January 22, 2026

THIS WEEK'S PREVIEW
MADISON, S.D. - The Dakota State University Trojan women's basketball team (16-3 overall record, 11-2 Frontier Conference, No. 7 ranking in the NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 poll) concludes their Frontier Conference's three-game home stand Friday evening.  The Trojans host their traveling partner Bellevue (Neb.) (8-10 overall record, 4-9 Frontier Conference) at DSU Fieldhouse (1302 N. Washington Ave.).

Friday's contest is also the Coaches vs. Cancer contest, helping to raise cancer awareness.  The women's game tips off at 5 p.m.

QUICK HITS
*Dakota State wraps up their Frontier Conference three-game home stand Friday evening versus their traveling partner Bellevue (Neb.).  The game is also part of Coaches vs. Cancer, helping to raise cancer awareness.

*The Trojans are currently on a four-game winning streak since their 93-82 road victory at Bismarck State (N.D.) on Jan. 9.  DSU completed their weekend sweep over No. 12 Montana Tech and Montana Western last weekend.  Bellevue, on the other hand, earned a split after edging UMW 58-57 and falling to MT 73-57.

*DSU erupted for 105 points in the first meeting with Bellevue (Neb.) earlier this season, earning a 105-57 victory at BU Fieldhouse on Nov. 15.  The Trojans had won seven in a row in the series meeting with the Bruins.

*There are nine conference games remaining in the Frontier Conference before the postseason tournament begins on Feb. 27 (through March 2).    

*BU hosted DSU in the previous three meetings (DSU hosted BU on Jan. 4, 2025).

Scoring Offense	63.5	81.3
Scoring Defense	67.8	61.8
Scoring Margin	-4.3	19.5
Field Goal %	.399	.441
Field Goal Def. %	.390	.360
Free Throw %	.702	.624
Rebounds Per Game	37.5	43.1
Rebounds Margin	0.8	6.1
3-point FGs Made Per Game	7.6	10.0
3-point FG %	.343	.326
Assists Per Game	11.6	17.9
Blocks Per Game	3.3	4.3

SCOUTING THE BRUINS
James Benford took over as interim head coach in November of 2025 after nine seasons as an assistant coach on the Bruin coaching staff. Benford played collegiately at Bellevue.

Bellevue began their season by splitting a pair of contests, a home win against College of Saint Mary (Neb.) and a loss at Mount Mercy (Iowa). The Bruins then completed a weekend sweep as the host of the Fairfield Inn & Suites Downtown Classic. Bellevue took down Tabor (Kan.) and Midland (Neb.) to end their non-conference play.

Bellevue dropped their first three games in the new and expanded conference, falling to (5) Dakota State (S.D.), MSU-Northern, and (RV) Providence. The Bruins then bounced back, taking down Valley City State (N.D.) and Mayville State (N.D.) at BU Fieldhouse. Bellevue then dropped their next four conference contests, all to nationally ranked teams.

The Bruins have split their last two weekend conference contests, with wins at Dickinson State (N.D.) and vs. Montana Western, and losses against Bismarck State (N.D.) and (12) Montana Tech.

BU ranks second in the Frontier Conference in 3-point field goal percentage defense, only allowing 28.8 percent from the three-point line. They also rank third in the conference in 3-point field goal percentage offense, shooting 34.7 percent as a team.

Dakota State carries a seven-game winning streak in the series into Friday's contest, including a 13-1 record in the last 14 meetings. DSU leads the all-time series against BU 14-9. 

LAST TIME OUT
Dakota State (S.D.) came home on Jan. 16 from their season-long Frontier Conference six-game road trip last weekend at DSU Fieldhouse.  The Trojans came on top in both games against Montana teams to remain atop in the Frontier Conference.

DSU hosted No. 12 ranked Montana Tech in the battle of the NAIA's Top 15 teams and Frontier Conference's supremacy.  It was also a rematch from last year's NAIA Women's Basketball National Tournament First Round held at DSU Fieldhouse.  DSU held a slim 12-10 lead after the first quarter and extended their lead to 31-20 by halftime.    

Dakota State outscored the Orediggers 29-18 in the third quarter and never trailed in the game for a 73-56 victory.  It was the second straight win for the Trojans in the series meeting over MT (won 81-63 on March 14, 2025, at DSU Fieldhouse).  Tabor Teel and Bria Wasmund each scored 17 points for DSU.  Caitlin Dyer added 11 points.  Mackenzi Simmons scored 10 points off the bench.  Cierra Watkins and Teel each had seven rebounds.  

