Colorado Christian was in Spearfish, SD on Saturday night as they squared off against Black Hills State University. The Cougs earned their first conference victory of the year, as they defeated the Yellow Jackets by a final score of 64-55. Strong defense by CCU was a key factor throughout, and was able to keep them ahead for the majority of the game.

The Cougars got off to a hot start in the first quarter as they nailed their first four shots of the game which gave them the early lead. Despite the red hot start, Black Hills kept the game close and even took the lead by one 11-10 with five minutes left in the quarter. CCU answered back with a 6-0 run to regain the lead 16-11 with a minute remaining in the quarter. At the end of the first, the Cougs were leading 16-13.
 
Both teams battled hard in the second quarter, and the game tightened up as the Yellow Jackets trimmed the Christian lead down to just one point at 26-25 with just under two minutes remaining in the half. The Cougars then finished the first half in style as they closed out the half on an 8-0 run, which gave them the nine point advantage 34-25 heading into halftime.
 
Jordan Baer was the leading scorer at the break as she finished the first half with nine points on 3-5 shooting from the floor. Baer also was stout defensively as she compiled four steals through the first two quarters of play. Kaitlyn Hinch finished with six points and Claire Paxton had five. Paxton also led the team with seven rebounds.
 
Both defenses came out of halftime and began the third quarter in rhythm, as neither team was able to get much going on the offensive end early on. Black Hills State got things going and was able to cut the CCU down to just three points 40-37 with 3:20 to play in the third quarter. Once again, the Cougars were able to put together a run to finish out the quarter strong. They ended the quarter on a 10-2 run which pushed their lead to double digits heading into the fourth quarter as they led 50-39.
 
The 11 point lead was more than enough for the Cougars, as their defense continued their stellar play and prevented the Yellow Jackets from getting back into the game. CCU went on to win by a final score of 64-55.
 
As a team, the Cougs shot 40% (19-47) in the game. The CCU defense kept Black Hills State in check throughout the entire game as they held them to shooting just 22% (16-72) in the game. It was a great team effort which ultimately secured the victory for the team.
 
Jordan Baer was the leading scorer in the game as she finished with a season high 13 points. Her efforts were not limited to just the offensive end as Baer also grabbed eight rebounds and had four steals, both of which were also season highs for her. Alex Nelson and Kaitlyn Hinch each finished with 11 points. Mikala Gordon earned her first double-double of the season by scoring 10 points and grabbing a team high 13 rebounds.
 
The win improves Colorado Christian's record to 3-6 overall, and 1-3 in conference play. They will be back in action on Tuesday Dec. 3^rd for an exhibition game against the University of Northern Colorado. The game will take place in Greeley, and is scheduled to begin at 7PM MST.