December 30, 2025

THIS WEEK'S PREVIEW
MADISON, S.D. - The Dakota State University Trojan women's basketball team (12-1 overall record, 7-0 Frontier Conference, No. 4 ranking in the NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 poll), returns to action with a pair of games this weekend.  The Trojans make their return trip to Montana, continuing their six-game road stretch in league play.

DSU plays a pair of NAIA's Top 25 teams, visiting Carroll (Mont.) (7-6 overall record, 5-2 Frontier record, No. 24 in the national poll) on Friday evening at PE Center (1601 N Benton Ave.) in Helena, Mont.  The Trojans then travel to Fortin Education Center (1511 Ply Drive) in Billings on Saturday evening for a contest with Rocky Mountain (Mont.) (8-5 overall record, 5-2 Frontier, No. 17 in the national poll).

Both games are set to tip off at 6 p.m. (Central Time)/5 p.m. (Mountain Time).

QUICK HITS
*Dakota State returns to action for the first time since Dec. 13 after they defeated (RV) Providence (Mont.) 69-62 on the road in Great Falls, Mont.

*The Trojans continue their six-game road stretch in the Frontier Conference, which began on Dec. 12 at (RV) MSU-Northern.  After this weekend's games in Montana, DSU stays on the road for a pair of games in North Dakota (Bismarck State and Dickinson State).

*Dakota State closed the 2025 calendar year, carrying a nine-game winning streak.  Their nine-game winning streak tied for 10th longest in the DSU women's basketball school record book with the 1978-79 squad.

*The last time DSU faced both Carroll (Mont.) and Rocky Mountain (Mont.) were in the NAIA National Tournament.  The Fighting Saints defeated the Trojans in the NAIA national quarterfinals on March 23, 2024.  The Battlin' Bears defeated DSU in the Round of 32 on March 12, 2022.    

*DSU is 4-0 record on the road this season (15-1 in last 16 road games).
 

Scoring Offense	62.9	84.1	70.5
Scoring Defense	58.4	61.9	65.5
Scoring Margin	4.5	22.2	5.0
Field Goal %	.388	.451	.460
Field Goal Def. %	.407	.349	.370
Free Throw %	.728	.609	.713
Rebounds Per Game	36.2	44.0	38.8
Rebounds Margin	1.0	10.2	7.7
3-point FGs Made Per Game	5.5	10.2	7.7
3-point FG %	.276	.334	.365
Assists Per Game	10.1	18.7	15.4
Blocks Per Game	3.1	4.8	4.4

SCOUTING THE FIGHTING SAINTS
Carroll (Mont.), based in Helena, Mont., ended their 2025 calendar year with a 7-6 overall record and 5-2 record in the Frontier Conference play.  Rachelle Sayers has been the head coach for the Fighting Saints since 2011, taking her 2023-24 squad to the NAIA national semifinals for the first time in program history.

Carroll played a pair of games in the Daytona Beach Classic during their Christmas Break in Florida.  The Fighting Saints fell short in both games by two points, falling to Rochester Christian (Mich.) 62-60 in overtime on Dec. 17 and (RV) William Carey (Miss.) 59-57 on Dec. 18. 

CC had won three times in the last four Frontier Conference contests, earning a season series sweep over Dickinson State (N.D.) on Nov. 21 and Bismarck State (N.D.) on Nov. 22.  Carroll dropped two league games on the road, losing to their traveling partner Rocky Mountain (Mont.) on Nov. 14 and Montana Tech on Dec. 6

Dakota State and Carroll met three times since the 2020-21 season, all on the neutral site floors.  The Trojans and the Saints met in the NAIA National Tournament in the previous two meetings, with CC winning the quarterfinal round 71-56 on March 23, 2024.

DSU defeated CC 82-72 on March 14, 2023, in the Round of 16, paving the way to their first ever NAIA national semifinal appearance in program history after upsetting No. 1 seed Indiana Wesleyan in the national quarterfinals round.  Both teams played in the Cattle Classic on Nov. 6, 2020, in Seward, Neb., won by the Saints 69-65.

SCOUTING THE BATTLIN' BEARS
Wes Keller has been the head coach of the Rocky Mountain, based in Billings, Mont., women's basketball team since the start of the 2014-15 season.  The Battlin' Bears enter this weekend's contests with a No. 17 ranking and 8-5 overall record.  RMC is 5-2 record in the league.

Keller was named 2022 WBCA NAIA National Coach of the Year and two-time Frontier Conference Coach at RMC.  He is the winningest coach in program history in 2024.  

The Battlin' Bears closed their 2025 calendar year by going 1-2 record in Arizona.  RMC opened the trip with a 68-64 setback on the road at Benedictine-Mesa (Ariz.) on Dec. 17.  Rocky Mountain then played a pair of games in the Desert Classic, hosted by Arizona Christian, and went 1-1 record in the tournament.


RMC dropped a 71-46 contest to No. 5 ranked Marian (Ind.) on Dec. 19 and closed the Arizona's trip with an 89-86 thriller over Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) on Dec. 20.

The Battlin' Bears had won the last three Frontier Conference games, including a weekend sweep over Dickinson State (N.D.) on Dec. 12 and Bismarck State (N.D.) on Dec. 13 at home in Billings.

The last time Dakota State and Rocky Mountain met was on March 12, 2022, where they played in the NAIA National Tournament's Second Round in Billings.  The Battlin' Bears used a 30-16 fourth quarter outburst to pull away past the Trojans 89-73.

LAST TIME OUT
Dakota State's (S.D.) last time on the court was on the weekend of Dec. 12-13, where they ventured to the state of Montana for the first time this season.  The Trojans completed their Frontier Conference season series sweep of (RV) MSU-Northern and (RV) Providence (Mont.).

