January 14, 2026

THIS WEEK'S PREVIEW
MADISON, S.D. - The Dakota State University Trojan women's basketball team (14-3 overall record, 9-2 Frontier Conference, No. 7 ranking in the NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 poll) returns home this weekend for the first time since Dec. 6.  The Trojans play their first home games of the 2026 calendar year at DSU Fieldhouse (1302 N. Washington Ave.).

The Trojans host Montana Tech (14-1 overall record, 10-1 Frontier Conference, No. 12 ranking in the NAIA national poll) in the battle of NAIA's Top 15 teams on Friday evening.  The contest is also the 7th annual Ag Ball contest, starting with the meals at 4 p.m.  The women's game tips off at 5 p.m.

DSU hosts Montana Western (7-8 overall record, 5-6 Frontier Conference) Saturday evening at 5 p.m.

This weekend marks the second half of the Frontier Conference schedule, with 11 league contests remaining on their regular season schedule before the postseason tournament in late February and early March in Butte, Mont.

QUICK HITS
*Dakota State returns to DSU Fieldhouse for the first time since Dec. 6, 2025, after their season-high Frontier Conference six-game road stretch.  The Trojans begin their three-game home stand through next Friday.

*Friday's game will mark the third time DSU faced a team ranked in the NAIA's Top 15 (lost to No. 1 Dordt, Iowa, 86-82 on Nov. 11 in Sioux Falls Sanford Pentagon, and defeated No. 14 Dakota Wesleyan, S.D., 74-62 on Dec. 2 at home).

*Montana Tech returns to DSU Fieldhouse for the second straight meet.  DSU hosted MT in the first round of last year's NAIA Women's Basketball National Tournament.

*This weekend kicks off the second half of the Frontier Conference basketball season, where each team has 11 league contests remaining before the conference tournament in Butte, Mont.    

*Dakota State hosts Montana Western for the first time in the series meeting.  They only met once prior to Saturday's meeting in the Cactus Classic in Chandler, Ariz. on Dec. 21, 2021.
 

Scoring Offense	72.7	81.8	64.3
Scoring Defense	54.3	62.2	63.6
Scoring Margin	18.4	19.6	0.6
Field Goal %	.434	.441	.393
Field Goal Def. %	.317	.360	.361
Free Throw %	.713	.623	.670
Rebounds Per Game	45.3	43.1	38.2
Rebounds Margin	11.7	5.7	0.1
3-point FGs Made Per Game	5.7	9.9	7.3
3-point FG %	.315	.322	.328
Assists Per Game	14.5	17.9	13.1
Blocks Per Game	4.3	4.2	3.1

SCOUTING THE OREDIGGERS
Jeff Graham enters his fourth season as the head women's basketball coach for Montana Tech. Under Graham's leadership, the Orediggers have steadily increased their win total each year, culminating last season with the first national tournament appearance for the program in over a decade. 

Montana Tech began their season strong, taking down (15) Southern Oregon and (RV) College of Idaho. The Orediggers carried that momentum to an undefeated record going into conference play. After splitting the first conference road trip, a win at Mayville State (N.D.) and first conference loss at Valley City State (N.D.), the Orediggers have rattled off nine straight wins coming into this weekend.

Montana Tech has defended their home court well this year. The Orediggers are 9-0 at home this year, with wins over nationally ranked Southern Oregon, College of Idaho, Rocky Mountain (Mont.), Carroll (Mont.), Providence (Mont.), and MSU-Northern.

MT ranks third in the Frontier Conference in overall scoring offense with 72.9 points per game.  The Orediggers lead the league in scoring defense with 54.3 points per game.

DSU next meets Montana Tech on Feb. 14, finishing their final conference road trip. Dakota State has won the only previous matchup against Montana Tech, an 81-63 win in the first round of the NAIA Women's Basketball National Tournament last year at DSU Fieldhouse in Madison.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Ryan Sullivan is in his inaugural season as the head women's basketball coach for Montana Western. He previously led the girls' basketball program at Sheridan High School in Sheridan, Wyo., capturing back-to-back state championship appearances and a state title. Sullivan is an alum of Montana Western, graduating with a degree in social science in 2018.

Montana Western began their season with a pair of ranked wins against (15) Southern Oregon and (RV) College of Idaho on Nov 1-2, before dropping a pair of games in the Twin Rivers PT Classic.  The Bulldogs fell to (7) Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) and Eastern Oregon on Nov. 7-8. 

Montana Western won their first two games in the new and expanded conference, defeating Valley City State (N.D.) and Mayville State (N.D.). The Bulldogs then dropped their next three contests against (25) Montana Tech, (16) Carroll, and (15) Rocky Mountain.

UMW closed the month of December by earning the season sweep over Valley City State and Mayville State on Dec. 13-14. The Bulldogs opened the New Year with three straight defeats, falling to Dickinson State (N.D.), Bismarck State (N.D.), and (RV) MSU-Northern. In their most recent contest, the Bulldogs picked up a 60-46 win over (RV) Providence (Mont.).

Montana Western leads the all-time series 1-0, the lone meeting being a 60-56 win over the Trojans in 2021 at the Cactus Classic in Chandler, Ariz.

LAST TIME OUT
Dakota State (S.D.) wrapped up their season-high Frontier Conference six-game road stretch with a pair of victories in North Dakota last weekend, snapping their mini two-game losing skid in Montana on the first weekend of January.

