SPEARFISH - The Black Hills State women's basketball team has a good reason to treat the 2008 season as a rebuilding one.

The Yellow Jackets are coming off a 28-6 season and a trip to the NAIA Division II quarterfinals and are without two key post players who earned several accolades, and BHSU does not have a single senior on this year's roster.

However, the Yellow Jackets are showing early on not to count them out. Off to a 7-3 start on the season, BHSU has shown steady improvement as it prepares to open Dakota Athletic Conference play tonight against Mayville State.

"I am pleased with the way we have competed and the gals have really stepped up defensively," BHSU head coach Mark Nore said. "We play three juniors, two sophomores and three freshmen and they are playing with more maturity each game."

Without any senior leadership, the Yellow Jackets are leaning on juniors Brittany Fuhrman and Alana Dykhouse and sophomore Katelynn Lamb, who is leading the team in scoring with 12 points a game, while Fuhrman is putting up 10 points to represent the Yellow Jackets two double-digit scorers.

"We are used to having these posts that can score with their back to the basket," Nore said. "This team is more athletic even if it is not as big or tall. We are evolving into something a little different. It is an exciting and fun way to play with more cutting and slashing."

Lamb is also proving to be a force on the boards, which has been a pleasant surprise to her coach who said her toughness, has shined through early this season.

BHSU has alternated wins and losses over the last five games after starting the season with three wins. While some of its losses have come in blowout fashion, the Yellow Jackets have proven capable of winning the tight games as well.

"We are young and so that will happen where some games we will just struggle," Nore said.

With three freshmen Tiffany Thomas, Piggy Pili and Keely Krolikowski seeing significant minutes, Nore knows there will be ups and downs throughout the season. That doesn't mean the Yellow Jackets have lowered their expectations for the season.

"My expectation is that we should compete in every game because we have the talent," Nore said. "By the middle and end of the conference season I would hope that we will be right there at the top of the conference. I definitely think we can compete for the DAC championship."

Nore said he has had different players step up in nearly every game so far this season but Dykhouse has proven to be the most consistent so far and the addition of transfer Jenna Bolstad has been a key for his young team.

"This really is a good team to work with and there isn't a lot of dramab which makes it fun to come to practice every day," Nore said.

One thing that the Yellow Jackets have had to deal with more than they have wanted to so far this season is injury. The team is already redshirting players because of injuries and is down a guard and post player since the start of the season.

"It is never something you want to see happen to players who work so hard, but it is something that you have to deal with," Nore said.

Nore said the biggest improvement his team will need to make from now until the end of the season is to learn to play with more confidence.

"We just need to work on having everyone being confident from game to game," he said. "It is especially important for the younger girls so they are feeling good by the time we get close to the end of the conference season."