February 26, 2026

THIS WEEK'S PREVIEW
MADISON, S.D. - The Dakota State University Trojan women's basketball team (22-4 overall record, 19-3 Frontier Conference, No. 7 ranking in the NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 poll) prepares for the postseason action in the four-day Frontier Conference Women's Basketball Postseason Tournament at Butte Civic Center (1340 Harrison Ave.) in Butte, Mont.

The top-seeded Trojans open their quarterfinal action versus No. 8 seed Bismarck State (N.D.) (9-18 overall record, 9-13 Frontier Conference record) Friday afternoon at 1 p.m. (Central Time)/12 p.m. (Mountain Time).  The tournament continues with the semifinals round on Sunday and the championship game on Monday evening at 6 p.m. (Central Time)/5 p.m. (Mountain Time).

Dakota State had secured an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament after winning the Frontier Conference regular-season outright title.  

QUICK HITS
*Dakota State is seeking to advance to the conference postseason tournament's championship game for the sixth straight year.  The Trojans had advanced to the North Star Athletic Association tournament's championship game for the past five seasons, including winning the postseason title last season over Jamestown (N.D.).

*Friday's quarterfinals round contests will feature a pair of games that had already played last Saturday, including Dakota State-Bismarck State (N.D.) and Montana Tech-Providence (Mont.).

*Dakota State's 19 conference wins in a single season is a single-season school record for most conference wins.    

*This year's Frontier Conference postseason tournament is being held in Butte, Mont.  This is the first time that the Trojans played a conference tournament in the state of Montana.

*The last time Dakota State played in the state of Montana during the postseason play was in Billings, Mont., when Rocky Mountain (Mont.) hosted DSU, Hope International (Calif.), and Reinhardt (Ga.) in 2021-22.
 

Scoring Offense	81.4	70.9
Scoring Defense	60.1	82.6
Scoring Margin	21.3	-11.7
Field Goal %	.438	.341
Field Goal Def. %	.361	.457
Free Throw %	.646	.721
Rebounds Per Game	42.8	36.0
Rebounds Margin	5.3	-8.0
3-point FGs Made Per Game	10.3	11.0
3-point FG %	.329	.283
Assists Per Game	17.7	12.1
Blocks Per Game	4.1	1.2

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 9-18 overall record and 9-13 record in the Frontier Conference play, are 6-5 at home at BSC Armory, while being 3-13 on the road prior to this weekend's game. Their most recent contest was a defeat to Dakota State, where the Trojans racked up the second most single game points with 117 points at DSU Fieldhouse on Feb. 21. This will be the first ever Frontier Conference Postseason Tournament game for both programs.

The Mystics are fifth in the Frontier Conference in scoring at 70.9 points per contest. They also rank first in the conference in three-point attempts and made.

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

SCOUTING THE FRONTIER POSTSEASON
This will be the first Frontier Conference Basketball Postseason Tournament to be held at the neutral sites with 16 total teams - eight women's teams and eight men's teams.  The four-day postseason tournament takes place at Butte, Mont., hosted by Montana Tech.

The top bracket of the Frontier Women's Basketball Postseason Tournament features top-seeded Dakota State (S.D.) facing No. 8 seed Bismarck State (N.D.).  No. 4 seed Rocky Mountain (Mont.) plays No. 5 seed MSU-Northern.  

The bottom bracket of the conference postseason tournament includes No. 2 seed Montana Tech versus No. 7 seed Providence (Mont.).  No. 3 seed Carroll (Mont.) faces No. 6 seed Montana Western.

The Frontier semifinals take place Sunday afternoon, with the championship game on Monday evening.  The Frontier's second automatic bid will go to the postseason tournament's winner.

LAST TIME OUT
Dakota State (S.D.) closed their regular season home schedule undefeated after going 2-0 record in their regular-season finale last weekend at DSU Fieldhouse.  The Trojans raised their home court record to 14-0, marking the second time during head coach David Moe's coaching era that Dakota State finished their regular season with an undefeated home record (2022-23 season - 12-0 record, 11-0 in the regular season home court record and 1-0 postseason home record).

Dakota State continued their dominance of Dickinson State (N.D.), rolling to their 23rd consecutive victory in the series meeting after their 85-63 victory at DSU Fieldhouse on Feb. 20.  It was the ninth straight season that the Trojans earned their season series sweep of the Blue Hawks.

DSU led 28-23 after a high scoring first quarter affair and held a 46-39 halftime lead.  The Trojans used a dominant third quarter defensive effort, holding Dickinson State to four points to secure the victory.  Four players scored in double digits, highlighted by Tabor Teel with a double double of 17 points and 12 rebounds.  She also had three assists and three blocks.  Bria Wasmund had 17 points, five assists, and five steals.  Cierra Watkins had 12 points and eight rebounds.

