February 6, 2025

This Week's Preview
MADISON, S.D. (Feb. 6, 2025)—The Dakota State University Trojan women's basketball team (17-4 overall record, 9-1 North Star Athletic Association record, ranked No. 6 in the NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 national poll) concludes their three-game road trip in the North Star Athletic Association action.  The NSAA conference is starting their third round robin of contests, with five games remaining on their regular-season schedule.

The North Star Athletic Association's leader Trojans return to Gordon Lozier Athletic Center (1000 Galvin Road South) for the second time on Friday evening, visiting Bellevue (Neb.) (12-10 overall record, 4-6 NSAA conference record).  The game is set for 5:30 p.m. in Bellevue, Neb.   Both teams are traveling partners in the North Star Athletic Association.

Dakota State extended their winning streak to 15 games after their 83-60 road victory at Mayville State (N.D.) on Jan. 31 at Lewy Lee Fieldhouse.  The Trojans' winning streak came to an end on Feb. 1 as they fell to Valley City State (N.D.) at W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse by the score of 75-61.

Bellevue also splits their two road contests in North Dakota last weekend.  The Bruins held on to defeat Valley City State by the score of 60-50 on Jan. 31.  Mayville State earned an 84-73 victory over Bellevue on Feb. 1.  BU is currently in a tie for fourth place in the conference standings with VCSU at 4-6 conference record each, owning a tiebreaker over the Vikings if both teams are tied after the regular season finale on Feb. 22.
 
Up Next:  Dakota State returns home for their final two home regular season contests at DSU Fieldhouse next weekend.  The Trojans host Mayville State (N.D.) in the annual Ag Ball contest on Feb. 14 with a 5:30 p.m. tip-off, followed by another NSAA contest on Feb. 15 versus Valley City State (N.D.) at 3 p.m. during Senior Night.

This Week's Quick Hits
+ Dakota State (S.D.) won the first two NSAA conference meetings with Bellevue (Neb.) prior to Friday's contest in Bellevue.  The Trojans won the first contest 67-59 on Jan. 4 at DSU Fieldhouse and held on to a 69-66 victory at Gordon Lozier Athletic Center on Jan. 17.
+ Both DSU and BU are starting their third round robin action on Friday.  They have five games remaining on their regular-season schedule, including Friday's contest in Bellevue.
+ The Trojans had won 11 times in the last 12 meetings with the Bruins, including five straight meetings since Feb. 16, 2023.
+ Dakota State posted the largest margin of victory over Bellevue 81-32 on Feb. 7, 2024, at DSU Fieldhouse.
+ DSU is 8-1 record on the road this season, while BU is 8-5 record at home.
+ Dakota State have three road contests and two home contests remaining on their regular-season schedule.  The top two teams in the North Star Athletic Association standings will receive the first round bye in the conference postseason tournament, which the quarterfinals round set for Wednesday, Feb. 26.
+ The Trojans are seeking for their double digit wins in the conference play for the sixth consecutive season since 2019-20 season (10-4 in 2019-20, 14-0 in 2020-21, 13-1 in 2021-22, 13-1 in 2022-23, and 11-1 in 2023-24).
+ DSU is playing their second three-game road trip in the NSAA conference, with both times ending at Bellevue.

Noteworthy...
INSIDE DSU'S 15-GAME WINNING STREAK:  Dakota State (S.D.) tied the second longest winning streak in school history with 15 consecutive wins, starting on Nov. 16, 2024, with a 101-63 rout and continued until Jan. 31, 2025, when the Trojans defeated Mayville State (N.D.) 83-60 on the road.  During DSU's 15-game winning streak, the Trojans racked up 1,191 points (79.4 points per game) and held their opponents to 927 points (61.8 points per game).  DSU shot 42 percent from the field during the winning streak (426-of-1014 field goals) and held the opponents to 39.8 percent from the field (351-of-882 field goals).  DSU also averaged 15.9 assists per game during the winning streak and held a plus 5.6 rebounds average margin.

REMAINING GAMES:  Each North Star Athletic Association members have five games remaining on their 2024-25 schedule.  They will start their third round robin action in the league this weekend.  The North Star Athletic Association postseason tournament begins on Wednesday, Feb. 26 in the quarterfinals, with the top two seeds receiving the first round bye.  The NSAA semifinals are set for Saturday, March 1, with the winners advancing to the NSAA championship game on Tuesday, March 1.  The winner of the NSAA postseason tournament receive the league's automatic bid to the national tournament.

UPCOMING HOME EVENTS:  Dakota State plays their final two home regular-season games at DSU Fieldhouse next weekend.  The DSU Athletics department will be hosting their annual Ag Ball contest on Valentine's Day (Feb. 14) versus Mayville State (N.D.).   The Trojans play their final home regular season contest on Saturday, Feb. 15, with four seniors—Kristine Biniek, Lilli Mackley, Tia Murray, Olivia Ritter, and Angela Slattery—to be honored after the completion of the women's basketball game versus Valley City State (N.D.).  Stay tuned on dsuathletics.com for more information on the postseason action.

