GUNNISON, Colo.  Western Colorado fought the entire game - trailing by 12-points early on - and nearly pulled off the upset against Black Hills State. Yet, a few things didn't go their way in the end, leading to them fallin 52-55 to the Yellow Jackets. 
 
JUST THE FACTS
Final Score: Black Hills State def., Western Colorado 55-52.
Records: Western Colorado 4-8, 3-4 RMAC, Black Hills State 10-3, 5-2 RMAC.
Location: Paul Wright Gym; Gunnison, Colo.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Mountaineers offense was cold to start the game – only scoring five-points in the quarter – leading Black Hills State holding a 16-5 lead after the quarter ended. Emmery Wagstaff scored the first points (7:58) for the Western, sinking a layup. Then Brooklyn Seymour pitched in with a layup (7:15) of her own and Hayley Valencia knocked down one free throw (6:54).
• Down 11-points to start the second quarter, the Yellow Jackets managed to increase their lead to 12-points with 7:17 reading on the clock. But, the Mountaineers offense woke up and briefly cut the lead to seven-points several times at the 2:32 and 29 second mark of the second quarter.
• Before the final horn sounded for halftime, Black Hills State was able to sink a layup with five seconds left to increase their lead to 25-16. In the second quarter, Western outscored the Yellow Jackets 11-9.
• Coming out of halftime, this drastically changed for the Mountaineers.
• Western started the quarter on a 9-0 run - Cockman starting the run with a layup. Which was then followed by a Hayley Valencia and-one bucket, trimming the lead to 21-25. Wagstaff and Seymour would then help the Mountaineers tie the game with a layup and jumper.
• Black Hills State, tried to stop the run knocking down a free throw. However, Western offense was hot as Wagstaff converted a and-one and Kylie Krise hits a three – giving the Mountaineers a 31-28 lead.
• The Yellow Jackets started to fight back, going on a 3-0 run, resulting in things being tied up at 31-points apiece. Both teams battled for the remainder of the quarter, three lead changes occurring over four minutes. Yet, when the quarter ended Black Hills State held a 40-39 lead. In the third quarter, Western outscored the Yellow Jackets 23-15.
• In the fourth quarter, Blacks Hills started things off with a 7-0 run, increasing their lead to eight-points. However, in typical Mountaineer fashion, Western started scrapping and slowly chipped away at the lead. With 4:25 left to play, Wagstaff drained a three-pointer cutting the Yellow Jackets lead to 49-47.
• Black Hills State kept increasing their lead to four-points every time the Mountaineers cut the lead to two-points – which happened at the 2:56 and 1:21 mark of the fourth quarter.
• After a missed layup by the Yellow Jackets with 38 seconds remaining, Wagstaff grabbed the rebound and a timeout was immediately called.
• Western diagramed a play coming out of the timeout, which resulted in Valencia drawing a foul with the Mountaineers down 51-53. Valencia was able to make the first, unfortunately, the second shot bounced off the rim and was rebounded by Black Hills State.
• The Yellow Jackets were fouled after inbounding the ball and sunk both free throws, giving them the 55-52 victory.

COURT NOTES

• Wagstaff shouldered the scoring load for Western, scoring 22-points and grabbing a team high eight rebounds. Valencia was the next leading scorer with 12-points.
• As a whole, the Mountaineers shot 39.1 percent (18-of-46) from the field, 20 percent (4-of-20) from three and 63.2 percent (12-of-19) from the free throw line.
• For Black Hills State, Ellie Moore and Niki Van Wyk were their leading scorers pitching in with 14 and 13-points of their own. The Yellow Jackets shot 38.2 percent (21-of-55) from the field, 20 percent (3-of-15) from three and 83.3 percent (10-of-12) from the free throw line.

UP NEXT
The Mountaineers return to Paul Wright Gym tomorrow (Jan. 7), taking on South Dakota Mines at 5 p.m.