Box Score DURANGO, Colo. – Sixth seed Black Hills State University defeated third seed Fort Lewis College Tuesday night at Whalen Gymnasium, 81-71, in the quarterfinal round of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
 
The loss moves the Skyhawks to 16-11.  Black Hills State improves to 14-13 and will advance to the semifinal round on Friday in Grand Junction, Colo.
 
Erika Richards led all scorers with 25 points.  Richards made all 10 free throw attempts and was one rebound shy of a double-double.
 
Senior Ashely Kuchar netted 4-of-15 field goals as part of her 12 points, and Christie Groh tallied 10 points and nine rebounds.
 
The Yellowjackets made 14-of-19 field goals in the first half for 73.7 percent, including 5-of-6 from long range (83.3 percent).  BHSU finished the game netting 55.6 percent from behind the arc (10-of-18) and 53.3 percent from the floor (24-of-45).
 
The Skyhawks started the game netting 42.9 percent from the floor but dropped off in the second half, shooting 36.7 percent and making only 2-of-11 from long range (18.2 percent).
 
Fort Lewis was out-rebounded 35-30 and out-scored by the Yellowjackets bench, 43-19.  The Skyhawks recorded 28 points in the paint compared to BHSU's 20, and scored 19 points off of the Yellowjackets 16 turnovers.
 
The Skyhawks will await the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday, March 9 at 8 p.m. (MDT) at http://www.ncaa.com/live/player?vid=2014/1345&date=2014/03/09.  The top eight teams from each region qualify for the 64-team tournament.