New look BU Women picked third in NSAA Preseason Coaches' Poll

NSAA Release
2023-24 Roster
2023-24 Schedule

BISMARK, N.D. -- The Bellevue University women's basketball team has been picked to finish third in the North Star Athletic Association regular season in a vote of the NSAA's seven head women's basketball coaches.

Dakota State edged out Mayville State by one point to claim the top spot in the preseason poll, announced by the conference office Monday.

The Trojans collected four first-place votes and 46 points in the poll. MSU was second with three first-place votes and 45 points.

Dakota State won its third straight North Star Athletic Association regular-season title last season. Mayville State defeated the Trojans in the postseason tournament's championship game. Both teams qualified for the NAIA Women's Basketball National Tournament.

The Trojans were the first North Star Athletic Association member to advance to the NAIA Women's Basketball National Tournament's semifinal game, finishing their 2023-24 season with an overall record of 29-7 and 13-1 record in the NSAA. Dakota State fell short to the eventual national champion Clarke (Iowa) 79-60 in the national semifinals.

Mayville State finished with a 24-6 overall record and a 12-2 league mark in 2022-23. The Comets earned the North Star's automatic bid to the national tournament, defeating Science & Arts (Okla.) in the opening round before falling to host team Dordt in the second round.

Bellevue was picked to finish third with 33 points, followed by Dickinson State fourth with 27 points, Valley City State fifth with 21 points, Viterbo sixth with 15 points, and Waldorf seventh with nine points.

Points are awarded on a 7-1 basis and coaches can vote for their own team.

Each NSAA member will be playing a total of 12 conference games this season, with each team playing home and away games during the conference season.

The Bruins return one starter and seven letterwinners from last season's squad that finished with a 17-12 overall record and a 10-4 conference mark. BU finished third in the regular season and fell in the semifinals of the NSAA Tournament to eventual league tournament champion, Mayville State. 

The top returners for the Bruins include junior guard Ashtyn Arnold (9.5 ppg, 52.3 % FG, 5.3 rpg), senior guard Delaney VanBlaricon (7.1 ppg, 34.8% 3-point FG, 55 3-pointers, and junior guard Kaziah Terrell (4.1 ppg, 1.7 rpg). 

Bellevue will need to replace Asha Scott (1st team all-NSAA 12.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg), Faith Ross (4-time second team all-NSAA, 1,660 career points, school leader in 3-pointers (287) and steals (167), Laura Jurek (honorable mention all-NSAA, 6.0 rpg, 3.2 apg), and Miranda Hennings (68 3-pointers, No. 3 in school history in career 3-points with 161. 

All seven North Star members will compete in the women's basketball postseason conference tournament.  This year's conference tournament will be held at the higher seed campus sites in each round.  The opening round, in which the top seed will get a bye, will get underway on Feb. 21, 2024.  The semifinals are set for Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024, with the championship game being held on Sunday, March 3, 2024.

The North Star Women's Basketball Tournament's champion will receive an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament's Opening Round scheduled for March 15-16, 2024.  The winner of the national tournament's opening round will advance to the final site in Sioux City, Iowa from March 21-26, 2023.

Here is the complete 2023-24 NSAA Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll:
 

The Bruins open the 2023-24 schedule this Friday-Saturday, Oct. 27-28, when they host the Chick-fil-A Classic at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center. BU will take on Kansas Wesleyan at 5 p.m. on Friday and Midland at 5 p.m. on Saturday.