a three-pointer two minutes into the first quarter for the first points of the game. From there, Regis held the lead throughout the first quarter. Seven minutes into the contest junior Morgan Ducklow sank back-to-back free-throws to extend RU's lead to seven (14-7). From then until the second quarter, the Rangers scored just one point as the Yellow Jackets pulled within one (15-14).
 
Regis saw their lead disappear just one minute into the second quarter as BHSU took their first lead of the game. After five lead changes in eight minutes, a jumper by Ducklow put RU up by one with two minutes remaining in the half. A foul by freshman Emma Sterkel sent the Yellow Jacket to the foul-line where they evened the score at 30 going into the break.
 
The third quarter was more defensive with each team scoring 13 points apiece.
 
The Rangers held the lead for just a minute and a half in the fourth quarter before giving up five-straight points to BHSU. A three-pointer by senior Mary Sigler tied the game with five minutes in regulation but Regis was unable to regain the lead. The Yellow Jackets secured their win from the free-throw line, making 7-of-11 foul shots in the last two minutes.
 
Game Notes: Church was one point shy of scoring 20. She went 5-for-7 from beyond the arc and 7-of-13 from the field. RU shot just 36.2 percent from the field as a team and BHSU converted 49 percent of their attempts.
 
Junior Shelby Espinosa had a game-high three steals while adding five defensive rebounds. Both teams snagged 35 rebounds. The Rangers had the upper hand with 21 defensive boards.
 
Regis committed 20 turnovers compared to the Yellow Jackets 15, leading to 20 points for the Yellow Jackets and just 13 for RU.
 
The Rangers were out-worked down-low, giving up 32 points in the paint while scoring just 16.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: The women's basketball team will play their fourth-straight away game on Saturday as they take on South Dakota School of Mines & Technology  at 3:30 p.m.