CHADRON, Neb. – Starting with a Tuesday night home opener, Chadron State women's basketball will play its first three Division II games of the season this week, kicking off the 2026-27 regular season and year two for the Eagles under head coach Jalen Little.

The Eagles host Bethany, an NAIA institution located in Lindsborg, Kansas, at the Chicoine Center on Tuesday night with tip-off at 5 p.m. 

Later in the week, Chadron State will visit Rolla, Missouri for a crossover hosted by Missouri S&T. The Eagles will face Lincoln (Mo.) (DII, GLVC), in a neutral-site showdown at 11 a.m. MT on Friday (12 p.m. CT/local), then will battle hosts Missouri S&T (DII, GLVC) at 1:30 p.m. MT on Saturday (2:30 p.m. CT/local).

Promotional Notes
Admission is free for CSC's women's basketball home opener, as it will be for the Chadron State men's basketball home opener on November 18. Having a home nonconference game will be a welcome change for the Eagles, who played on the road for all nonconference games last season.

Season tickets are also on sale for the Chadron State basketball season. Reserved seat season tickets cost $150 per seat, or $120 for a child, senior or military member. General admission season tickets cost $100 per seat ($40 for child/senior/military).

Another purchase option is Chadron State's new "Court Sport" passes, which provide the buyer with entry to all Chicoine Center events (volleyball, men's and women's basketball and men's and women's wrestling). Those tickets cost $175 for adults or $95 for a child/senior/military member.

How to Tune In
Friday and Saturday's games will be behind a paywall on the GLVC Sports Network. Single-game pay-per-view access is $15 per broadcast, while the network also offers a monthly subscription option at $32 per month.

Chadron State's Tuesday game, like all CSC home games and all of CSC's conference games, home and away, will be carried on the RMAC Network. Overall, 23 of Chadron State's 27 Division II games for the year are scheduled to stream on the RMAC Network, which has subscriptions for $25 a month or $130 per year. Chadron State College receives a revenue split of RMAC Network subscriptions.

PURCHASE: RMAC Network

RMAC Network subscriptions apply to any game that is hosted by an RMAC institution, regardless of whether or not Chadron State is playing in the game. CSC's home nonconference games are included in monthly and annual subscriptions. 
 
Fans will technical support issues can contact Hudl, visit the RMAC email the RMAC Network FAQ page, or directly email the RMAC at rmac@rmacsports.org.

In addition, Double Q Country and Dave Collins are scheduled to stream 19 Chadron State women's basketball games live on 97.5 FM in Chadron and doubleqcountry.com, beginning with CSC's RMAC opener on December 3.    

Looking Back
Chadron State finished with a 1-24 record in head coach Jalen Little's first season with the Eagles. The Eagles earned a win on January 10 against Regis by a 68-53 score, but lost their final 14 games after that.

Chadron State played a challenging schedule with seven nonconference games, all on the road, including two exhibitions against Division I opposition. The Eagles previously played another DI exhibition on October 28 against Colorado State, but stats and scores from that contest were unofficial.

The Eagles return three players who made 19 starts or more, but will need to replace leading scorer and rebounder McKenzi Petersen, who graduated after scoring 10.2 points and grabbing 4.8 rebounds per game.

The Roster
Chadron State returns plenty of firepower, including three of their top four scorers, and has added nine newcomers, several of whom are being counted on to give the Eagles an immediate boost.

Audrey Quintana is CSC's top returning scorer, collecting 9.8 points per game last season with a high of 22 against Westminster. Quintana led the Eagles with 27 minutes played per game and is the Eagles' top returning three-point shooter with 35 makes. Quintana was an 89.2 percent foul shooter last season, making 33 of 37 attempts.

Kenna Wagner, now a sophomore and now wearing jersey No. 1, returns after flashing talent during her debut season. Wagner averaged 6.9 points and team-highs of 3.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game last season.

Dreanna Jackson, now a senior whose 19 starts ranked fourth on the Eagle roster last season, is also back after averaging 5.0 points per game. Camren Morris, the longest-tenured Eagle in her fifth year who made three starts before an ACL injury in 2025-26, is also back healthy to contribute.

In the exhibition game against Colorado State, the starting five consisted of three returnees – Wagner, Jackson and Quintana – plus newcomers Annika VanDalen, a freshman from Fort Collins, and Sophie Wilkinson, a 6-foot-2 New Zealand native who has transferred in from Central Wyoming College, where she played the last two years.

Other transfers with experience include Ashlynn Sylve, who averaged 14.2 points per game for Yakima Valley CC in 2025-26 and shot 48.6 percent from the field in Division II for Northwest Nazarene in 2022. Jordan Derby provides more size for CSC at 6-foot-2 and joins the Eagles from Bismarck State after previously suiting up for Mahpiya Luta High School.

