March 11, 2024

This Week's Preview
MADISON, S.D. (March 11, 2024)—The Dakota State University Trojan women's basketball team (25-6 overall record, ranked No. 9 in the final edition of the NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 national poll) continues their postseason action on their home court, the DSU Fieldhouse (1302 N. Washington Ave.).  The Trojans are making history as the first time hosting the NAIA Women's Basketball National Tournament First & Second Rounds, presented by Ballogy.

DSU will be hosting three other teams in the four-team pod in Madison, part of the Cramer bracket.  The first pairing features No. 12 seed Indiana South Bend (30-1 overall record, ranked No. 19 in the final national poll) and No. 5 seed Grand View (Iowa) (27-4 overall record, ranked No. 20 in the national poll) Friday evening at 5:30 p.m.  The fourth-seeded Dakota State hosts No. 13 seed Science & Arts (Okla.) (19-10 overall record), scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off. 

Friday's winners will move on to the Second Round, set for 6 p.m. at DSU Fieldhouse.  The winner on Saturday will receive the NAIA First & Second Rounds trophy during the post-game awards ceremony.   

DSU fell short in the North Star Athletic Association postseason tournament's championship game at No. 12 ranked Mayville State (N.D.) 61-59 on March 3.  Science & Arts lost to Mid-America Christian in the Sooner Athletic Conference quarterfinals on Feb. 29.  Grand View captured the Heart of America Athletic Conference tournament title with a 65-62 thriller over Benedictine (Kan.) on March 5.  Indiana South Bend won the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship game with a 91-87 win over Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) on March 2.

Up Next:  The sixteen pods' winners will advance to the final site of the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championships on March 21-26 at Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.

This Week's Quick Hits
+ Dakota State (S.D.) is making their fourth consecutive appearance to the NAIA Women's Basketball National Tournament, a school record for most consecutive appearance to the national tournament (previous with 3 straight years from 2006-08).
+ This is the first time that DSU is hosting the NAIA Women's Basketball National Tournament First & Second Rounds in school history (Trojans played in Omaha, Neb. in 2021, Billings, Mont., in 2022, and Wichita, Kan., in 2023 in NAIA national tournament first and second rounds). 
+ DSU will be playing their first-ever all-time meeting with Science & Arts (Okla.) on Friday evening.  The Trojans had not faced Indiana South Bend in all-time series meeting.  DSU defeated Grand View (Iowa) in the last meeting on Nov. 23, 2021, at DSU Fieldhouse by the score of 76-63.
+ Dakota State had won four straight NAIA national tournament opening game, dating back to 2008 in the Division II national tournament.  The Trojans had won the previous three Division I opening game since 2021.
+ DSU is 14-1 record at home this season.  Science & Arts is 8-7 record on the road, while Grand View and Indiana South Bend are playing their first neutral site contest this season.
+ Dakota State is 7-3 record in the last 10 NAIA Division I National Tournament games since 2021.  The Trojans went to the national quarterfinals in 2021, Round of 32 in 2022, and made a historic run to the national semifinals (Fab Four) in 2023.

Noteworthy...
DSU HOME COOKING:  Dakota State (S.D.) had secured a home court winning record for the fifth consecutive season since the 2019-20 season.  The Trojans had won 57 times in the last 61 home games (.934 winning percentage) since Jan. 22, 2020, including a 20-game home court winning streak since the 2021-22 season through last December.   The Trojans are 14-1 record at DSU Fieldhouse this season, averaging 84.9 points per game while allowing the opponents to 58.1 points per game.  Prior to the games this week, DSU shot 45.7 percent from the field at home compared to the opponents 37.4 percent.

NAIA AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS AND AT-LARGE BIDS:  The NAIA Women's Basketball National Tournament features a total of 37 automatic qualifiers and 27 at-large selections.  Dakota State received an at-large bid for the second straight year, while the North Star Athletic Association have two representatives in the national tournament (Mayville State, N.D.) for the second consecutive year.  The 2024 NAIA second round winners will meet in Sioux City, Iowa, at the NAIA National Championship final site, presented by Bomgaars and Sterling from March 21-26 (national championship game on March 26).  

TROJANS IN THE NAIA RANKS:  According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Monday, Dakota State ranks 16th in the NAIA in field goal accuracy with 45 percent (909-of-2018 field goals).  The Trojans are also 19th in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (34.9 percent—173-of-495 3-pointers).  Dakota State is averaging 80.0 points per game this season, which is 21st best scoring average in the NAIA.  Tabor Teel ranks tied for 13th in the NAIA in blocks per game with an average of 2.0 blocks (62 total blocks).

