February 28, 2025

This Week's Preview
MADISON, S.D. (Feb. 28, 2025)—The Dakota State University Trojan women's basketball team (22-4 overall record, 14-1 North Star Athletic Association record, ranked No. 8 in the NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 national poll) begins their postseason play in the North Star Athletic Association tournament Saturday afternoon at DSU Fieldhouse (1302 N. Washington Ave.).

The top-seeded Dakota State welcome No. 5 seed Valley City State (N.D.) (15-13 overall record) in the North Star Athletic Association postseason tournament's semifinals Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.  The theme to the game is Sea of Blue, fans are encouraged to wear DSU's blue color clothing to the game.  NSAA's institutions with valid ID are admitted free to the NSAA postseason contests.  Regular season passes (Trojan Athletics Club, family season passes, etc.) are not honored per North Star's conference postseason policy.

Dakota State closed out their regular season schedule with a pair of victories in North Dakota.  The Trojans defeated Jamestown (N.D.) 73-63 on Feb. 21, followed by a 93-74 victory over Dickinson State (N.D.) on Feb. 22.

Valley City State ended their regular season schedule with a 76-67 win at Mayville State (N.D.) on Feb. 21.  The Vikings opened the NSAA postseason tournament quarterfinals with a 78-76 thriller over No. 4 seed Bellevue (Neb.) at the new Bellevue University Fieldhouse on Feb. 26.

DSU and VCSU met three times during the regular season in the North Star Athletic Association action, with both teams winning on the home court.  The Trojans hold a 2-1 record over the Vikings, including the most recent victory on Feb. 15 at DSU Fieldhouse by the score of 67-66.
 
Up Next:  The North Star Athletic Association postseason tournament championship game is set for Tuesday.  DSU will host the NAIA Women's Basketball National Tournament First and Second Rounds on March 14-15.

This Week's Quick Hits
+ This year will be the final year of the North Star Athletic Association Women's Basketball Postseason Tournament.
+ Dakota State is 9-1 record at DSU Fieldhouse this season, currently on a nine-game home court winning streak, despite opening the home schedule with a 64-54 setback to then No. 5 ranked Concordia (Neb.).
+ The Trojans wrapped up the North Star Athletic Association regular season title for the fifth straight year, compiling an impressive 65-4 record during those five years.
+ Dakota State and Valley City State (N.D.) had only met once in the North Star Athletic Association postseason tournament during the conference's history since 2013-14 season.  They met on Feb. 25, 2015, in Valley City, N.D. in the NSAA conference quarterfinals round.
+ The Trojans and the Vikings met three times during the season, with both teams winning on the home court.  The Trojans won a pair of games at DSU Fieldhouse on Dec. 15 and Feb. 15, while the Vikings earned the victory on Feb. 1 at W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse.
+ Dakota State will be hosting the North Star Athletic Association postseason tournament for the sixth consecutive year since 2019-20. 
+ DSU hosts the North Star's conference semifinals for the third time since 2020-21, as well their second straight year.
 
Noteworthy...
TROJANS RANK NO. 8 IN FINAL NAIA TOP 25 NATIONAL POLL:  Dakota State (S.D.) extended their streak to 10 straight national polls being ranked inside the NAIA's Top 10 on Feb. 26 (since Jan. 31, 2024, edition).  The Trojans remained No. 8 in the NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 national final poll after collecting 409 points, 20 more than the previous national poll. Dordt (Iowa) remained at No. 1 national poll with an overall record of 26-2., followed by Southern Oregon at No. 2 with 518 points.  Campbellsville (Ky.) is third, Indiana Wesleyan fourth, and Briar Cliff (Iowa) and Freed Hardeman (Tenn.) were tied for fifth in the national poll.

TROJANS IN THE NSAA RANKS:  According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Friday, Tabor Teel leads the North Star Athletic Association in rebounds with 8.5 rebounds per game and fifth with 1.0 blocks per game..   She is also ninth in the conference with 13.8 points per game, followed by Angela Slattery 10th with 13.8 points per game.  Bria Wasmund ranks 13th in the league with 11.5 points per game.  Dakota State led both conference scoring offense (76.9 points per game) and scoring defense (64.7 points per game) during the conference season.

DSU IN THE POSTSEASON:  Dakota State had advanced to the North Star Athletic Association postseason's championship game in the past four seasons.  The Trojans are seeking to reclaim their postseason tournament title for the first time since 2021-22 season, despite falling to Mayville State (N.D.) in the past two conference tournament's championship game in 2022-23 and 2023-24 season.  Dakota State is also 2-0 record during the NAIA National Tournament First and Second Rounds postseason action from last season at DSU Fieldhouse.

