The Valley City State women's basketball team moved into a tie for second place in the NSAA standings Saturday night, improving to 8-3 in conference play after a 66-55 victory at Dakota State University.
Four different Vikings scored in double figures, led by 17 points from Mackenzie Huber.
VCSU jumped out to a 20-8 lead after the first quarter, but Dakota State outscored VCSU 23-12 in the second quarter to cut the Viking lead to 32-31 at halftime. Valley City State held Dakota State to just 24 second-half points as the Vikings earned the road victory by outscoring the Lady T's 34-24 in the second half.
Valley City State improves to 15-9 overall and 8-3 in the North Star Athletic Association. Dakota State drops to 14-13 overall and 6-5 in conference play.
VCSU's victory, paired with Jamestown's win over Dickinson State, moved the Vikings into a virtual tie for second place in the NSAA standings with Dickinson. Jamestown leads the standings at 10-0 overall. VCSU is 8-3 in conference play while Dickinson State is 7-3 in conference play. The Vikings and Blue Hawks both have two games remaining.
Huber's 17 points was a game high and came on 7-for-9 shooting. The freshmen center is averaging 14.5 points per game over the last four contests.
Courtney Dixon posted her second double-double in the last three games, finishing with 10 points and 12 rebounds on Saturday. The senior added three assists, three blocks and three steals.
Lexi Lennon also posted a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Nisja Bass scored 10 points and added four rebounds and four assists. Georgia Williams had a team-high seven assists in the victory and added six points. Sara Schwanke chipped in nine points for VCSU.
Dakota State was led by 11 points from Courtney Hulstein.
The Vikings shot 41 percent overall (26-64), including 45 percent in the second half. VCSU finished at 28 percent from 3-point range (5-18), led by two 3's from both Dixon and Bass. The Vikings were 9-for-11 at the free throw line.
Dakota State was held to just 29 percent shooting (19-65), including 25 percent in the second half. The Lady T's went just 1-for-12 on 3's and were 16-for-20 at the free throw line.
Up next: Valley City State (15-9, 8-3 NSAA) travels to Mayville State on Wednesday. The women's game starts at 5:30 p.m.