2024-25 DAKOTA STATE JUNIOR VARSITY TEAM UPDATES:  The 2024-25 Dakota State University Trojan women's basketball junior varsity team's scheduled contest at rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) on Feb. 3 had been cancelled.  The Trojans, at 6-4 overall record return to action Monday evening at Morningside (Iowa) and return home Tuesday versus Mount Marty (S.D.).  DSU closes out their season on Monday, Feb. 17 as they host Morningside at DSU Fieldhouse.

(6) Trojans roll to 15th straight win at (RV) MSU
Mayville, N.D. (Jan. 31, 2025)—NAIA's No. 6 Dakota State (S.D.) continued their dominance in the North Star Athletic Association, rolling to an 83-60 road victory over (RV) Mayville State (N.D.) at Lewy Lee Fieldhouse.  The 15-game winning streak tied for the second best with the 2022-23 team.

Leading 21-18 after the first quarter, the Trojans exploded in the second quarter with a 22-10 outburst to balloon their lead to 43-28 by halftime.  DSU outscored MSU 22-18 in the third quarter and never trailed for the victory.  The Trojans earned their biggest lead of the game at 82-54 with 3:09 remaining.

DSU used a balanced scoring attack, led by Angela Slattery with 16 points.  She had five rebounds and three steals.  Cierra Watkins added 12 points, two assists, and two steals.  Angelina Chapple tallied a career-high 10 points off the bench.  Bria Wasmund, Lilli Mackley, and Hamtyn Heinz each had nine points.

Dakota State shot 44.1 percent from the field (30-of-68 field goals) and 14-of-39 from the 3-point line.  Mayville State was held to 36.5 percent from the field (23-of-63 field goals) and 4-of-23 3-pointers.

Vikings snap (6) DSU's winning streak in NSAA action
Valley City, N.D. (Feb. 1, 2025)—Valley City State (N.D.) used a fast first quarter start by shooting 71.4 percent from the field for a 22-9 lead and never trailed for the rest of the game, ending No. 6 Dakota State's (S.D.) winning streak with a 75-61 victory at W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse.

The Vikings held the Trojans to 28.6 percent from the field in the first quarter.  VCSU outscored DSU 22-21 in the second quarter to take a 44-30 halftime lead. Valley City State led 62-49 after three quarters.  The Trojans could get no closer than eight points at 69-61 with 2:16 left.  VCSU closed the game with a 6-0 run to secure the victory.

Angela Slattery led the Trojans with 13 points and three assists.  Bria Wasmund and Tabor Teel each added 12 points.  Teel grabbed eight rebounds and registered a block.  Lilli Mackley had ten points and nine rebounds.  Cierra Watkins and Kenzi Simmons each had five points.  Simmons stole the ball three times.

Dakota State shot 35.4 percent overall from the field (23-of-65 field goals) compared to Valley City State 59.2 percent (29-of-49 field goals). 

Trojans in the NSAA conference ranks
Madison, S.D. (Feb. 6, 2025)—According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Thursday, Dakota State (S.D.) leads the North Star Athletic Association in scoring offense during conference play.  The Trojans average 76.2 points per game in nine league contests.  DSU also leads the conference in scoring defense, holding the opponents to 63.1 points per game.

Dakota State leads the NSAA conference with 15.3 assists per game in the league.  The Trojans lead the league in rebounds margin with plus-4.1 rebounds per game. 

DSU leads the conference with 107 3-point field goals made in the conference contests this season.  The Trojans also lead the North Star with 265 field goals made during the conference season.

Tabor Teel of Dakota State leads the overall North Star Athletic Association with 8.2 rebounds per game. Hamtyn Heinz also leads the conference in 3-point field goal percentage of 53.3 percent (16-of-30 3-point field goals).

Angela Slattery ranks eighth in the NSAA conference with 13.3 points per game, while Teel ranks tenth with 12.9 points per game.  Slattery ranks ninth in the conference with 5.8 rebounds per game.  Bria Wasmund follows up with 11.8 points per game, which is 12th in the conference.  Kenzi Simmons ranks 18th with 9.1 points per game.  Wasmund averages 3.6 assists per game, ranking her third in the league.

2024-25 Dakota State Women's Basketball Team Leaders

• Points/Points Per Game:  Angela Slattery - 279 points (13.3 points per game)
• Field Goal Percentage:  Tabor Teel - 46.3 percent (101-of-218 field goals)
• 3-point Field Goal Percentage:  Hamtyn Heinz - 53.3 percent (16-of-30 3-point field goals)
• Free-Throw Percentage:  Lilli Mackley - 77.3 percent (34-of-44 free-throws)
• Rebounds:  Tabor Teel - 173 rebounds (8.2 rebounds per game)
• Assists/Assists Per Game:  Bria Wasmund - 76 assists (3.6 assists per game)
• Steals/Steals Per Game:  Bria Wasmund - 43 steals (2.0 steals per game)
• Blocked Shots:  Tabor Teel - 19 blocks (0.9 blocks per game)