2025–26 Summit League women's basketball season

The 2025–26 Summit League women's basketball season began non-conference play on November 3, 2025. Conference play began on December 31, 2025, and ended on February 28, 2026. This was the nineteenth season of women's basketball play under the Summit League name and forty-fourth for the conference overall.

This was the last season in the conference for Denver, as the Pioneers will join the West Coast Conference on July 1, 2026.

North Dakota State finished league play with a 15–1 record as the regular season champion. The 2026 Summit League women's basketball tournament took place from March 4 to 8, 2026. South Dakota State won the tournament, defeating North Dakota State in the tournament final, and advanced to the NCAA tournament. In the NCAA tournament, the Jackrabbits were seeded 11th in Sacramento 4 region and played 6th seeded Washington. They would fall to the Huskies, 72–54. North Dakota State received an automatic bid to the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT), and due to being named as one of the first four teams out of the NCAA tournament - they received a top seed in their region. The Bison defeated Chattanooga in the first round, but lost to Columbia in the second round. South Dakota received an at-large bid to the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). After receiving a first round bye, the Coyotes would defeat Northern Colorado in the second round, Pepperdine in the Super 16, and Montana State in the Great 8, before losing to Illinois State in the Fab 4.

Preseason The preseason Summit League women's basketball poll and awards were released on October 8, 2025.

Preseason poll First place votes in parentheses

South Dakota State (34) – 558 North Dakota State (2) – 498 Oral Roberts – 410 South Dakota – 320 St. Thomas – 305 Kansas City – 291 North Dakota – 251 Omaha – 121 Denver – 101

Preseason awards HonorRecipientPreseason Player of the YearBrooklyn Meyer, South Dakota StatePreseason All-Summit League First TeamEmani Bennett, Kansas CityAvery Koenen, North Dakota StateMadison Mathiowetz, South Dakota StateBrooklyn Meyer, South Dakota StateJalei Oglesby, Oral RobertsJocelyn Schiller, North Dakota StatePreseason All-Summit League Second TeamWalker Demers, North DakotaMarisa Frost, North Dakota StateMaggie Hartwig, South Dakota StateAngelina Robles, South DakotaKatie Vasecka, South Dakota State

Regular season Records against other conferences 2025–26 records against non-conference foes as of February 1, 2026:

Major 6 ConferencesRecordMajor 6 ConferencesRecordACC0–2American3–1Big East1–1Big Ten0–4Big 122–8SEC0–4Major 6 Total6–20Other Division I ConferencesRecordOther Division I ConferencesRecordAtlantic 10NoneASUN0–3America East0–1Big Sky12–10Big SouthNoneBig West1–3CAA2–1Conference USA0–2Horizon League0–3Ivy League0–1IndependentsNoneMAACNoneMAC2–1MEACNoneMVC5–2MWC2–4NECNoneOVC1–4Patriot League0–1SoConNoneSouthland3–0SWAC2–0Sun BeltNoneWAC1–3WCC2–3Other Division I Total33–42NCAA Division I Total39–62NCAA Division II Total6–0NCAA Division III Total4–0NAIA Total12–0NCCAA Total0–0Total Non-Conference Record61–62

Record against ranked non-conference opponents This will be a list of games against ranked opponents only (rankings from the AP Poll):Summit League teams in bold Date Visitor Home Site Score Conference record Ref November 3, 2025 St. Thomas No. 14 Iowa State Hilton Coliseum ● Ames, IA L 36–85 0–1 November 9, 2025 Oral Roberts No. 22 Oklahoma State Gallagher-Iba Arena ● Stillwater, OK L 62–112 0–2 November 12, 2025 Kansas City No. 6 Oklahoma Lloyd Noble Center ● Norman, OK L 61–89 0–3 November 27, 2025 No. 12 North Carolina South Dakota State† Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya ● Cancún, MX L 48–83 0–4 December 9, 2025 Omaha No. 24 Nebraska Pinnacle Bank Arena ● Lincoln, NE L 35–87 0–5 December 21, 2025 No. 2 Texas South Dakota State First Bank and Trust Arena ● Brookings, SD L 51–70 0–6