DSU began their Frontier Conference's six-game road stretch on Dec. 12 in Havre, Mont., against the Skylights.  The Trojans erupted for nine straight points on four straight baskets and never trailed in the basketball game.  Dakota State went on to win 73-63 to complete their season series with MSU-N.  DSU used a balanced scoring offense attack with five different players scoring in double digits, led by Hamtyn Heinz with 14 points.  Cierra Watkins and Caitlin Dyer each added 11 points.  Tabor Teel posted a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Ella Carstensen tallied 10 points.

Dakota State closed their 2025 calendar year by holding off the Argos 69-62 in another Frontier Conference contest.  The Trojans also earned their season series sweep of Providence, winning 98-61 at DSU Fieldhouse last November.  DSU used a 41-33 second-half run to pull away past UP, erasing a slim 29-28 halftime deficit.  Watkins led the Trojans with 16 points, while Teel added a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds.  She also had six assists in the game.  Dyer tallied 11 points and Heinz with eight points.  

DSU extended their winning streak to nine games, tying for the tenth longest winning streak in the school record book with the 1978-79 squad.  The Trojans are also the lone Frontier Conference undefeated team with a 7-0 record.

DAKOTA STATE'S BEST START IN PROGRAM HISTORY
Dakota State's 12-1 overall record is the best start in program history since the 1983-84 squad, who finished that season with an overall record of 20-3.  The Trojans earned a pair of undefeated months in October after going 2-0 record and in December with a 5-0 record.  DSU went 5-1 record during the month of November, despite an 86-82 defeat to NAIA's nationally ranked No. 1 and two-time national defending champion Dordt (Iowa) on Nov. 11 at the Sanford Sports Complex in Sioux Falls, S.D.  

The 2025-26 Trojan women's basketball team opened the season with three straight wins, defeating NCAA Division III Minnesota-Morris 76-40, Kansas Wesleyan 81-61, and Bethel (Kan.) 100-75 before falling to the Defenders.  DSU reestablished the winning streak with a 105-57 rout at Bellevue (Neb.) in the Frontier Conference opener, followed by a pair of home conference wins over Providence (Mont.) 98-61 and MSU-Northern 79-61.

Dakota State then closed their non-conference schedule with a pair of wins over the Great Plains Athletic Conference foes, Northwestern (Iowa) 94-67 and No. 14 ranked Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 74-62.  The Trojans finished their season-high six-game home stand with a 92-51 win over Mayville State (N.D.) and 70-59 over Valley City State (N.D.) in the Frontier conference action.

DSU then raised their overall record to 12-1 after the wins in Montana over MSU-Northern 73-63 and Providence 69-62.

The 1983-84 squad, led by Judy Dittman, began their season by recording four straight wins over North Dakota School of Science, Golden Valley (Minn.), Mount Marty (S.D.), and Bismarck Junior College (N.D.).  The Trojans suffered their first setback to Valley City State (N.D.) and began a new winning streak with five consecutive wins over Briar Cliff (Iowa), Worthington (Minn.), Yankton (S.D.), University of South Dakota/Springfield, and Huron (S.D.) before falling to rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) by two points.

Dakota State went on to dominate the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference (SDIC) title, closing the conference season with a 100-60 rout over Black Hills State (S.D.).  The Trojans, who closed the regular-season schedule with a 11-game winning streak and 20-2 overall record, earned a spot in the NAIA District 12 Playoffs and fell to Jamestown (N.D.) 79-68 in Jamestown, N.D.  The 1983-84 team was inducted in the 2005 Dakota State University Athletics Hall of Fame.

SIX-GAME FRONTIER CONFERENCE ROAD STRETCH OVERVIEW
Dakota State is playing their third and fourth games in their season-high Frontier Conference six-game road stretch that began on Dec. 12-13.  The Trojans return to the state of Montana for the second time this season this weekend with a pair of games.

DSU opened their six-game road stretch with a pair of wins over (RV) Montana State University-Northern 73-63 on Dec. 12, followed by a 69-62 win at (RV) Providence (Mont.) on Dec. 13.  The Trojans continue their road action in the league Friday at (24) Carroll (Mont.) and Saturday at (17) Rocky Mountain (Mont.).

Dakota State will close their six-game road stretch next weekend in the state of North Dakota, visiting Bismarck State (N.D.) on Jan. 9 and Dickinson State (N.D.) on Jan. 10.

The Trojans are 4-0 record on the road this season, including a 3-0 road record in Frontier Conference play.  DSU registered a combined 15-1 record on the road since last season.

Dakota State returns home on Jan. 16 to start their Frontier Conference's three-game home stand.  The Trojans host Montana Tech on Jan. 16 in the annual Ag Ball game, Montana Western on Jan. 17 and close their home stand versus DSU's traveling partner Bellevue (Neb.) on Jan. 23.

2025-26 DSU Trojan Women's Basketball Team Leaders

• Points/Points Per Game: Tabor Teel – 200 points (15.4 points per game)
• Field Goal Percentage: Cierra Watkins – 57.1 percent (60-of-105 field goals)
• 3-point Field Goal Percentage: Hamtyn Heinz – 41.8 percent (28-of-67 3-point field goals)
• Free-Throw Percentage: Caitlin Dyer – 75.0 percent (21-of-28 free-throws)
• Rebounds: Tabor Teel – 138 rebounds (10.6 rebounds per game)
• Assists/Assists Per Game: Tabor Teel – 60 assists/4.6 assists per game
• Steals/Steals Per Game: Cierra Watkins – 26 steals/2.0 steals per game
• Blocked Shots: Tabor Teel – 24 blocked shots (1.8 blocks per game)