The Trojans visited Bismarck State (N.D.) for the first time in Frontier Conference meeting this season on Jan. 9 at BSC Armory.  DSU took a 24-15 lead after the first quarter and 43-37 by halftime.  Dakota State maintained their lead throughout the second half, earning a 93-82 high scoring affair over the Mystics.

Five DSU players scored in double digits, led by Tabor Teel with a double-double of 23 points (10-of-18 field goals) and 12 rebounds (11 defensive rebounds).  She also dished out three assists in the game.  Caitlin Dyer added 16 points and five rebounds.  Cierra Watkins and Mackenzi Simmons each scored 11 points.  Bria Wasmnd had 10 points, six steals, and five assists.  DSU shot 48.1 percent in the game (37-of-77 field goals) compared to BSC 37.3 percent (28-of-75 field goals).

Dakota State concluded their road trip with a 90-50 rout over Dickinson State (N.D.) on Jan. 10, continuing their dominance of the Blue Hawks by winning their 22nd straight meeting since Jan. 5, 2018.  Holding a slim 37-34 halftime edge, the Trojans used a 34-12 third quarter outburst and rolled to a 90-50 victory.  DSU outscored DiSU 53-16 in the final twenty minutes of the game.

Teel led all scorers with 19 points and added another double-double with 12 rebounds.  She also had five steals and two steals.  Angelina Chapple came off the bench with a career-high 16 points on her 8-of-11 field goals.  She added a career high nine rebounds and a block.  Hamtyn Heinz and Simmons each added nine points.  Watkins and Dyer each chipped in eight points.  Madala Hanson contributed six points and two assists.

TEEL EARNS FOURTH ERCK HOTELS/FRONTIER CONFERENCE WEEKLY HONORS
Senior forward Tabor Teel of Dakota State was chosen as the Erck Hotels/Frontier Conference Women's Basketball Player-of-the-Week for the fourth time this season.  She was named as Offensive Player-of-the-Week.

She continued to be an offensive force as No. 4 ranked Dakota State earned a weekend sweep in North Dakota.  She scored 23 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in Trojans' 93-82 win at Bismarck State (N.D.) on Jan. 9.  She added three assists in the game.  Teel followed up with 19 points, 12 rebounds (5 offensive), and 5 assists in DSU's 90-50 win at Dickinson State (N.D.) on Jan. 10.

She had posted double-double for the 10th and 11th time this season after last weekend's games.

Teel averaged 21.0 points, 4.0 assists, and 3.0 offensive rebounds per game for Dakota State.  She was 18-of-36 from the field (50 percent), including 5-of-11 from the 3-point line.  She currently leads the Frontier Conference with 72 total assists, 16 more assists than the second most assists holder in the league.  

Teel scored 1,060 career points after last weekend's contests, currently 21st on the scoring list in DSU's women's basketball program history.  She surpassed Jennie Sonnie with 1,055 points in 1999-2003, Sara Nelson with 1,029 points from 2003-07, Kennedy Wagner with 1,025 points from 2014-18, and Suzanne Allard with 1,025 points from 1976-80.

TROJANS RANK NO. 7 IN LATEST NAIA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACHES' TOP 25 POLL
Dakota State continues to be in the NAIA's Top 10 as they are ranked No. 7 in the fourth installment of the 2025-26 NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 national poll.  The Trojans tallied 405 points to the national poll.  

Four other Frontier Conference schools are also listed on the NAIA Top 25 or receiving votes.  Montana Tech ranks No. 12 with an overall record of 14-1 and 306 points.  Rocky Mountain (Mont.) fell one spot from No. 17 to No. 18 ranking with 12-5 overall record and 160 points.

Carroll (Mont.) dropped out of the Top 25, listing in the receiving votes section at No. 26 ranking with 92 points.  MSU-Northern also received votes recognition after collecting eight points.

DSU'S HOME COOKING
Dakota State comes home this weekend for the first time since Dec. 6, 2025, when Trojans hosted Valley City State (N.D.).  The Trojans are 7-0 record at home this season, including their season opening victory over NCAA Division III University of Minnesota-Morris at Madison High School.

Dakota State is averaging 83.3 points per game during their seven home contests, while holding their opponents to 57.3 points per game.  The Trojans limited their opponents to 32.6 percent from the field (147-of-451 field goals) and 26.2 from the 3-point line (27-of-103 3-point field goals). 

DSU collected 71 wins in the last 76 home games since 2020-21.  The Trojans had a perfect home record of 12-0 during the 2022-23 season, where the squad reached the historic NAIA national semifinals.

Dakota State plays their three-game home stand in the Frontier Conference action, hosting No. 12 Montana Tech Friday and Montana Western on Saturday.  The Trojans host their traveling partner Bellevue (Neb.) next Friday before heading on the road in North Dakota on the last weekend of January.

2025-26 DSU Trojan Women's Basketball Team Leaders

• Points/Points Per Game: Tabor Teel – 270 points (15.9 points per game)
• Field Goal Percentage: Cierra Watkins – 58.1 percent (75-of-154 field goals)
• 3-point Field Goal Percentage: Hamtyn Heinz – 36.8 percent (32-of-87 3-point field goals)
• Free-Throw Percentage: Caitlin Dyer – 78.9 percent (30-of-38 free-throws)
• Rebounds: Tabor Teel – 184 rebounds (10.8 rebounds per game)
• Assists/Assists Per Game: Tabor Teel – 72 assists/4.2 assists per game
• Steals/Steals Per Game: Cierra Watkins – 34 steals/2.0 steals per game
• Blocked Shots: Tabor Teel – 27 blocked shots (1.6 blocks per game)