Team rankings are reflective of AP poll

† denotes game was played at neutral site ^ denotes NCAA tournament game

Conference matrix   Denver Kansas City North DakotaNorth Dakota State Omaha Oral Roberts St. Thomas South Dakota South Dakota State vs. Denver – 0–2 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 2–0 2–0 2–0vs. Kansas City 2–0 – 1–1 2–0 0–2 2–0 1–1 2–0 2–0 vs. North Dakota 1–1 1–1 – 2–0 1–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–0vs. North Dakota State 0–2 0–2 0–2 – 0–2 0–2 0–2 0–2 1–1vs. Omaha 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–0 – 1–1 2–0 2–0 2–0vs. Oral Roberts 1–1 0–2 0–2 2–0 1–1 – 1–1 1–1 2–0vs. St. Thomas 0–2 1–1 0–2 2–0 0–2 1–1 – 2–0 2–0vs. South Dakota 0–2 0–2 0–2 2–0 0–2 1–1 0–2 – 1–1vs. South Dakota State 0–2 0–2 0–2 1–1 0–2 0–2 0–2 1–1 –Total 5–11 4–12 3–12 15–1 3–13 8–8 8–8 12–4 14–2 Through February 28, 2026

Points scored TeamForAgainstDifferenceDenver 1766 1942 –176Kansas City 1936 2031 –95North Dakota 1786 2189 –403North Dakota State 2334 1734 +600Omaha 1698 2381 –683Oral Roberts 2231 2176 +55St. Thomas 1906 1787 +119South Dakota 2130 1751 +379South Dakota State 2314 1850 +464 Through February 28, 2026

National Television Games Any games that league members will play on National Television, including the Summit League's media contract with CBS Sports Network, will be listed here.

Summit League members in bold DateTime (CT)Road TeamHome teamFinal ScoreNetworkDecember 3, 20257 PMMontana StateNorth Dakota StateW 90–65CBSSNDecember 21, 20251 PMTexasSouth Dakota StateL 51–70CBSSN

Home attendance TeamArenaCapacityTotal GamesAverage AttendanceAttendance HighTotal Attendance% of CapacityDenverHamilton Gymnasium2,500154771,026Nov 21 vs. Regis7,16219.1%Kansas CitySwinney Recreation Center1,50015348925Nov 20 vs. Hesston5,22623.2%North DakotaBetty Engelstad Sioux Center3,300161,5402,575Nov 21 vs. Wyoming24,64646.7%North Dakota StateScheels Center5,460131,7173,708Feb 25 vs. South Dakota St22,32531.5%OmahaBaxter Arena7,898131,0222,839Dec 17 vs. Creighton13,29412.9%Oral RobertsMabee Center10,154131,3312,210Dec 29 vs. Oklahoma Wesleyan17,30313.1%St. ThomasLee and Penny Anderson Arena5,30017480984Nov 8 vs. Army8,1729.1%South DakotaSanford Coyote Sports Center6,000131,4122,304Feb 21 vs. North Dakota St18,36823.5%South Dakota StateFirst Bank and Trust Arena6,500142,7874,449Feb 28 vs. South Dakota39,02242.9% Bold - Exceed capacity As of February 28, 2026 Does not include exhibition games or games played at alternate home facilities

Head coaches Coaching changes North Dakota On March 24, 2025, Mallory Bernhard stepped down as head coach at North Dakota after five seasons with the program. It was also announced the same day that associate head coach Dennis Hutter would become the Fighting Hawks next head coach.

Omaha On April 22, 2025, Carrie Banks was let go from her position as head coach at Omaha after five seasons with the program. Then, on May 4, 2025, Jamie Carey was named the new head coach of the Mavericks.

Oral Roberts On March 24, 2025, Kelsi Musick left Oral Roberts after three seasons to become the next head coach at Arkansas. Then, on March 31, 2025, associate head coach Cophie Anderson was named the next head coach of the Golden Eagles.

Coaches Note: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season. Overall and Summit League records are from time at current school.

Team Head coach Previous job Seasons at school Overall record Summit record Summit titles NCAA tournaments NCAA Sweet Sixteen NCAA ChampionshipsDenver Doshia Woods Tulane (recruiting coordinator) 6th 46–97 () 25–57 () 0 0 0 0Kansas City Dionnah Jackson-Durrett Texas (Associate head coach) 4th 33–74 () 12–38 () 0 0 0 0North Dakota Dennis Hutter North Dakota (associate HC) 1st 0–0 () 0–0 () 0 0 0 0North Dakota State Jory Collins Kansas (assistant) 7th 98–82 () 59-41 () 0 0 0 0Omaha Jamie Carey UTSA (associate HC) 1st 0–0 () 0–0 () 0 0 0 0Oral Roberts Cophie Anderson Oral Roberts (associate HC) 1st 0–0 () 0–0 () 0 0 0 0St. Thomas Ruth Sinn Apple Valley HS 21st 407–156 () 27–41 () 0 0 0 0South Dakota Carrie Eighmey Idaho 2nd 11–20 () 5–11 () 0 0 0 0South Dakota State Aaron Johnston South Dakota State (assistant) 26th 628–195 () 260–34 () 12 13 1 0

