SPEARFISH, S.D.- The Cougars traveled north to South Dakota to take on Black Hills State on Friday evening. The two teams came into the night tied for sixth place in the RMAC, and they battled it out until the final buzzer in a narrow 73-68 defeat for the visitors.
Maggie Hutka drilled the first field goal of the night, and Nicole Bowlin quickly followed that with a layup. A Dasiya Jones jumper made it 10-7 Cougars, and after the Yellowjackets took a six point lead, CCU responded with six straight of their own to tie things at 16 at the end of the first quarter.
Bowlin started the second period strong, nailing a three-pointer and getting fouled for a four-point trip down the floor and a one point lead. The two teams traded the lead back and forth, and Victoria Perez restored the advantage with a three midway through the quarter. Regan LoConte nailed a pair of three-pointers to quickly push the lead to eight, and a pair of baskets from BHSU sent the teams to the half with the Cougars leading 36-32.
Jones hit a three coming out of the break for a seven-point advantage, but the Yellowjackets hung around and made it a two point game quickly. The two teams would grapple for an advantage from there, never gaining much separation as the third quarter came to a close with CCU up one 53-52.
Perez connected from downtown on the Cougars' first possession of the final period, and a pair of free throws from Hutka pushed the lead to six. A LoConte three sent the lead to seven as it appeared to be a momentum shift that the visitors could take advantage of. However, the Yellowjackets roared back, claiming a one point lead with 5:54 to go. Colorado Christian managed to take the lead back moments later, but a cold shooting spell doomed the Cougars as they were forced to foul late and eventually fell 73-68.
Hutka paced the offense with 17 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double and Jones joined her teammate with a 15 point, 10 rebound double-double of her own. Bowlin was strong with nine points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
Colorado Christian will close their regular season at South Dakota Mines on March 2 at 4 p.m. MST before they head to postseason play in the RMAC Tournament beginning March 5.