NSAA TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS OVERVIEW:  Four teams remain in the 2025 North Star Athletic Association Women's Basketball Postseason Tournament on Saturday.  Top-seeded Dakota State (S.D.) hosts No. 5 seed Valley City State (N.D.), while No. 2 seed Mayville State (N.D.) hosts No. 3 seed Jamestown (N.D.) in Mayville, N.D., on Saturday.  Saturday's winners will advance to the championship game on Tuesday evening, with the winner receiving the automatic bid to the nationals.

(8) Trojans complete NSAA's 3-game series sweep
Jamestown, N.D. (Feb. 21, 2025)—Dakota State (S.D.) shot a blazing 61.1 percent from the field in the first ten minutes, using a fast start to defeat Jamestown (N.D.) 73-63 in the North Star Athletic Association at Newman Arena.  The Trojans completed their three-game series sweep of the Jimmies.

Dakota State led 25-13 after the first quarter and held a 34-27 halftime lead.  The Trojans never trailed for the rest of the game, outscoring UJ 19-16 in the third quarter and with both teams scoring 20 points in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.

Angela Slattery paced the Trojans with 18 points on her 7-of-9 field goals, including 4-of-6 from the 3-point line.  She grabbed four rebounds.  Tabor Teel added 14 points and six rebounds.  She stole the ball three times.  Cierra Watkins tallied nine points and three rebounds.  Lilli Mackley had seven points.  Bria Wasmund had a career high nine rebounds and contributed five assists.   

DSU shot 47.5 percent from the field (28-of-59) compared to UJ 44.4 percent (24-of-54).

(8) DSU shakes off slow start, erupts for 93 points in victory
Dickinson, N.D. (Feb. 22, 2025)—Dakota State (S.D.) shook off their slow start after trailing 15-12 in the first quarter.  The Trojans erupted for 81 points in the final three quarters to earn a 93-74 regular season finale victory over Dickinson State (N.D.) at Scott Gymnasium.

The Trojans outscored the Blue Hawks 24-15 in the second quarter to earn a 36-30 halftime lead.  DSU ballooned their lead to 62-53 after three quarters and outscored DiSU 31-21 in the final quarter to secure the victory.

Four Trojan starters scored in double digits, led by Lilli Mackley with 17 points and her 7-of-10 field goals.  She also had five rebounds.  Angela Slattery added 16 points, four rebounds, and three steals.  Bria Wasmund and Cierra Watkins (season-high) each had 15 points and recorded two steals.  Tabor Teel scored seven points and six rebounds.  Kenzi Simmons scored eight points.  Olivia Ritter had seven points.

Dakota State was 46.4 percent overall from the field (32-of-69 field goals) compared to Dickinson State 49.2 percent (31-of-63 field goals).  DSU was 22-of-30 from the free-throw line to DiSU 11-of-20.

Dakota State to host NAIA national tournament
Madison, S.D. (Feb. 27, 2025)—The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced 12 of the 16 host sites for the 2025 NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship First & Second Rounds, presented by Ballogy.  The remaining four host sites for the NAIA Women's Basketball First and Second Rounds will be announced Tuesday with the 64-team field revealing. 

Dakota State will be hosting the national championship at DSU Fieldhouse for the second consecutive year.  The Trojans qualified for the NAIA National Tournament for the past four seasons, reaching the national quarterfinals last season and national semifinals two seasons ago.

The final 64-team field and bracket will be announced Thursday (March 6) at 6 p.m. via on NAIA Network. 

Each First and Second Rounds site will feature four teams, and they will play single elimination on Friday and Saturday, March 14-15.  The winner of the final game will advance to the NAIA Women's Basketball national Championship Final Site in Sioux City, Iowa, which will start on March 20 and conclude with the national championship game on March 25.    Briar Cliff (Iowa), Campbellesville (Ky.), Cumberlands (Ky.), Dordt (Iowa), Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.), Indiana Wesleyan, Langston (Okla.), MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), Southern Oregon, St. Francis (Ind.), and Xavier (La.) will also host.

2024-25 Dakota State Women's Basketball Team Leaders

• Points/Points Per Game:  Angela Slattery - 359 points (13.8 points per game)
• Field Goal Percentage:  Cierra Watkins - 48.8 percent (61-of-125 field goals)
• 3-point Field Goal Percentage:  Hamtyn Heinz - 47.4 percent (18-of-38 3-point field goals)
• Free-Throw Percentage:  Lilli Mackley - 79.2 percent (38-of-48 free-throws)
• Rebounds:  Tabor Teel - 222 rebounds (8.5 rebounds per game)
• Assists/Assists Per Game:  Bria Wasmund - 96 assists (3.7 assists per game)
• Steals/Steals Per Game:  Bria Wasmund - 55 steals (2.1 steals per game)
• Blocked Shots:  Tabor Teel - 27 blocks (1.0 blocks per game)