Valley City State opened the second quarter on a 17-2 run Wednesday night as the Viking women built a commanding first-half lead en route to an impressive 86-66 victory over Mayville State University.
Tied at 19-19 after one quarter in Valley City, the Vikings scored the first 12 points of the second quarter and 17 of the first 19 to go up 36-21. The Comets closed the deficit to nine at halftime but would get no closer as VCSU led by as many as 25 points late in the game.
With the win, Valley City State improves to 13-8 overall and 6-2 in conference play. The Vikings are now in sole possession of third place in the North Star Athletic Association standings with five games to go. Mayville State drops to 14-8 overall and is a game behind VCSU in the conference standings at 5-3.
Mackenzie Huber, Lexi Lennon and Sara Schwanke combined for 54 points Wednesday as all three scored season-highs for the Vikings.
Lennon went 5-for-6 from 3-point range and finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Lennon scored 14 points in the second half. Mackenzie Huber scored 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting, despite playing just 17 minutes. Sara Schwanke finished 6-for-9 from the field as she scored a season-high 16 points and dished out four assists. Fourteen of Schwanke's points came in the first half.
Georgia Williams added 11 points and five assists as a fourth Viking to reach double figure points.
Andi Gayner had 23 points, including an 11-for-12 night at the free throw line to lead Mayville State. Jenna Lundon finished with 22 points and went 6-for-16 on 3's. Liza Hoglo posted a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Valley City State lit up the nets throughout the night, finishing at 49 percent overall (32-65), 56 percent from 3-point range (9-16) and 87 percent at the free throw line (13-15).
The Vikings shot 4-for-5 from 3-point range in the first half as they held a 42-33 halftime lead. VCSU extended the lead to 65-48 after three quarters and led by as many as 25 points in the fourth quarter, running away with the game down the stretch.
Mayville State shot 35 percent from the field (22-63), 25 percent from 3-point range (7-28) and 83 percent at the free throw line (15-18).
VCSU finished with 42 rebounds, 17 assists, seven blocks, seven steals and just 11 turnovers. The Comets finished with 28 rebounds, nine assists, one block, two steals and 12 turnovers.
Up next: Valley City State (13-8, 6-2 NSAA) hosts conference leader University of Jamestown (21-4, 7-0 NSAA) on Saturday at 4 p.m. Mayville State (14-8, 5-3 NSAA) travels to Dickinson State on Saturday.
