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.

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South Dakota News Watch has added two new members to its board of directors.

Rita Edwards, of Madison, and Mark Millage, of Sioux Falls, fill seats left vacant when Christine Hamilton and Jon Hunter termed out of their positions last year. Many thanks to both of them for their years of service, which included Hunter serving as secretary.

Edwards is a retired lawyer whose most recent experience was in general and bank and financial institution practice at Davenport Evans Lawyers in Sioux Falls. She also serves on the South Dakota State University Alumni and Foundation Board of Trustees, the Prairie Repertory Theatre Board of Directors and on the board for Habitat for Humanity in Madison as well as on board and chair positions in the organization at the state and international levels.

Millage started as an intern at KELO-TV in 1983 and was promoted to news director in 1989, a position he held until 2008. Millage is currently director of community relations for Furniture Mart USA. He is also a community volunteer serving on several other boards, including Sioux Empire United Way, South Dakota Gaming Commission and co-chair of the St. Francis House community appeals campaign.

Other board members

Here are the full bios of Edwards, Millage and the other directors and officers of South Dakota News Watch:

• Kristi Hine, chair, of Wessington Springs, is editor and publisher of the True Dakotan weekly newspaper after a career in marketing and public relations.
• Travis Rhoades, treasurer, of Sioux Falls, and his wife, Kristen, operate multiple Scooter’s Coffee franchises in and around the Sioux Falls area.
• Janelle Toman, secretary, of Pierre, worked as a journalist and then for 20 years with the media, state policymakers and the public to provide information about South Dakota’s system of public higher education as director of communications for the Board of Regents. 
• Marci Burdick, of Rapid City, who served as SDNW chair in 2023-2024, retired in 2018 after a 48-year career in broadcasting. In 2025, she received the Chuck Sherman Television Leadership Award from the National Association of Broadcasters.
• Nancy Turbak Berry, of Watertown, is an attorney, former South Dakota state legislator (2007-2010) and longtime advocate of open government. 
• Tim Waltner, of Freeman, was publisher of the Freeman Courier before passing that title to his son, Jeremy, in 2016, although he remained active as a writer, editor and photographer before retiring in 2020. 
• Stephany (Beshara) Chalberg, of Rapid City, worked in local newspaper and television in South Dakota and Utah and now manages public relations for Monument Health in Rapid City.
• Debra Jensen, of Black Hawk, is a fourth-generation South Dakotan. She worked in local television in South Dakota and Montana before operating Black Hills Bagels in Rapid City with her husband until 2024.

South Dakota News Watch is an independent nonprofit. Read, donate and subscribe for free at sdnewswatch.org. Contact CEO Carson Walker: 605-610-9366/carson.walker@sdnewswatch.org.