The Valley City State University women's basketball team outscored Dakota State 25-9 in the third quarter Friday as the Vikings roared back from an 11-point halftime deficit for a 66-61 victory.

Playing their home conference opener, the Vikings fell behind 39-28 at halftime after Dakota State shot 59 percent in the first half. VCSU opened the third quarter with a 16-2 run though, taking a 44-41 lead with 5 minutes left in the period. The Vikings closed the quarter with a 53-48 lead and never trailed in the fourth en route to the North Star Athletic Association victory.

It was Valley City's eighth straight win as they improved to 11-3 overall and 3-0 in conference play. Dakota State drops to 1-9 overall and 0-3 in the NSAA.

The Trojans used hot shooting to build a quick lead in the first half, which included 19 first-half points by Kennedy Wagner. Dakota State was 13-for-22 from the field in the first half and went 3-for-5 on 3's. Their shooting fell off in the second half as the Trojans went just 6-for-22 from the field over the final 20 minutes.

VCSU shot 43 percent for the game (24-56), went just 16 percent on 3's (3-19) and was 68 percent at the free throw line. Dakota State finished at 43 percent overall (19-44), 31 percent on 3's (4-13) and 83 percent on free throws.

Wagner led all scorers with 24 points for the Trojans. BreeAna Olson added 17 points.

Allí Vandal and Kennedy Henningsgard both posted 14 points and seven rebounds to lead VCSU. Georgia Williams scored 11 points, and Lexi Lennon posted eight points and seven rebounds.

VCSU held a 32-24 edge on the glass, including an 11-5 advantage in offensive rebounds. The Vikings had 15 assists, 10 steals, 4 blocks and 16 turnovers.

Dakota State finished with nine assists, six steals and 21 turnovers.

Up next: Valley City State (11-3, 3-0 NSAA) hosts Bellevue University on Saturday at 6 p.m. Dakota State (1-9, 0-3) travels to Dickinson on Dec. 14.