February 18, 2026

THIS WEEK'S PREVIEW
MADISON, S.D. - The Dakota State University Trojan women's basketball team (22-4 overall record, 17-3 Frontier Conference, No. 6 ranking in the NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 poll) plays their final home regular season Frontier Conference contests this weekend.  

The Trojans host Dickinson State (N.D.) (7-17 overall record, 5-15 Frontier Conference) Friday evening.  Construction/Neon is the theme for the basketball game on Friday night, as well as Military Appreciation Night.  

Dakota State welcomes Bismarck State (N.D.) (8-17 overall record, 8-12 Frontier Conference) Saturday night.  Senior Night will be held as the Trojan women's basketball team honors their three seniors - Caitlin Dyer, Brooke Gunderson, and Tabor Teel after the conclusion of the game.

Both games tip off at 5 p.m. on each day at DSU Fieldhouse.

QUICK HITS
*Dakota State returns home for their final regular season contests before their inaugural Frontier Conference Postseason Tournament in Butte, Mont., next weekend.

*The Trojans are 12-0 record at home this season, including an undefeated Frontier Conference home record this season with 9-0 record.  Dickinson State (N.D.) is 2-9 record on the road, while Bismarck State (N.D.) is 2-12 record away from home.

*Dakota State and Bismarck State had secured a spot to the Frontier Conference postseason tournament, which runs for four days from Feb. 27 through March 2 in Butte.  Dickinson State is eliminated from the postseason contention and will end their season at Bellevue (Neb.) Saturday.  

*The Trojans had won the last 22 meetings in the series meeting with Dickinson State.  DSU played their first NAIA meeting with Bismarck State last month.  

*DSU is three of the Frontier Conference teams that are undefeated at home (Montana Tech, Rocky Mountain).
 

Scoring Offense	62.1	79.8	71.2
Scoring Defense	72.8	60.2	81.9
Scoring Margin	-10.7	19.7	-10.6
Field Goal %	.409	.434	.342
Field Goal Def. %	.410	.364	.456
Free Throw %	.785	.644	.719
Rebounds Per Game	34.9	42.2	35.4
Rebounds Margin	-2.6	5.3	-8.4
3-point FGs Made Per Game	6.1	10.1	11.3
3-point FG %	.306	.330	.291
Assists Per Game	1.3	17.3	12.3
Blocks Per Game	2.8	4.1	1.2

SCOUTING THE BLUE HAWKS
Eric Nelson is entering his seventh season as the head women's basketball coach for Dickinson State (N.D.). He led the Blue Hawks to the conference semifinals three times in the past four seasons in the former North Star Athletic Association postseason tournament.

Since the first meeting between the Blue Hawks and Trojans this season, Dickinson State was 3-6 record, with their most recent game being a 72-52 win against Mayville State (N.D.) on Feb. 14.

The Blue Hawks rank first in the Frontier Conference in free throw percentage (78.5 percent) and fifth in field goal percentage (40.9 percent).

The Trojans took the first meeting this year by a score of 90-50 in Dickinson. The Trojans look to earn the season sweep of Dickinson State for the ninth straight season.

The Trojans have scored at least 80 points 18 times in the previous 22 meetings with the Blue Hawks, including seven of the last eight contests.

SCOUTING THE MYSTICS
Bismarck State (N.D.) enters their first-year membership with the NAIA and the Frontier Conference this season.

BSC was a former member of the National Junior College Association (NJCAA) before making their transition to the NAIA during the 2025-26 academic season.

Jason Harris is in his 12th non-consecutive year coaching basketball at Bismarck State. This is his second year leading the Mystic women's basketball team since his return to Bismarck State, where he coached women's basketball and softball from 2014-17. Prior to 2017, Harris served as the head men's basketball coach at Bismarck State.

The Mystics, who are 8-17 overall record and 8-12 record in the Frontier Conference play, are 6-5 at home at BSC Armory, while being 2-12 on the road prior to this weekend's games. Their most recent contest was an 85-79 win against Valley City State (N.D.), clinching the Mystics' berth into the Frontier Conference Tournament next weekend.

BSC are fourth in the Frontier Conference in scoring 71.2 points per contest. They also ranked first in the conference in three-point attempts and made.

Dakota State had faced Bismarck State Junior College in the 1980's.

LAST TIME OUT
No. 6 Dakota State went 1-1 record in their final Montana regular season road trip last weekend, completing their Frontier Conference road record of 8-3.  

