The Viking women's basketball team blistered the nets in the second half Wednesday, erupting for a season-high 53 second-half points as they rolled to a big 86-67 road victory at Mayville State University.
Both teams were receiving votes in the latest NAIA Top 25 Poll, but the Vikings set themselves apart in the second half Wednesday, shooting 52 percent and outscoring Mayville 53-38 in the final 20 minutes. Six different Vikings scored in double figures, led by 17 points and eight rebounds from Courtney Dixon off the bench.
Valley City State improves to 16-7 overall and finishes the first round of conference play with a 4-1 record in the North Star Athletic Association.
Leading 40-36 with 14:25 remaining, the Vikings broke the game open with a 6-0 spurt that fueled a 17-8 run. Following a Megan Trautman 3 to cap the run, the Vikings held a 57-44 lead with 10:23 remaining. The Comets would get no closer than 10 points the rest of the way, and the Vikings led by as many as 21 late in the game.
Jenna Lundon led the Comets with 21 points, but VCSU took away her bread-and-butter: the 3-point shot. Lundon entered the night averaging 3.4 makes and 8.4 attempts per game, but went just 1-for-4 from the 3-point line Wednesday.
The matchup featured the top defense in the conference against the top offense. When the final horn sounded the Viking defense won that matchup, holding the Comet offense to 13 points below it's season average of 80 points. The Vikings forced 23 Comet turnovers and held Mayville to just 35 percent shooting.
The Vikings shot 43 percent overall (30-70), 37 percent from the 3-point line (10-27) and 80 percent from the free throw line (16-20). Points came from everyone for VCSU, including 41 combined bench points from Dixon, Trautman and Lexi Lennon.
Trautman finished the night 4-for-7 on 3's, and poured in 14 points for the Vikings. Sierra Even had 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Georgia Williams knocked down three 3's and scored 13 points. Lexi Lennon scored 10 points, and point guard Sadiqah Jihad finished with 12 points, five rebounds and six assists while shooting 2-for-2 on 3's, and 6-for-6 on free throws.
Mayville State shot 35 percent overall (20-58), 30 percent on 3's (7-23), and 71 percent on free throws (20-28). Lundon's 21 led the Comets, with Joelle Ertl added 10. Mayville State drops to 13-6 overall and 2-3 in NSAA play.
Up next: Valley City State (16-7, 4-1 NSAA) hosts No. 11-ranked University of Jamestown (18-5, 5-0 NSAA) on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Vikings lost 68-61 at Jamestown back on Jan. 21 – their only NSAA loss this season.