DSU raced to a 28-12 first quarter lead and never trailed for the rest of the game, rolling past Montana Western 81-62 on Jan. 17.  The Trojans led 47-25 at halftime and led as many as 36 points in the game.  Four players scored in double figures, led by Wasmund with 15 points and dished out six assists.  Teel and Dyer each added 13 points.  Hamtyn Heinz tallied 11 points.  Angelina Chapple and Simmons each had eight points.

TEEL PICKS UP SECOND STRAIGHT FRONTIER CONFERENCE WEEKLY HONORS
Senior forward Tabor Teel picked up her second straight Frontier Conference weekly honor earlier this week for Dakota State.  It was also her fifth time this season that she was honored by the league, her fourth time being named Defensive Player-of-the-Week.

Teel recorded a career-high seven (7) blocks in fueling No. 7 ranked Dakota State to their 73-56 home victory over No. 12 ranked Montana Tech in the battle of NAIA's Top 15 teams.  The Trojans also ended the Orediggers' nine-game losing skid.

Her seven blocks tied for 12th most single-game blocks in the Trojan women's basketball record book.  She averaged 5.5 defensive rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game to help DSU to go 2-0 record for the weekend, including an 81-62 home win over Montana Western.

She scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds versus Montana Tech on Jan. 19.  She followed up with 13 points and seven rebounds versus UMW on Jan. 20.  

Teel is currently No. 19 in Dakota State women's basketball scoring list history with 1,090 points prior to Friday's game.  She is also seventh in the all-time rebounds with 712 rebounds and eighth all-time with 141 blocks.

TROJANS IN THE FRONTIER CONFERENCE RANKS
According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Thursday, Dakota State leads the Frontier Conference in scoring offense with 79.8 points per game in league games.  The Trojans are also third in the Frontier Conference in scoring defense, limiting the opponents to 60.3 points per game.

Dakota State leads the overall Frontier Conference in 3-point field goals made with 190 3-pointers this season.  The Trojans also lead the league with 568 field goals made.

Tabor Teel is second in the league with 10.4 rebounds per game for the Trojans.  She leads the Frontier Conference in total assists with 76 (4.0 assists per game).  She is also second in the conference with 34 total blocks.  Teel averages 15.8 points per game, which is the fourth best scoring average in the league.  She also ranks fifth in the conference with 51.8 field goal percentage.

Cierra Watkins ranks eighth in the Frontier Conference with 2.0 steals per game for DSU.  She is also 10th in the league with 6.5 rebounds per game.  

DSU REMAINS UNDEFEATED AT HOME THIS SEASON
Dakota State remained undefeated at home this season with a 9-0 record at DSU Fieldhouse, as well as one home game held at Madison High School.  The Trojans also are undefeated at home during Frontier Conference play with a 6-0 record.

The Trojans extended their total home wins to 73 victories in the last 78 home games since the 2020-21 season.  DSU is averaging 81.9 points per game at home this season and limiting their opponents to 57.7 points per game.

DSU held their opponents to 33.3 percent from the field (191-of-573 field goals) and 24.2 percent from the 3-point line (32-of-132 3-point field goals).

Dakota State has four Frontier Conference home contests remaining at DSU Fieldhouse.  The Trojans host Rocky Mountain (Mont.), Carroll (Mont.), Dickinson State (N.D.), and Bismarck State (N.D.) during the month of February.

2025-26 DSU Trojan Women's Basketball Team Leaders

• Points/Points Per Game: Tabor Teel – 300 points (15.8 points per game)
• Field Goal Percentage: Cierra Watkins – 57.6 percent (76-of-132 field goals)
• 3-point Field Goal Percentage: Hamtyn Heinz – 37.8 percent (37-of-98 3-point field goals)
• Free-Throw Percentage: Caitlin Dyer – 78.9 percent (30-of-38 free-throws)
• Rebounds: Tabor Teel – 198 rebounds (10.4 rebounds per game)
• Assists/Assists Per Game: Tabor Teel – 76 assists/4.0 assists per game
• Steals/Steals Per Game: Cierra Watkins – 36 steals/1.9 steals per game
• Blocked Shots: Tabor Teel – 34 blocked shots (1.8 blocks per game)