This feature story is a part of Black Hills State’s celebration of World Basketball Day, commemorating the 133rd anniversary of the creation of basketball by Dr. James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts, on December 21, 1891.

SPEARFISH, S.D. – For 22 seasons Mark Nore built a tradition and culture that has left a sense of pride in many that have passed through the Black Hills State University women’s basketball program. His teams thrived at the NAIA level, appearing in four national tournaments, and then he oversaw the transition to NCAA Division II which followed with his teams qualifying for another four national tournaments. Not only did he develop talented student-athletes to make those postseason runs but he was able to mentor numerous young women to become leaders that has translated to a coaching tree that has continued to grow. Among that coaching tree are a quartet of former players who are now coaching at the collegiate level, including Jenna Bolstead (Northern Illinois assistant coach), Rachel Erickson (Black Hills State head coach), Lindsey Fearing (New Mexico Highlands head coach), and Jill Thomas (Henderson State head coach).

Bolstead helped lead Black Hills State to a pair of NAIA Tournament bids in 2009 and 2010, which included a run to the national quarterfinals during her first season wearing the Green & Gold in the 2008-09 season. After her playing career came to a close, she spent a year as a student assistant before briefly teaching and coaching at the high school level and then returning to Spearfish for a year as a graduate assistant for Coach Nore. Following additional stops at Williston State and Montana Tech, her coaching journey brought her full circle as she became the head coach at Miles Community College, the place where her collegiate playing career began. The opportunity to give Montana kids an opportunity to continue playing the sport of basketball was a humbling and awesome experience exclaimed the former Pioneer as she began to build her own program and develop a culture, which included a trip to the regional semifinals in her first year with the program in 2022-23. Bolstead now is in her first season as an assistant coach at NCAA Division I Northern Illinois.

With a mother who was a high school coach, Bolstead always knew she wanted to follow in her footsteps and become a coach herself and the mentors she had as a collegiate athlete solidified the urge. A student of the game, she is always looking to continue to learn as much as she can for wherever her journey takes her next and often looks back into the notebooks from each of her coaching stops of how to continue developing and building a strong culture and program. As a relationship driven coach, she credits the relationships that she has built in her coaching career for allowing her to be where she is today with the Huskies. Bolstead and NIU currently enter the winter break with a 5-5 mark overall, coming off a 51-50 overtime win over Idaho State yesterday afternoon.

Following the more than two decades of Coach Nore on the sidelines, the now director of athletics turned the reins of the program over to Erickson who is now in her first season back in Spearfish. In her first game as head coach, the new era of Yellow Jacket women’s basketball started off with a bang, defeating West Texas A&M at the buzzer as Kalla Bertram made a driving layup as time expired. Since then, she has guided BHSU to a No. 5 ranking in the D2CSC South Central Regional Media Poll with an 8-3 (4-0 RMAC) record as they remain one of just two undefeated teams in league play. 

A fierce competitor with a strong will to win as a student-athlete at Black Hills State from 2014-18, Erickson helped guide the Yellow Jackets to a pair of national tournament bids in 2016 and 2018, the school’s first-ever postseason appearances as NCAA Division II members. Her leadership on the court as a 2-time All-RMAC selection proved pivotal as she began her coaching career, remaining in the Queen City as a graduate assistant for the Yellow Jackets and her mentor, as the trust she had already built up allowed for opportunities she may not have had elsewhere. She was able to take advantage of the chances she had to gain with on court coaching experiences as a GA, allowing her to continue to carve her own path in the coaching industry as she went on to be the top assistant at Sioux Falls for two seasons. She then made her way to the NCAA Division I level with the past two years being spent as an assistant coach at Colorado State.

In a special moment prior to Thanksgiving this year, Erickson was able to make a return trip to CSU with her Yellow Jacket squad and came out excited about the battle her team put forth against a top Mountain West program with a talent filled roster that was strong and athletic. Envisioning the future of the Black Hills State program she looks to tap into the endless potential the team holds, utilizing the top notch community support in hopes of maintaining the early success and build BHSU into a yearly RMAC and South Central Regional contender.                  

Fearing has embodied the BHSU mentality of ‘Play Hard, Play Smart, Play Together’ as not only a player but as a coach as well. While battling ACL injuries as a player for the Yellow Jackets from 2012-14, she was able to gain a different perspective of the sport she loved as it allowed her to see things from the sidelines that enabled her to help coach her teammates. While Fearing had never envisioned coaching as her career, it was this role during her time at BHSU that presented the coaching vision. Following graduation from Black Hills State, and with the assistance of Coach Nore, she then got her foot in the door with coaching at nearby Lead-Deadwood High School as an assistant coach. Then a few years down the road she made the jump to the college ranks, attaining the assistant coaching role at Gillette College before eventually accepting the head coaching position at Central Wyoming College.

After spending four seasons with the Rustlers from 2018-22, Fearing made her return to the RMAC as an assistant coach at New Mexico Highlands from 2022-24, helping mentor Juilana Arigon to All-RMAC honors in back-to-back seasons. Her work as an assistant helped boost her into the head coaching position for the Cowgirls this year as she hopes to instill the same ‘Play Hard, Play Smart, Play Together’ mentality she used as guidance as a player and strives to use it to change the perspective of NMHU basketball as they look to gain respect within the league. She notched her first career win with New Mexico Highlands as the Cowgirls knocked off in-state rival Western New Mexico, 80-60, their largest win against the Mustangs in more than a decade. She currently has NMHU 5-5 (2-2 RMAC) entering the winter break, one win shy of last season’s overall win total and currently posting their best offensive scoring numbers since 2013-14 with 68.9 points per game. A highlight in the young coach’s career thus far has been the fact that she has been able to coach against each of her mentors and college coaches in Coach Nore and Coach Dwight Gunnare at Casper College, who also happens to be a Black Hills State Hall of Famer.

Thomas is currently mirroring the success of her mentor in the coaching world, building a resume with a career record of 236-192 in her 16th season as a head coach at the NCAA Division II level, while also guiding her teams to four 20-win seasons, a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, and a conference tournament title. The all-time wins leader in Henderson State history, she holds a record of 171-144 with the Reddies, that includes a 2024 GAC Tournament title and NCAA Tournament bid. Prior to arriving in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, she spent four seasons at Pfeiffer (N.C.), which culminated with a 25-7 (17-5 Conference Carolinas) record in 2012-13 and was highlighted by the programs first-ever NCAA Tournament win with an 84-78 victory over Anderson (S.C.). Additionally, Thomas earned Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year honors in 2013 as the Falcons saw a 12-win improvement overall from the season prior and a 9-win improvement in conference play. She ended her tenure at PU with a record of 65-48.

Another former Yellow Jacket with a competitive drive and will to win, Thomas continues to emphasize Coach Nore’s mindset that everyone is different and the value of patience in creating a successful culture. In doing so she has extended the coaching tree that started in the Black Hills, creating her own branch off with a pair of her own former players on her current staff, including 2018-19 WBCA 30 Under 30 honoree Christina Harvey who etched her name into the Pfeiffer top-10 career scoring list under Thomas’ watch. While she mentions it’s great to be a part of a winning program, the biggest part of her program and culture is building ‘Lifelong Relationships’ that will last forever. With that mentality she has found her niche for players that fit into the Reddies system as they love to play fast and shoot the three.