Ella Carstensen scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds for DSU.  Hamtyn Heinz had nine points, Caitlin Dyer with six points and three steals, and Angelina Chapple had five points and seven rebounds.

Dakota State erupted for a season-high 117 points on Senior Day, rolling past Bismarck State (N.D.) 117-56 to clinch the Frontier Conference Women's Basketball regular season outright title and a trip to the national tournament.  The Trojans raced to a 29-11 lead after the first quarter and ballooned their lead to 59-31 by halftime.  DSU outscored BSC 35-14 in the third quarter and 23-11 in the final quarter.

Teel poured in 28 points on her 12-of-20 field goals and added eight rebounds.  She broke the single season school record held by Julie Fiegen with 283 rebounds in 1985-86 (Teel currently holds the single season record of 297 rebounds).  Teel contributed seven assists.  Mackenzi Simmons added a season high 18 points (7-of-8 field goals, 4-of-5 3-pointers), while Carstensen had 15 points and eight rebounds.  Wakins tallied 10 points and eight points.  Wasmund had 10 points and six assists.

Dakota State shot 53.4 percent from the field (47-of-88 field goals) and held Bismarck State to 26.3 percent from the field (20-of-76 3-pointers).  The Trojans were 15-of-42 from the 3-point line and limited the Mystics to 4-of-43 3-pointers (9.3 percent).

DAKOTA STATE RANKS NO. 7 IN FINAL NAIA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TOP 25 POLL
Dakota State (S.D.) and Saint Francis (Ind.) switched places at No. 6 and No. 7 when the NAIA national office announced their final edition of the Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 national poll.  Dordt (Iowa) remained at No. 1, while the Top 10 remained largely the same.  The Cougars tallied 435 points to take the No. 6 ranking with an overall record of 25-3, followed by the Trojans at No. 7 ranking with 428 points.

Dakota State has put together a stellar season, with an overall record of 24-4 with a perfect 14-0 record at home.  The Trojans have been powered by senior Tabor Teel, a consistent force inside with 475 points on 51.4 percent field goal shooting, while juniors Caitlin Dyer and Bria Wasmund anchor a potent perimeter attack, combining for over 600 points and more than 100 made threes.

DSU's balance continues with efficient scoring from Cierra Watkins and valuable contributions off the bench from Ella Carstensen and Mackenzi Simmons.  The Trojans posted several explosive offensive outings-topping 100 points multiple times-and showed resilience against a demanding schedule that included close contests with nationally ranked opponents.   

Their ability to defend the home floor flawlessly, combined with a strong 9-4 road record, highlights the team's poise and consistency.

TROJANS WIN SIXTH STRAIGHT CONFERENCE TITLE, TRIP TO NAIA NATIONAL TOURNAMENT
Dakota State earned their sixth straight conference regular season titles after winning the Frontier Conference regular season outright after their 117-56 rout over Bismarck State (N.D.) on Feb. 21.  The Trojans extended their consecutive streak of conference titles to six straight years, the first time since the 1980's when Dakota State won eight consecutive conference titles in the former South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference (SDIC).

Prior to winning the inaugural Frontier Conference this season, Dakota State won five consecutive North Star Athletic Association before the conference folded last season.  It is the first time since the 2000's decade that the Trojans earned their automatic bid to the NAIA national tournament after winning the regular season title (former Dakota Athletic Conference-10). 

The NAIA Selection Show for women's basketball national tournament is scheduled for Thursday, March 5 at 7 p.m. via NAIA's YouTube page.  The NAIA National office will announce the 16 host sites to the NAIA Women's Basketball National Tournament on Monday.

DSU hosted the NAIA Women's Basketball National Tournament First and Second Rounds for the past two seasons at DSU Fieldhouse.

2025-26 DSU Trojan Women's Basketball Team Leaders

• Points/Points Per Game: Tabor Teel – 475 points (17.0 points per game)
• Field Goal Percentage: Cierra Watkins – 55.9 percent (113-of-202 field goals)
• 3-point Field Goal Percentage: Caitlin Dyer – 37.9 percent (53-of-140 3-point field goals)
• Free-Throw Percentage: Caitlin Dyer – 75.0 percent (33-of-44 free-throws)
• Rebounds: Tabor Teel – 297 rebounds (10.6 rebounds per game)
• Assists/Assists Per Game: Tabor Teel – 107 assists/3.8 assists per game
• Steals/Steals Per Game: Bria Wasmund – 59 steals/2.1 steals per game
• Blocked Shots: Tabor Teel – 46 blocked shots (1.6 blocks per game)