Bruin Women picked fourth in NSAA Preseason Poll

BISMARCK, N.D. -- The Bellevue University women's basketball team is picked to finish fourth in the North Star Athletic Association Preseason Coaches' Poll released today by the conference office. 

The Bruins returned four starters and nine letterwinners from last season's squad, which finished with an 11-17 overall and a 4-8 mark in the NSAA (5th place).

Dakota State was the unanimous pick to win the 2024-25 conference title. The Trojans collected all six first-place votes and 36 points to claim the top spot in the preseason poll. Dakota State finished their 2023-24 season with an overall record of 28-7, including a trip to the NAIA quarterfinals.

Mayville State tallied 26 points to finish second in the poll. Both DaSU and MSU shared the North Star conference regular-season title with an 11-1 record each, with the Comets winning their second straight postseason tournament title over the Trojans. Dakota State had won four consecutive regular-season NSAA titles.

The Comets advanced to the NAIA's Round of 16 before falling to the eventual national champion, Dordt (Iowa). MSU finished 26-4 overall record last season.

Jamestown, who is returning to the NSAA this season, finished third with 24 points. The Jimmies finished last season with a 19-13 overall record, including a trip to the NAIA's Round of 16.

Bellevue (Neb.) was fourth with 18 points, followed by Valley City State (N.D.) fifth with 13 points, and Dickinson State (N.D.) sixth with nine points.  Points are awarded on a 6-1 basis.

Each NSAA member will be playing a total of 15 conference games this season, with each team playing each other three times during the conference season.
The 2024-25 NAIA Women's Basketball season gets underway on Thursday.

The NSAA conference season begins on the weekend of Dec. 13-15, when MSU and VCSU make their trip to BU and DaSU.  UJ hosts DiSU on Dec. 13 in both teams' conference season opener.

All six North Star members will compete in the women's basketball postseason conference tournament.  This year's conference postseason tournament will be held at the higher-seed campus sites in each round.  The opening round, in which the top two seeds will get a bye, will get underway on Feb. 26, 2025.  The semifinals are set for Saturday, March 1, 2025, with the championship game being held on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

The North Star Women's Basketball Postseason Tournament's champion will receive an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament's Opening Round scheduled for March 14-15, 2025.  The winner of the national tournament's opening round will advance to the final site in Sioux City, Iowa, from March 20-25, 2025.

Senior guard Gabby Moore (13.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.1 apg) returns after earning second-team all-conference honors last season and being named the NSAA Newcomer of the Year. 

Other top returners include:

• Senior guard Ashtyn Arnold (10.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg), Honorable mention all-NSAA
• Sophomore center Kaylee Denker (9.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 0.7 bpg)
• Senior guard Brandi Dunn (8.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.4 spg) 

Bellevue will open the season by hosting the Chick-fil-Al-Classic on Nov. 1-2. BU will battle Southwestern Christian on Nov. 1 and Mount Mercy on Nov. 2.  

Here is the complete 2024-25 NSAA Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll: