November 6, 2024

This Week's Preview
MADISON, S.D. (Nov. 5, 2024)—The Dakota State University Trojan women's basketball team (1-1 overall record, ranked No. 6 in the preseason edition of the NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 national poll) continues their challenging preseason non-conference schedule as they face a pair of NAIA's Top 10 teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference.

Dakota State travels to the Corn Palace (604 N Main Street) in Mitchell, S.D., for the second annual Battle of the Blues, sponsored by BankWest.  The Trojans face their rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) (2-0 overall record, No. 9 in the NAIA national preseason poll).  Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.

DSU plays their home opener on Saturday, taking on another NAIA's Top 10 team.  The Trojans host Concordia (Neb.) (1-1 overall record, No. 5 in the NAIA women's basketball preseason national poll).  The game is set for 4 p.m. at DSU Fieldhouse in Madison.

Dakota State kicked off their 2024-25 regular-season in the Cattle Classic, hosted by Concordia (Neb.).  DSU fell short to No. 10 ranked Southern Oregon by the score of 70-68 on Nov. 1.  DSU rallied back from seven-point deficit with 1:13 left in the second game, earning a 56-54 nail-biter victory over Oklahoma City on Nov. 2.

Dakota Wesleyan began their season with a pair of road victories.  The Tigers defeated Oklahoma Wesleyan 74-60 on Nov. 1, followed by a 58-48 victory at Friends (Kan.) on Nov. 2.  Concordia split a pair of home games in their own home tournament, defeating Oklahoma City 78-64 on Nov. 1 and falling to Southern Oregon 71-68 on Nov. 2.  The Bulldogs dropped a 66-64 exhibition game contest at NCAA Division I Northern Colorado on Nov. 4.
 
Up Next:  DSU plays No. 1 ranked and NAIA's defending national champion Dordt (Iowa) next Wednesday at Sanford Sports Complex in Sioux Falls.  The Trojans return home next Saturday versus Minnesota-Morris.

This Week's Quick Hits
+ Dakota State (S.D.) won the inaugural Battle of the Blues last season at DSU Fieldhouse, snapping Dakota Wesleyan's (S.D.) 15-game winning streak in the series meeting.  The Trojans won by the score of 93-75.
+ The Tigers split the season series meeting with the Trojans last season, earning a 69-52 home victory at the Corn Palace on Dec. 13, 2023.
+ Concordia (Neb.) took the previous two meetings with Dakota State, both meetings played in the annual Cattle Classic.  The Bulldogs won the previous meeting by the score of 71-61 on Nov. 5, 2022.
+ The Trojans earned a 94-82 victory over CUNE on Nov. 5, 2020 in the Seward, Neb., in the Cattle Classic.
+ Dakota State will be facing their third and fourth opponents ranked in the NAIA's Top 10 this week.
+ DSU had won four consecutive home opener, with the most recently defeating Mount Marty (S.D.) 87-63 in lats year's home opener at DSU Fieldhouse.  The Trojans had won the home opener since the 2020-21 season where the streak began by defeating Dordt (Iowa), who was ranked No. 8 at that time.
+ Dakota State plays a total of two home games at DSU Fieldhouse during the month of November, including Saturday's contest versus No. 5 Concordia (Neb.).  DSU hosts NCAA Division III Minnesota-Morris on Nov. 16.
+ The Trojans play their first road contest of the season on Wednesday evening in Mitchell, S.D.

Noteworthy...
TEEL NAMED CATTLE CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM:  Junior Tabor Teel was selected by Concordia (Neb.) as the one of the five member Cattle Classic All-Tournament Team.  She averaged a double-double of 11.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game in the tournament.  She also averaged 3.5 steals per game.  Teel had a double-double of 10 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to go along with six teams versus Southern Oregon on Nov. 1.  She followed up with 13 points and seven rebounds versus Oklahoma City on Nov. 2.

DSU VERSUS NAIA'S TOP 10 TEAMS:  Dakota State is seeking for their first win over NAIA's Top 10 teams this season.  The Trojans play four teams in the NAIA's Top 10 teams in their first five games of the season.  The Trojans fell short to No. 10 ranked Southern Oregon from the Cascade Collegiate Conference by two points on Nov. 1.  DSU will face No. 9 Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.), No. 5 Concordia (Neb.), and No. 1 Dordt (Iowa) in their next three contests, all three ranked opponents from the Great Plains Athletic Conference.  All five teams, including DSU, played in the NAIA tournament last season.

TROJANS VERSUS GPAC AND NAIA CONFERENCES:  Dakota State plays a total of five games against the Great Plains Athletic Conference foes, all games during the month of November.  The Trojans play three straight games against members of the GPAC.  After Dakota State's contest with Dordt (Iowa) at the Sanford Sports Complex in Sioux Falls, S.D., the Trojans will play Northwestern (Iowa) and Morningside (Iowa) on the road near the end of this month.  Dakota State will play two more non-conference members from the NAIA's The Sun Conference Warner (Fla.) on Dec. 20 and Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference's Evangel (Mo.) on Dec. 21 before playing their remaining 13 games in the NSAA conference in 2025.

