South Dakota
South Dakota women’s basketball’s successful season started with portal risks
See Molly Joyce, Angelina Robles talk about South Dakota’s 15-win turnaround
South Dakota’s Molly Joyce, left, and Angelina Robles, right, talk about their 2025-26 season and the leaps of faith they both took to help the Coyotes.
VERMILLION — This South Dakota women’s basketball team was built in a modern style — with lots of veterans looking to revive their careers or get a final chance to prove themselves through the transfer portal.
Both head coach Carrie Eighmey and her staff, as well as the first-year ‘Yotes, all felt they took a risk joining forces this offseason.
After a 26-10 season, the second-best win improvement in Division I women’s college basketball and a WNIT Fab 4 appearance, it’s safe to say that risk worked out well for all parties.
“We won 11 games last year,” Eighmey said. “So they took a leap of faith as well. And they joke with us that we took a chance on them. And so we all kind of feel like we took a chance on each other.”
The Coyotes’ entire seven-player rotation was in their first season in Vermillion, with Angelina Robles (Denver), Molly Joyce (Truman State), Jenna Hopp (South Dakota State), Elise Turrubiates (Tarleton State), Patience Williams (Georgia State), Josie Hill (Chicago State) and Tori Schlagel (Eden Prairie High School) all taking on large roles and learning how to play with each other on the fly.
Eighmey, Robles and many other South Dakota players are thankful for General Manager Devin Eighmey and his ability to craft this team.
“I’m just so grateful to Coach Carrie, Coach Dev, for allowing me to be a part of such a special program,” Robles said. “We really believe that we could have gone all the way, but ball didn’t bounce our way. I’m just super grateful for this group of girls and they made this season the best I’ve ever had, and I’m grateful.”
Robles, Turrubiates, Williams and Hill all played their last collegiate game on Wednesday, April 1, and were upset after the game ended, not only because their season was finished, but because they won’t get to play together again.
“I love them with all my heart,” Robles said. “I think we all came in with the same mindset of if we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it right and we’re going to do it together. And I think that’s exactly what we need to be setting the standard for everyone else that’s staying.”
Joyce is one of the top returners for next year, and this was her first season at the Division I level after two years at Division II. The move ended up being a great one for her, as she broke out to average 12.9 points for the Coyotes.
“My freshman year, I won seven games and my sophomore year, we won 14, so being able to come here and just be a dominant team was super special and just grateful that I got to be a part of this group because all these girls are my best friends,” Joyce said.
None of the players took advantage of the opportunity as much as Robles, who became the vocal and statistical leader of this South Dakota team and became a star in the league she spent her first three seasons in. Robles ended her senior season at 15.8 points per game and 38.0% shooting from three.
“She was a player that, you could see it at different times, she’s emotional,” Eighmey said. “I think one of the things that she grew so much in was just her ability to play with emotion, but not let being emotional take her away from what she was trying to do. I think the thing that was really neat about her was she started to really understand what winning looks like and what it takes to win, and I think that’s what gave her that swagger.”
Robles attributes her rise to stardom to her teammates and the faith her coach showed her early on this season. As she experienced some ups and downs throughout the season, everyone stuck together and came out better on the other side.
“I’ve said this so many times, but Carrie really believed in me and saw things that I was capable of that I didn’t even see for myself, so she put me in a great position,” Robles said. “And Coach Dev made sure that I was surrounded by great human beings off the court, but also on the court. We’re a selfless team and the whole plan was to make it as far as we could and we made it to April. Not a lot of teams can say that, so that’s a blessing and we just fought hard.”
Building this team wasn’t easy and a lot could’ve gone wrong, but all parties feel it was worth it. Even with a third-place finish in the Summit League and a loss in the WNIT semis, the coaches and players felt this team showed what a Carrie Eighmey-led team will look like from here on out.
“They show up, gave great energy,” Eighmey said. “It’s just fun to be around. Honestly, I think the way they played was very inspiring. I think it speaks to the way that people started showing up for this team and supporting this team. ‘Yote fans have always been very supportive of the women’s basketball program, but I felt like as this season continued to build and this team continued to become more and more of the best version of itself, people got on board and they were inspired and appreciated the way we played. It was a blast to coach them.”
The players all feel this season was a success, even without a trophy, and Eighmey will be the one to bring this South Dakota program back to the heights of the early 2020s.
