The Valley City State women's basketball team rallied from a 58-41 deficit Saturday night to stave off a second straight upset bid as they won 70-65 at Dakota State.
VCSU trailed 58-41 with 9:32 remaining in the game, but outscored Dakota State 29-7 the rest of the way. After two minutes of neither team scoring, the Vikings began their furious rally with 7:13 remaining, scoring 25 of the next 27 points to take a 66-60 lead.
Georgia Williams scored 15 points in the final seven minutes, including four 3-pointers. Her seventh 3 of the night gave the Vikings a 66-60 lead with 1:25 remaining. The Trojans got back to within 68-65, but Steph Pedersen made two free throws with 6 seconds left to ice the victory.
Williams finished the night with a game-high 26 points, 20 of which came in the second half. She was 4-for-4 on 3-pointers in the final seven minutes, and finished the night a blistering 7-for-9 on 3's.
Pedersen added 14 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Vikings. The senior from Mandan, N.D., was 10-for-12 at the free throw line and went 7-for-8 at the line in the final four minutes.
Sierra Even and Courtney Dixon each had nine points and seven rebounds. Even added five assists and four steals. Allyson Suhr chipped in eight points and four rebounds, and Sadiqah Jihad dished out five assists.
The Vikings won their seventh straight game, improving to 19-7 overall and 7-1 in the North Star Athletic Association. Dakota State drops to 11-16 overall and 2-6 in the NSAA.
The seven-game winning streak has VCSU tied atop the NSAA standings with Jamestown, (20-6, 7-1 NSAA) which won at Dickinson State on Saturday. The last three Viking victories have been anything but easy as VCSU defeated NSAA co-leader Jamestown in overtime, needed a last-second defensive stop to defeat Dickinson State by 2, and then needed the 25-2 run to rally past Dakota State.
Erin Rabenberg had 12 points to pace four Trojans in double figures. Dakota State shot 60 percent in the first half to build a 42-27 halftime lead. The Trojans finished the game at 46 percent from the field (24-52), 43 percent on 3's (6-14) and 85 percent on free throws (11-13).
The Vikings shot 34 percent overall (21-62), 53 percent on 3's (8-15), and 80 percent on free throws (20-25).
The Vikings won the rebound battle 42-28, including a 17-3 edge on the offensive glass. VCSU had 15 assists, 18 turnovers, 15 steals and two blocks. Dakota State had 17 assists, 20 turnovers, nine blocks and eight steals.
Up next: Valley City State returns home for its final home game Wednesday against Mayville State (16-6, 5-3 NSAA). Tip off is set for 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday night.