2024-25 DAKOTA STATE JUNIOR VARSITY TEAM OPENS HOME SCHEDULE MONDAY:  The 2024-25 Dakota State University Trojan women's basketball junior varsity squad began their season on Nov. 4, falling short in a high scoring affair at Dordt (Iowa) on Nov. 4.  The Defenders held off the Trojans by the score of 100-92.  DSU kicks off their three-game home stand on Monday evening versus Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.), followed by a home contest against Northwestern (Iowa) on Nov. 14.

(10) Red Raiders hold off (6) Trojans 70-68 in season opener
Seward, Neb. (Nov. 1, 2024)—No. 10 ranked Southern Oregon edged out No. 6 Dakota State (S.D.) 70-68 in an evenly tight contest on the first day of the Cattle Classic at Friedrich Arena. 

The Red Raiders held a slim two-point lead 21-19 after the first quarter.  The Trojans sparked a 14-0 scoring run in the second quarter, but held a slim 37-35 halftime lead after SOU's 12-3 closing run in the final 3:04.  Southern Oregon led 56-53 lead after the three quarter.  DSU overtook the lead at 67-66 with less a minute left in the game.  DSU fell short in closing seconds by two points (70-68).

Lilli Mackley led the Trojans with 14 points on her 4-of-6 3-pointers.  Angela Slattery added 11 points and four rebounds.  Tabor Teel posted a double-double of 10 points and pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds.  She also stole the ball a career-high six times.  Cierra Watkins had eight points and two steals.

SOU shot 40 percent from the field (26-of-65 field goals) compared to DSU 37.7 percent (20-of-53 field goals).  The Trojans hit 12 3-pointers in the game.  Southern Oregon outrebounded Dakota State 40-38. 
 
(6) DSU edges Stars 56-54 in Cattle Classic Day 2
Seward, Neb. (Nov. 2, 2024)—Dakota State (S.D.) roared back in the final 1:13, erasing the game's largest deficit of seven points.  Cierra Watkins hit a pair of free-throws with :00.1 second left in the game, lifting to their first win of the season with a 56-54 victory over Oklahoma City on the second day of the Cattle Classic at Friedrich Arena.

The game was knotted at 16-16 after the first quarter, while the Stars grabbed a slim 27-25 halftime lead.  Oklahoma City outscored Dakota State 12-9 in the third quarter for a 39-34 lead.  OKC held a 51-44 lead before the Trojans went on a monstrous run in the final 1:13 of the game, outscoring the Stars 12-3 for the first win of the season.  DSU outscored Oklahoma City 22-15 in the fourth quarter.

Tabor Teel led the Trojans with 13 points and seven rebounds.  Angela Slattery and Mackley each added 11 points.  Slattery grabbed eight rebounds.  Mackley added seven rebounds.  Kenzie Simons scored six points off the bench.  Watkins added four points and two assists.

OKC shot 37 percent from the field (20-of-54 field goals) and held DSU to 27.4 percent (17-of-62 field goals).

A look back to inaugural Battle of Blues game
Madison, S.D. (Nov. 13, 2024)—The inaugural Battle of the Blues traveling trophy, sponsored by BankWest, was established on Nov. 13, 2023, at DSU Fieldhouse.  The Trojans never trailed in the forty minutes in the game, rolling past rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 93-75 to extend DSU's home court winning record to 18 games.  The victory also snapped DSU's 15-game losing streak in the all-time series.

Dakota State kicked off the game with a 7-0 scoring run, holding Dakota Wesleyan scoreless for more than three minutes.  The Trojans led 26-19 after the first quarter.  DWU could get no closer than five points in the second period, with the last occasion at 39-34 with 1:31 left.  DSU roared with a monstrous 10-0 run to close the first half, ballooning their lead to 52-34 by halftime.

Dakota State outscored Dakota Wesleyan 25-19 in the third quarter to widen their lead to 77-52.  The Tigers outscored the Trojans 22-16 in the final quarter.

DSU shot 47.1 percent overall from the field (32-of-68 field goals) and drained 13 3-pointers in the game.  Dakota State also hit 16-of-20 free-throws.  DWU was 44.3 percent from the field (31-of-70 field goals) and 8-of-19 3-pointers.

The Trojans outscored the Tigers 41-38.  DSU outscored DWU 16-4 in fast-break points. 

2024-25 Dakota State Women's Basketball Team Leaders

• Points/Points Per Game:  Lilli Mackley - 25 points (12.5 points per game)
• Field Goal Percentage:  Kenzi Simmons - 50.0 percent (4-of-8 field goals)
• 3-point Field Goal Percentage:  Hamtyn Heinz - 75.0 percent (3-of-4 3-point field goals)
• Free-Throw Percentage:  Tabor Teel - 80.0 percent (12-of-15 free-throws)
• Rebounds:  Tabor Teel - 21 rebounds (10.5 rebounds per game)
• Assists/Assists Per Game:  Bria Wasmund, Tabor Teel - 5 assists (2.5 assists per game)
• Steals/Steals Per Game:  Tabor Teel - 7 steals (3.5 steals per game)
• Blocked Shots:  Tia Murray - 2 blocks (1.0 blocks per game)