“And I’m going to boldly say this, I see a Summit League championship in the next couple years,” Robles said. “So bring it back to South Dakota and I will be in the stands watching you guys get it.”
The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at June 11, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from June 11 drawing
18-19-25-31-37, Bonus: 02
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize
- Prizes of $100 or less: Can be claimed at any South Dakota Lottery retailer.
- Prizes of $101 or more: Must be claimed from the Lottery. By mail, send a claim form and a signed winning ticket to the Lottery at 711 E. Wells Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501.
- Any jackpot-winning ticket for Dakota Cash or Lotto America, top prize-winning ticket for Lucky for Life, or for the second prizes for Powerball and Mega Millions must be presented in person at a Lottery office. A jackpot-winning Powerball or Mega Millions ticket must be presented in person at the Lottery office in Pierre.
When are the South Dakota Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
- Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Dakota Cash: 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Dakota editor. You can send feedback using this form.
News
South Dakota farmer: wet weather pushes soybean planting
A farmer in northeast South Dakota says soybean planting is dragging out beyond the final planting date due to consistent rains.
“From about May 25th on, whatever you don’t have done has been really difficult to finish up on.”
DuWayne Bosse, who’s also a crop insurance agent and market analyst, says there are only a few fields left to plant on his farm, but “I’ve got clients that have like 1,000 acres of beans left to go. I feel bad. The frustration level is high for those guys. And now, you’re past June 10, you know, if they wanted to prevent planted, they can, and a lot of them probably will.”
Bosse says he’s not expecting a lot of prevent plant in South Dakota, but some.
“Prevent plant will be lower probably even than last year (for the Dakotas), which was a low year number for total acres because North Dakota got quite a bit in. I drove through there last weekend and things look pretty good.”
He says the corn looks good, but is behind on progress along with the soybeans.
“We’re not in that really pretty stage yet, where corn roots down and hits the nitrogen that’s in the soil for it. So that’s probably why the crop condition scores in the Dakotas are, they aren’t bad, they’re just lacking the rest of the nation.”
Severe weather has been happening this spring, but Bosse says he’s not expecting any major events in the short-term.
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) -A cold front moving through South Dakota will bring strong winds Thursday, with gusts up to 50 mph expected in northwestern parts of the state.
Wind advisories have been issued for Buffalo, Lemmon, Spearfish and areas near Rapid City. The strongest winds are expected in northwestern South Dakota, north and east of the Black Hills, up into the Buffalo area.
Wind timing and intensity
Winds are expected to build during overnight hours into Thursday morning and continue through midday. The strongest winds are forecast around 10 to 11 a.m. Thursday.
Winds will begin calming around 5 to 6 p.m., with breezy conditions continuing around 8 p.m.
The east side of the state could see some 50 mph wind gusts.
Rain and thunderstorms are possible
Showers are moving into the area, with heavy rain in northeastern Wyoming. Sheridan and Gillette could see heavy activity with possible thunderstorms.
Rapid City and western South Dakota will initially see dry conditions as upslope flow squeezes moisture out of the northern and western slopes of the Black Hills. Showers will move through the rest of Thursday, especially north of Interstate 90.
Some areas could receive about a half-inch of rain, though model data shows variations. Additional rain is expected Sunday, with temperatures about 10 degrees below average.
Front stalls across the region
The front is expected to stall over Ekalaka, Alzada, and Belle Fourche, and into central Meade County, including Union Center, and into Ziebach County.
Temperature outlook
Morning lows on Thursday will drop to 40 degrees in Gillette and 51 degrees in Rapid City. Temperatures will fall below average across much of the region after the cold front moves through.
Highs on Thursday will reach the 70s in Pine Ridge, Kadoka, Sheridan, and Belle Fourche. Temperatures will rise back to the 70s and 80s on Friday.
Another cooldown is expected Saturday with the next front. Temperatures in the hills could drop into the 50s, with highs of 56 in some areas and 62 in Deadwood. Spearfish and Hot Springs will see temperatures similar to the plains. Phillip and Pine Ridge will warm into the 80s by Friday.
Rapid City will hit 77 Tuesday and 83 Wednesday as high pressure moves into the area and temperatures stay moderate through the end of the week.
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Copyright 2026 KOTA. All rights reserved.
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