HONOLULU, Hawaii — No. 10 Dakota Wesleyan Women's Basketball squared off against the Providence (Mont.) Argos, who received votes in the top 25, and the third-ranked Campbellsville Tigers at the 2025 Hoops in Hawaii Classic.
Dakota Wesleyan opened competition on Thursday against Providence, which saw the Argos take an early advantage, but a 20-point second period from the Tigers put them back in control, which they held for the remainder of the contest. DWU was also able to hold Providence to no more than 12 points in a period thanks to a stout defensive effort that saw Shalayne Nagel and Avery Broughton clean up on the boards, with Nagel leading DWU with nine while Broughton contributed eight of her own. Broughton also led the Tigers in points with 16 total while Rylee Rosenquist chimed in with 13 of her own to keep DWU firmly in control on the scoring front, taking a 31-19 lead heading into the half. Emma Yost posted nine points as a starter alongside five assists, while Taliyah Hayes posted six of her own off the bench, along with a team-leading four steals, to keep DWU's momentum up through the second half of play. The Tigers were able to limit the Argos' chances, forcing 18 Providence turnovers and producing 19 points off of them, while also forcing the Argos to go scoreless from the three-point line (0-12) enroute to a stout 58-40 victory. The Tigers outshot the Argos from the field, going 22-55 (40%), while just slightly having the edge over Providence on the boards, posting 34 rebounds to their 32. The first contest proved to be a good challenge to get the Tigers ready to play the third-ranked team in the NAIA the following day.
The Tigers of Dakota Wesleyan followed up their win against the Argos with an even bigger performance against the Tigers of Campbellsville, as DWU jumped out to a blazing 26-13 lead in the first 10 minutes of play thanks to a career-best day for Broughton, who posted a 25-point, 16-rebound double-double while going 7-15 (46.7%) from the field and 9-10 (90%) from the free-throw line. She was able to dominate even with the defense keyed in on her early offensive production, which allowed both Yost and Rosenquist to post double-digit scoring days with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Off the bench, Hayes was once again impressive with a season-high 19 points in just 14 minutes on the floor. Defensively, behind Broughton's 16 rebounds and two blocks, Nagel and Jaida Young posted seven boards each, with Nagel and Rosenquist both snagging two steals apiece. Campbellsville was able to get 20 points on the board in the second period, but the fast start gave Dakota Wesleyan enough of a lead to keep their momentum through the halftime break, which saw them hold at a 43-33 scoreline, and continue it through the rest of the final two periods. Both teams kept a similar pace in the third, but a dominant showing on both sides of the court for DWU in the final 10 minutes saw them limit Campbellsville to just eight fourth-period points while putting up 25 of their own offensively, grabbing a massive 83-55 win over the NAIA's third-ranked team. Dakota Wesleyan outrebounded Campbellsville 51-23, dominating the paint, while shooting 23-52 (44.2%) from the field. DWU also outpaced Campbellsville from three, going 7-16 (43.8%) while limiting the opposition to just a 4-15 (26.7%) clip.
In the NAIA portion of the competition, Emma Yost was named to the Hoops in Hawaii All-Tournament Team, while Avery Broughton brought home Most Valuable Player honors for her career-best performances between both contests. The Tigers move to 9-4 overall following the two victories.
DWU Women's Basketball will be back in action at the Corn Palace on Tuesday, December 30th against the Northwestern Red Raiders as a featured contest in the 2025 Hoop City Classic. See the full 2025-26 schedule here.