Awards and honors Players of the week Throughout the regular season, the Summit League offices will name one or two players of the week each Monday. WeekPlayer(s) of the WeekSchoolNov. 11Brooklyn MeyerSouth Dakota StateNov. 18Brooklyn Meyer (2)South Dakota State (2)Nov. 25Avery KoenenNorth Dakota StateDec. 2Brooklyn Meyer (3)South Dakota State (3)Dec. 9Brooklyn Meyer (4)South Dakota State (4)Dec. 16Avery Koenen (2)North Dakota State (2)Dec. 23Avery Koenen (3)North Dakota State (3)Dec. 30Tierra TrotterKansas CityJan. 6Avery Koenen (4)North Dakota State (4)Jan. 13Avery Koenen (5)North Dakota State (5)Jan. 20Avery Koenen (6)North Dakota State (6)Jan. 27Brooklyn Meyer (5)South Dakota State (5)Feb. 3Angelina RoblesSouth DakotaFeb. 10Avery Koenen (7)North Dakota State (7)Feb. 17Avery Koenen (8)North Dakota State (8)Feb. 24Brooklyn Meyer (6)South Dakota State (6)Mar. 2Brooklyn Meyer (7)South Dakota State (7)

All–League Honors The All–Summit League teams and individual awards were announced on March 3, ahead of the Summit League tournament.

2026 Summit League Women's Basketball Individual Awards Award Recipient(s)Player of the YearAvery Koenen – North Dakota StateNewcomer of the YearMolly Joyce – South DakotaFreshman of the YearKarrington Asp – North Dakota StateSixth Woman of the YearKarrington Asp – North Dakota StateDefensive Player of the YearAvery Koenen – North Dakota StateCoach of the YearJory Collins – North Dakota State

HonorRecipientAll-Summit League First TeamAvery Koenen, North Dakota StateMadison Mathiowetz, South Dakota StateBrooklyn Meyer, South Dakota StateAngelina Robles, South DakotaAlyssa Sand, St. ThomasCoryn Watts, DenverAll-Summit League Second TeamElauni Bennett, Kansas CityMarisa Frost, North Dakota StateMolly Joyce, South DakotaJalei Oglesby, Oral RobertsJocelyn Schiller, North Dakota StateAll-Summit League Honorable MentionEmani Bennett, Kansas CityEmilee Fox, South Dakota StateMackenzie Hughes, North DakotaAnna Trusty, Oral RobertsElise Turrubiates, South DakotaAll-Defensive TeamAri Gordon, Oral RobertsAvery Koenen, North Dakota StateBrooklyn Meyer, South Dakota StateAlyssa Sand, St. ThomasAvril Smith, OmahaAll-Newcomer TeamJada Hood, St. ThomasMackenzie Hughes, North DakotaMolly Joyce, South DakotaAnna Trusty, Oral RobertsElise Turrubiates, South DakotaAll-Freshman TeamKarrington Asp, North Dakota StateKayten Donley, Oral RobertsRegan Juenemann, OmahaAvril Smith, OmahaHadley Thul, South Dakota State

Postseason Summit League tournament

All 9 teams qualified for the Summit League tournament. It was held at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota from March 4 to March 8, 2026.

NCAA tournament

Only South Dakota State was selected to participate in the tournament as the conference's automatic bid.

Seed Region School First round Second round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four Championship No. 11 Sacramento Regional 4 South Dakota State lost to No. 6 Washington — — — — 1 BidW-L (%):TOTAL:

WBIT

North Dakota State was selected to participate in the tournament as an automatic bid, since they did not make the NCAA tournament as the Summit League's regular season champion.

Seed Region School First round Second round Quarterfinal Semifinal Championship No. 1 North Dakota State region North Dakota State defeated Chattanooga lost to No. 4 Columbia — — 1 BidW-L (%):TOTAL:

WNIT

South Dakota was selected to participate in the tournament as an at-large bid.

School First round Second round Super 16 Great 8 Fab Four Championship South Dakota Bye defeated Northern Colorado defeated Pepperdine defeated Montana State lost to Illinois State —1 Bid W-L (%):TOTAL:

References