November 5, 2026
27TH ANNUAL CATTLE CLASSIC
THE GAMES AT A GLANCE
Date: Friday, November 6, 2026 vs. (2) Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.)
Location: Friedrich Arena / Seward, Neb. |
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| Start Time: 2 p.m. |
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Date: Saturday, November 7, 2026 vs. (10) Concordia (Neb.)
Location: Friedrich Arena / Seward, Neb. |
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| Start Time: 12 p.m. |
THIS WEEK
Dakota State (S.D.) (1-2 overall record, No. 3 in NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 poll) continues their challenging non-conference schedule with a pair of NAIA's Top 10 teams this weekend at Friedrich Arena in Seward, Neb., on the campus of Concordia (Neb.). The Trojans kick off the 27th annual Cattle Classic versus rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) (2-0 overall record, No. 2 in the NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 poll) on Friday at 2 p.m.
DSU then plays the host-team Concordia (Neb.) (2-0 overall record, No. 10 in the NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 poll) on Saturday at 12 p.m.
QUICK HITS
*Dakota State returns to Seward, Neb., for the annual Cattle Classic for the first time since 2024. The Trojans had played in the annual Cattle Classic, hosted by Concordia (Neb.) in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, featuring numerous NAIA Top 25 teams each year.
*DSU begins their stretch of three consecutive games against NAIA's Top 10 teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference. After this weekend's contests, the Trojans face No. 7 ranked Dordt (Iowa) in the annual contest at the Sanford Sports Complex in Sioux Falls, S.D.
*Dakota State's first home game will be on Nov. 21 as they begin their three-game Frontier Conference home stand versus Bellevue (Neb.). DSU will take their Thanksgiving break before returning to action on Dec. 3 versus Dickinson State (N.D.) and Dec. 5 versus Bismarck State (N.D.).
*The Trojans will be playing their third different NAIA conference before preparing for a busy 22-game Frontier Conference schedule. DSU faced teams from the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC), Heart of America Athletic Conference, and the Great Plains Athletic Conference.
2026-27 STATS COMPARISON
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| Scoring Offense |
86.3 |
83.0 |
102.0 |
| Scoring Defense |
66.0 |
52.0 |
55.5 |
| Scoring Margin |
20.3 |
31.0 |
46.5 |
| Field Goal % |
.400 |
.550 |
.424 |
| Field Goal Def. % |
.357 |
.356 |
.420 |
| Free Throw % |
.653 |
.649 |
.895 |
| Rebounds Per Game |
48.0 |
37.5 |
42.0 |
| Rebounds Margin |
8.0 |
21.0 |
8.0 |
| 3-point FGs Made Per Game |
10.7 |
5.0 |
10.0 |
| 3-point FG % |
.274 |
.303 |
.233 |
| Assists Per Game |
15.3 |
26.5 |
24.0 |
| Blocks Per Game |
2.0 |
4.0 |
2.5 |
ABOUT DAKOTA WESLEYAN
No. 2 Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) enters the Cattle Classic with a 2-0 record under 17th-year head coach Jason Christensen. The Tigers are coming off a 29-7 season in 2025-26, when they won the GPAC postseason tournament and advanced to the NAIA National Championship semifinals. Dakota Wesleyan returns a veteran core from that team and opened the 2026-27 season as the No. 2 ranked team in the country.
The Tigers are led by returning First Team All-GPAC selections Avery Broughton and Emma Yost. Broughton averaged 14.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game last season and was named the GPAC Defensive Player of the Year, while Yost averaged a team-high 15.1 points per game. Dakota Wesleyan graduated standout guard Rylee Rosenquist but returns much of the core that helped the Tigers reach the national semifinals.
Dakota State had won three times in the last four meetings with Dakota Wesleyan. The Trojans defeated the Tigers 74-62 in Mitchell during the 2024-25 season before earning another 74-62 victory in Madison last season. Friday's matchup will be the first meeting between the programs at the Cattle Classic, the first neutral site match up since Nov. 2, 2019, when both teams played at the Sanford Sports Complex in Sioux Falls, S.D.
ABOUT CONCORDIA
No. 10 Concordia (Neb.) enters the weekend with a 2-0 record under 21st-year head coach Drew Olson. The Bulldogs finished 23-8 overall and 17-5 in Great Plains Athletic Conference play last season, earning another trip to the NAIA National Tournament. Olson entered the season with a 507-163 career record and has guided Concordia to 17 national tournament appearances, 12 GPAC regular-season or tournament championships and the 2019 NAIA national championship.
Concordia opened the season with dominant victories over Valley City State (N.D.) and William Penn (Iowa), defeating the Vikings 112-69 before rolling past the Statesmen 92-42. The Bulldogs return four starters from last season, including Second Team All-GPAC guard Ayla Roth, who averaged 11.0 points per game and made 51 3-pointers as a freshman. Bree Bunting, Sammy Leu and Raelyn Kelty also return to an experienced Concordia lineup.
The Bulldogs forced an average of 26.2 turnovers per game last season and again feature an aggressive, up-tempo defensive style. Concordia returns the bulk of a roster that won 23 games last season and entered 2026-27 ranked No. 10 in the NAIA preseason poll.
Dakota State and Concordia met during the 2024-25 season at the DSU Fieldhouse, where the Bulldogs earned a 64-54 victory. Saturday's match up will take place on Concordia's home floor at Friedrich Arena as part of the 27th annual Cattle Classic. Both teams played each other in the past Cattle Classic in November 2020, 2021, and 2022.
LAST TIME OUT
No. 3 Dakota State (S.D.) dropped an 83-75 non-conference contest at Grand View (Iowa) on Oct. 31 in a rematch of last season's NAIA Women's Basketball National Tournament First Round. The Trojans fell to 1-2 overall despite rallying from a 14-point first-quarter deficit.
Grand View jumped out to a 21-7 advantage after Dakota State shot 17.6 percent from the field in the opening quarter. The Trojans responded by outscoring the Vikings 17-9 in the second period, trimming the deficit to 30-24 at halftime.
Mackenzi Simmons helped fuel the comeback with three 3-pointers in the third quarter as DSU pulled within four points on multiple occasions.
Dakota State continued to cut into the deficit during the fourth quarter.
Bria Wasmund scored 14 points in the final period, while
Caitlin Dyer knocked down a 3-pointer with 5:25 remaining to pull the Trojans within 60-58. Grand View answered down the stretch and converted its opportunities at the free-throw line to secure the victory.
Wasmund led Dakota State with 21 points and three steals, while Simmons scored 14 points off the bench with four 3-pointers.
Cierra Watkins grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. DSU shot 36 percent from the field and 25 percent from beyond the arc, while Grand View shot 42.1 percent overall and 46.7 percent from 3-point range. The Trojans forced 21 turnovers and recorded 11 steals but were outrebounded 41-35.
TROJANS' CHALLENGING SCHEDULE
Dakota State continues one of the most demanding portions of its non-conference schedule this weekend at the Cattle Classic in Seward, Neb. The No. 3 Trojans face No. 2 Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) Friday at 2 p.m. before meeting No. 10 Concordia (Neb.) Saturday at noon. Both opponents qualified for last season's NAIA National Tournament, with Dakota Wesleyan advancing to the national semifinals.
The challenging stretch continues Nov. 10 when Dakota State faces No. 7 Dordt (Iowa) at the Sanford Sports Complex in Sioux Falls. The Trojans faced the Defenders twice last season, including an 83-69 loss in the NAIA national semifinals. Dordt went on to finish as the national runner-up.
Dakota State begins its 22-game Frontier Conference schedule Nov. 21 against Bellevue (Neb.) at the DSU Fieldhouse. The Trojans will play 11 home and 11 road conference contests before the Frontier Conference postseason tournament Feb. 27-March 1 in Butte, Mont.
ABOUT CATTLE CLASSIC
Concordia University (Neb.) is set to host the 27th annual Cattle Classic on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6-7, at Friedrich Arena in Seward, Neb. The two-day event features an outstanding field of four nationally ranked NAIA women's basketball teams, including No. 2 Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.), No. 3 Dakota State (S.D.), No. 10 Concordia (Neb.) and No. 16 Montana Tech.
The Cattle Classic features four women's basketball games, highlighted by a matchup between two of last season's NAIA national semifinalists, Dakota Wesleyan and Dakota State, on Friday afternoon. The Trojans will face the second-ranked Tigers at 2 p.m. before taking on tournament host Concordia at noon Saturday.
Beyond the basketball competition, the Cattle Classic serves as an annual charitable event supporting the Blue Valley Community Action Food Pantry and other local food pantries. The event is co-sponsored by Concordia University and Cattle Bank & Trust. Last year's event collected 12,627 cans of food and $3,174 in monetary donations.
TROJANS IN THE FRONTIER CONFERENCE RANKS
According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Thursday, Dakota State leads the Frontier Conference with 86.3 points per game this season. The Trojans are second in the league with 32 3-point field goals made and third in field goals made with 90 field goals.
DSU ranks third in the Frontier Conference in scoring defense, allowing their opponents to 66.0 points per game. The Trojans are second in the league with 48.0 rebounds per game, as well as in rebounds margin with plus-8 rebounds margin.
Bria Wasmund ranks third in the Frontier Conference with 19.0 points per game for Dakota State. She also ties third for most assists with 11 assists and ties for fourth most steals with eight steals.
Cierra Watkins ties for seventh most rebounds in the league, averaging 7.7 rebounds per game.
Angelina Chapple ties for fifth most blocked shots in the conference, registering three blocks prior to this weekend's games.
2026-27 DSU Trojan Women's Basketball Team Leaders
- Points/Points Per Game: Bria Wasmund – 57 points (19.0 points per game)
- Field Goal Percentage: Caitlin Dyer – 54.5 percent (12-of-22 field goals)
- 3-point Field Goal Percentage: Hamtyn Heinz – 38.9 percent (7-of-18 3-point field goals)
- Free-Throw Percentage: Mackenzi Simmons – 100.0 percent (6-of-6 free-throws)
- Rebounds: Cierra Watkins – 23 rebounds (7.7 rebounds per game)
- Assists/Assists Per Game: Bria Wasmund – 11 assists/3.7 assists per game
- Steals/Steals Per Game: Bria Wasmund – 8 steals/2.7 steals per game
- Blocked Shots: Angelina Chapple – 3 blocked shots (1.0 blocks per game)