After trailing 19-18 at the end of the first quarter at Montana Western on Feb. 13, the Trojans outscored the Bulldogs 26-14 in the second quarter to earn a 44-33 halftime lead.  DSU extended their scoring run by outscoring UMW 20-8 in the third quarter to balloon their lead to 64-41 and never trailed to secure an 81-59 victory.  Dakota State completed their Frontier Conference season series of Montana Western.

Tabor Teel hit her season high 30 points on her 12-of-15 field goals, 4-of-7 3-point field goals and hit a pair of free-throws for DSU.  She added a double-double of 11 rebounds and stole the ball three times.  Bria Wasmund added 13 points and four assists.  Ella Carstensen scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds off the bench.  Caitlin Dyer had five rebounds and five assists.

DSU shot 41.4 percent in the game (29-of-70 field goals) and 13-of-35 from the 3-point line.  UMW was held to 33.8 percent from the field (22-of-65 field goals) and 3-of-16 from the 3-point line.

Dakota State fell to No. 17 Montana Tech on the following day on Feb. 14 in the battle of top two teams in the Frontier Conference.  The Trojans took a 22-13 lead after the first quarter and held a slim 31-30 halftime lead.  Both teams battled back-and-forth in the third quarter with DSU leading 50-48 by the end of the quarter.  The Orediggers outscored the Trojans 30-18 in the final quarter to earn a 78-68 win.

Teel finished the game with 20 points and five rebounds for DSU.  Wasmund added 18 points.  Cierra Watkins scored 11 points and collected four rebounds.  Ella Carstensen had eight points and four rebounds off the bench.  

DSU TO HONOR THREE SENIORS SATURDAY NIGHT
The Dakota State University Trojan women's basketball program will be recognizing their three seniors on Saturday night after the conclusion of the game versus Bismarck State (N.D.).  The three seniors are Brooke Gunderson, Caitlin Dyer, and Tabor Teel.

Gunderson, Dyer, and Teel are integral member of the DSU women's basketball team that had won the North Star Athletic Association regular-season and tournament titles.  They are also members of the DSU women's basketball team that qualified for the NAIA National Tournament, advancing as far as the NAIA national semifinals in 2022-23 (school record of 29 wins).

Gunderson, Dyer, and Teel are part of the Trojan women's basketball team that produced an astounding 42-3 home record at DSU Fieldhouse since the 2022-23 season, a .933 winning percentage.

TROJANS IN THE FRONTIER CONFERENE RANKS
According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Wednesday, Dakota State (S.D.) leads the Frontier Conference in both overall scoring (79.8 points per game) and conference (78.5 points per game).  The Trojans also lead the league in both overall field goals made (765 field goals made) and conference field goals made (575 field goals made).

Defensively, Dakota State ranks third in the Frontier Conference by allowing their opponents to 60.2 points per game.  The Trojans are also third in the league with 58.6 points allowed in 20 league contests.  DSU averages 28.9 defensive rebounds, which ranks second in the conference.    

Tabor Teel ranks second in the Frontier Conference in total assists (97 assists) and total blocks (43 blocks) for DSU.  She is also second in the league with 10.7 rebounds per game and third in scoring with 16.5 points per game.  Teel averages 16.9 points per game in 20 Frontier Conference contests, which is third best in the league.  She is also second in the Frontier Conference with 10.8 rebounds per game during the league games.  

Cierra Watkins records 54.8 percent from the field prior to this weekend's game, ranking her second best field goal percentage in the Frontier Conference.  Teel is fourth with 51.5 percent from the field.  Bria Wasmund ranks fifth in the league with 53 steals. 

2025-26 DSU Trojan Women's Basketball Team Leaders

• Points/Points Per Game: Tabor Teel – 430 points (16.5 points per game)
• Field Goal Percentage: Cierra Watkins – 54.8 percent (103-of-188 field goals)
• 3-point Field Goal Percentage: Caitlin Dyer – 37.8 percent (48-of-127 3-point field goals)
• Free-Throw Percentage: Caitlin Dyer – 75.0 percent (33-of-44 free-throws)
• Rebounds: Tabor Teel – 277 rebounds (10.7 rebounds per game)
• Assists/Assists Per Game: Tabor Teel – 97 assists/3.7 assists per game
• Steals/Steals Per Game: Bria Wasmund – 53 steals/2.0 steals per game
• Blocked Shots: Tabor Teel – 43 blocked shots (1.7 blocks per game)