SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Regis University women's basketball team started its 2021 slate of games on the road and suffered a 70-61 loss at the hands of Black Hills State at the Donald E. Young Sports & Fitness Center on Sunday.
 
"We played a great first half and an exceptional defensive second quarter," said Regis Head Women's Basketball Coach Molly Marrin. "It was a game of runs in the second half, and we needed to value the ball better. Our rebounding and points in the paint are good signs moving forward against a tough team that's undefeated at home."
 
How It Happened: Trailing 60-55 to the Yellow Jackets, the Rangers were within striking distance of Black Hills State with 3:48 left in regulation. But, BHSU sophomore guard Megan Engesser sank both of her free-throw attempts to expand Regis's deficit to seven, 62-55.
 
This proved to be too much for RU to overcome with senior forward Grace O'Neill cutting into the deficit one last time on a layup with only 32 seconds to go to make the score, 67-61.
 
Junior guard Ashlee Beacom scored the game's final points on two free throws with just 20 seconds remaining in the contest, bringing the game to its final result.
 
Within the opening 2 minutes of the contest, the Rangers jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Freshman guard Erin Fry's jumper 1:02 into the game and free throws from sophomore forward Morgan L. Smith at the 8:02 mark gave Regis an initial cushion on the scoreboard.
 
However, senior guard Racquel Wientjes answered with five straight points on account of a trey and a jumper with 7:06 and 6:27 to go in the first quarter, respectively, to cause the game's first lead change and moved the Yellow Jackets to a 5-4 advantage.
 
After senior forward Whitney Jacob returned the lead to RU's column, 10-9, on a pair of free throws at the 2:41 reading of the first frame, Black Hills State closed out the first with a 9-0 run. Weintjes' jumper kicked it off with 1:33 left, and Engesser capped it with a pair of free throws at the buzzer to bring the score to 18-10 in favor of BHSU.
 
The Rangers responded with a 10-0 run to start the second quarter. A Jacob jumper sparked the run 13 seconds into the frame, while free throws by senior guard Tashika Burrell tied the game, 18-18, with 5:17 remaining before the halftime buzzer. Senior guard Emma Sterkel's go-ahead layup broke the tie, 20-18, with 4:42 to go in the first half.
 
Following sophomore guard Cody Robinson's game-tying layup, 25-25, at the second quarter's 2:32 mark, sophomore forward Sydney Speights ignited a 7-0 Regis run on a layup with 2:20 left in the second. Speights bookended the run on another layup with only 33 seconds to go before the intermission.
 
Beacom cut into RU's lead on a layup with 2 seconds left on the clock in the second to bring the game to its 32-27 halftime score.
 
Even though BHSU managed to tie the game, 35-35, on Wientjes' 3-pointer with 7:42 reading on the clock in the third quarter, layups by Jacob at the 6:11 mark and O'Neill at the 4:57 mark brought the Rangers back to a 41-36 advantage.
 
Unfortunately, Wientjes later tied the game on a trey, 43-43, with 2:08 to go in the third and eventually broke the tie on a layup, 45-43. Wientjes' layup occurred with 1:40 remaining in the third, and these two baskets marked the first five points of a Yellow Jackets 10-0, third-quarter run. Black Hills State rolled to the end of the third with a 50-43 lead after Wientjes drilled a couple free throws with 7 seconds left.
 
BHSU was not done though and bridged its eventual 12-0 run into the fourth quarter, a run that finally ended after senior guard Alyssia Martinez hit a jumper 19 seconds into the final frame to make the score, 52-43.
 
Regis's deficit grew to as large as 10, 54-44, when sophomore guard Danica Kocer sank a layup with 8:29 remaining in regulation.
 
This preceded Burrell's self-assembled 5-0 run. She nailed a pair of free throws at the 8:06 mark and capped the run with one more free throw with 7:03 to go in the fourth to bring RU within five, 54-39.
 
"T[ashika] has gotten better each week in practice, and I'm proud of the way she stepped up in the fourth quarter and showed what she is capable of," Marrin said. "We learned a lot and playing against their pressure will help us in the future."
 
The Rangers cut the deficit down to three, 58-55, when Speights converted a layup at the fourth quarter's 4:35 reading.
 
Game Notes: Burrell scored a team-high 19 points, including 12 in the final quarter. She also had four defensive rebounds, a share of the team-high two assists, and a team-high two steals. Jacob had 16 points, five defensive rebounds, one assist, a share of the team-high one block, and one steal. O'Neill recorded eight points, a game-high 13 rebounds, and a steal. Smith registered seven points, nine rebounds, one assist, and a share of the team-high one block. Fry accumulated two points, two defensive rebounds, and a share of the team-high two assists.
 
Quantity was key as the Yellow Jackets had two more field goals, four more treys, and one more free throw than Regis. Additionally, Black Hills State had a 21-11 edge in points off turnovers.
 
RU made 20 of 52 (38.5 percent) from the field, three of 12 (25 percent) from 3-point range, and 18 of 21 (85.7 percent) from the charity stripe. In comparison, BHSU hit 22 of 60 (36.7 percent) from the paint, seven of 24 (29.2 percent) from the arc, and 19 of 26 (73.1 percent) from the free-throw line.
 
Up Next for the Rangers: The Rangers fall to a 1-3 record overall and a 1-2 record in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) play. Regis continues its road trip at Chadron State (0-3, 0-3 RMAC) at Chicoine Center on Monday at 5:30 p.m.