January 31, 2025

MAYVILLE, N.D. – NAIA's No. 6 Dakota State (S.D.) continued their dominance in the North Star Athletic Association Women's Basketball Friday evening, rolling to an 83-60 road victory at Lewy Lee Fieldhouse.  The Trojans extended their winning streak to 15 games, tying for the second-best winning streak in the school record book with the 2022-23 squad.

Dakota State raised their overall record to 17-3 and stayed undefeated in the North Star Athletic Association action with a 9-0 record.  Mayville State, receiving votes in the latest edition of the national poll, dropped their third conference contest in the previous four games.  The Comets fell to 14-7 overall record and 4-5 NSAA conference record.

The Trojans had won both meetings with the Comets by 20-plus points.  Both teams will meet for the third time on Feb. 14 as part of the annual Ag Ball contest at DSU Fieldhouse.  DSU also remained undefeated on the road this season (7-0 road record).  The Trojans earned their first win at Lewy Lee Fieldhouse since Jan. 13, 2023, where DSU edged MSU 58-56 in overtime thriller.

Dakota State continues their action Saturday afternoon, visiting Valley City State (N.D.) in another North Star match-up.  The game is set for 3 p.m. at W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse in Valley City, N.D.

(6) Dakota State (S.D.) 83, (RV) Mayville State (N.D.) 60 – FINAL

After a closely tight first quarter at 14-13, Bria Wasmund sparked a 7-0 Trojans scoring run with back-to-back 3-pointers.  Tabor Teel capped the scoring run with a free throw as DSU ballooned their lead to 21-13 with 3:46 to go in the first period.

Mayville State would close the first quarter with a 5-0 run in the final 3:20, trimming Dakota State's lead to 21-18.  Both teams could not score in the final three minutes of the first period.

MSU extended their scoring run to 7-0 to start the second quarter after a basket by Alex Page (DSU led 21-20 with 9:14 on the clock).  The Trojans scored the next five points to widen their lead to 26-20 after a 3-pointer from Wasmund with 8:06 to go before halftime (assisted by Olivia Ritter).

Mayville State could get no closer than four points at 26-22 with 7:15 left in the second quarter after a layup from Annika Reierson.

Cierra Watkins drained a 3-pointer (assisted by Teel) to fuel DSU's 17-6 run in the final 7:05, widening their lead to 43-28 by halftime. 

Dakota State outscored Mayville State 22-10 in the second quarter, thanks to their 53.3 percent field goal shooting (8-of-15 field goals).  MSU was held to 30.8 percent (4-of-13 field goals) in the second period.

The Trojans maintained their double-digit lead for the rest of the game, leading as many as 22 points in the third quarter (55-33 with less than six minutes to go after Lilli Mackley's layup).

Watkins closed the third quarter with a layup to give DSU a 65-46 lead after three quarters.

Dakota State posted the largest lead of the game at 82-54 with 3:09 remaining as Angelina Chapple make a layup.

DSU outscored MSU 18-14 in the final quarter.

Dakota State used a balanced scoring attack, led by Angela Slattery with 16 points.  She was 6-of-10 from the field.  She also grabbed five rebounds and stole the ball three times.  Watkins added 12 points on her 5-of-8 field goals.  She had two assists and two steals.

Chapple scored 10 points and collected four rebounds off the bench for the Trojans.  Wasmund, Mackley, and Hamtyn Heinz each scored nine points.  Mackley pulled down eight rebounds, registered two blocks, and contributed four assists.  Teel had six rebounds and five assists. 

Page scored 27 points on her 11-of-21 field goals and recorded six rebounds for Mayville State.  Mackenzie Hughes added 11 rebounds and six assists.  Misti Zempel had seven points and seven rebounds.  Jes Mertens tallied four assists. 

Dakota State shot 44.1 percent overall from the field (30-of-68 field goals), 14-of-39 from the 3-point line (35.9 percent), and converted 9-of-15 free throws.  Mayville State was held to 36.5 percent from the field (23-of-63 field goals), 4-of-23 3-pointers, and hit 10-of-11 free throws. 

DSU outrebounded MSU 44-37.  The Trojans outscored the Comets 32-17 in bench points.