DSU TEAM RECORDS:  Prior to this weekend's games, Dakota State scored 2,480 points this season which is currently the fourth most points in a single season team record.  The Trojans also are fourth in single season scoring average with 80.0 points per game.  DSU's 25 victories is currently tied for fourth most wins in the single season record book with the 1999-2000 squad.  Dakota State had a pair of winning streaks in the school record book, a 13-game winning streak which is the third longest in the school record book and an eight-game winning streak which tied for 10th longest winning streak.

(9) DSU falls short in NSAA tournament title on road
Mayville, N.D. (March 3, 2024)—Despite losing the coin toss for the top seed for the North Star Athletic Association's top-seeded in the postseason, Dakota State (S.D.) traveled to Lewy Lee Fieldhouse to take on Mayville State (N.D.) in the tournament's title game. 

DSU built a ten-point lead early in the game, but fell behind at halftime by the score of 26-25.  Both the Trojans and the Comets battled back and forth in the third quarter before DSU built a nine-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.  The Comets used an 18-7 outburst in the final 4:56 to defeat the Trojans by the score of 61-59.  There were 10 lead changes and five ties in the game.

Angela Slattery paced Dakota State with 18 points and five rebounds.  She had three steals.  Walsdorf added 13 points and eight rebounds.  Miakken Vincent scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds off the bench.  Tabor teel had seven points, four rebounds, and two blocks.
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DSU was 34.5 percent from the field (19-of-55 field goals) compared to MSU 40.8 percent (20-of-49 FGs). 

Madison, S.D. pod in the Cramer bracket overview
Madison, S.D. (March 11, 2024)—Four teams, including Dakota State (S.D.), are placed in the Madison's pod in the Cramer bracket of the NAIA Women's Basketball National Tournament First & Second Rounds at DSU Fieldhouse.

The first game is set for Friday at 5:30 p.m. between No. 13 seed Indiana South Bend and No. 5 seed Grand View (Iowa).  The Titans, based in South Bend, Ind., earned the automatic bid to the national tournament by winning the Chicagoland Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles at 30-1 overall record.  Grand View, based in Des Moines, Iowa is 27-4 overall record, earning the automatic bid to the national tournament by winning the Heart of America Athletic Conference tournament.

Both No. 4 seed Dakota State (25-6 overall record) and No. 13 seed Science & Arts (19-10 overall record) received an at-large invitation to the national tournament.  The Drovers are a member of the Sooner Athletic Conference in Chickasha, Okla.  The Madison' four-team pod featured the most victories combined by four teams compared to 15 other four-team pods (101 combined wins).

2024 NAIA National Tournament brackets overview
Madison, S.D. (March 11, 2024)—Sixty-four teams are prepare to kick off the first and second rounds of the NAIA Women's Basketball National Tournament Friday and Saturday at 16 different sites.  Forty (40) of those 64 teams, including Dakota State (S.D.), in this year's field return from last year's national tournament 

Dakota State is placed in the Cramer quadrant of the bracket, which featured the most NAIA's Top 25 nationally ranked teams with nine teams.  The Duer and Liston quadrants each have six teams ranked inside the NAIA's Top 25 national poll, while the Naismith hve four teams in the Top 25 national poll.   

The top four teams in the NAIA's Top 25 national poll received the No. 1 seeds (Marian, Ind.; Dordt, Iowa; Campbellsville, Ky., and Indiana Wesleyan.  Dakota State, Indiana Wesleyan and Carroll (Mont.) are placed in the Cramer Quadrant, the second straight year that those three teams are placed in the same quadrant (Liston Quadrant last season).

The winners at 16 different sites will move on to the final site at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.  The Round of 16 takes place on March 21-22, with the quarterfinals on March 23.  The semifinals are set for March 25, with the championship game on March 26.

2023-24 Dakota State Women's Basketball Team Leaders

• Points/Points Per Game:  Savannah Walsdorf - 516 points (16.6 points per game)
• Field Goal Percentage:  Tabor Teel - 57.9 percent (114-of-197 field goals)
• 3-point Field Goal Percentage:  Savannah Walsdorf - 42.1 percent (67-of-159 3-point field goals)
• Free-Throw Percentage:  Caitlin Dyer - 78.6 percent (33-of-42 free-throws)
• Rebounds:  Tabor Teel - 206 rebounds - (6.6 rebounds per game)
• Assists/Assists Per Game:  Savannah Walsdorf - 68 assists (2.2 assists per game)
• Steals/Steals Per Game:  Savannah Walsdorf - 94 steals (3.0 steals per game)
• Blocked Shots:  Tabor Teel - 62 blocks (2.0 blocks per game)