EmmaJo Locks, who played last season at Northwestern Oklahoma State, is one of three new Eagles with ties to North Platte CC alongside Zaily Mazarin, a native of Martinique, and Joie Rodriguez, who hails from Denver. 

Returners with an opportunity to contribute include sophomore Keziah Toran (16.3 mpg, second on team in blocks in 2025-26), Alex Ridenour (14.1 mpg in 2025-26) and Sophia Nguyen (45 minutes, .500 FG, .500 3PT in 2025-26).

In the Polls
Chadron State women's basketball has been picked to tie for 13th in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, after finishing 15th last year.

Colorado Mesa, the top finishers in the RMAC for women's basketball last year, were again the top pick for the 2026-27 season. Colorado Mesa advanced to the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament last year and finished their regular season 20-0 in RMAC play. With a total of 192 points, Colorado Mesa received 11 of 15 first place votes.  

Tailing Colorado Mesa, MSU Denver placed second with one first place vote, UCCS was picked third with two first-place votes while Black Hills State was a close fourth place pick, receiving the final first-place vote. 

Fort Lewis, Colorado School of Mines, CSU Pueblo and New Mexico Highlands took spots five through eight. Following the top eight picks are Adams State, Colorado Christian, Western Colorado and South Dakota Mines ahead of Chadron State. Westminster and Chadron State tied for 13th, both receiving 39 points, while Regis was picked last of the 15 teams. 

Scouting the Swedes
Bethany will come into Tuesday night's match-up with a 1-3 record. The Swedes defeated Peru State 66-56 on October 29 in the season opener, but since then, they have lost to Doane (84-53), Baker (77-76) and Briar Cliff (110-68).

Through four games, junior Jera Kruleski is Bethany's leading scorer at 13.3 points per game while junior Hannah Moss is at 11.0 points per game. Kruleski scored 17 points in the win over Peru and poured in 16 last time out against Briar Cliff. 

Head Coach Michael DeVries joined Bethany as an assistant coach in 2023 before transitioning to head coach for this season. In his three years as an assistant, the Swedes finished fifth, seventh and sixth in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference, which sent four teams to the NAIA National Tournament.

Scouting the Blue Tigers
Lincoln, after going 5-22 in 2025-26, will open its 2026-27 season with a Monday night game at Northwest Missouri State before participating in the Missouri S&T crossover, facing Chadron State on Friday and Thomas More on Saturday.

It is the first meeting in school history between Lincoln and Chadron State in women's basketball. Lincoln's top returning scorer is Bella Borgos, who tallied 9.1 points per game during her freshman season, while Hallie Williamson scored 8.8 points per game.

Head coach Addae Houston is in his third season at Lincoln. Houston is 7-46 through two seasons with the Blue Tigers but has also coached at Southwestern Community College and Northwestern State. Houston has also been an assistant at Northwest Missouri State.

The Blue Tigers were picked 14^th out of 15 teams in the GLVC Preseason Coaches Poll.

Scouting the Miners
Missouri S&T will be opening their 2026-27 season on Friday and Saturday, facing Thomas More on Friday before battling the Eagles on Saturday. The Miners went 12-14 last year and will be facing Chadron State for the first time.

Senior Norah Gum returns after she was S&T's leading scorer last season at 12.8 points per game, including 20 games in double figures and an 83 percent free-throw percentage. Leading rebounder Ava McCulla (6.2 rpg in 2025-26), now a sophomore, also returns.

Head coach Kira Carter is embarking on her seventh season. She is 65-95 overall at S&T, winning 15 games in both 2022-23 and 2024-25. Carter was previously an assistant at Sam Houston State (DI) and Milwaukee (DI) but was also on staff at Missouri S&T for one season.

The Miners were picked 10^th out of 15 teams in the GLVC Preseason Poll, but received one first-place vote.

Coach's Corner
Jalen Little is in his second season leading the Chadron State women's basketball program, going 1-24 in his first season in charge.
 
Little has over a decade of assistant coaching experience in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. He served as the lead assistant women's basketball coach at RMAC foe CSU Pueblo, qualifying for four consecutive RMAC tournaments from 2022-25. 
 
Little began his coaching career by spending four seasons as an assistant coach with the Chadron State men's basketball program under Houston Reed, who coached Little as a player at Otero Junior College. 
 
As a student-athlete, Little played one season at Alaska Anchorage (Division II, GNAC) before transferring to Otero. He closed his playing career at the Division I level for Abiliene Christian University (Texas).