VALLEY CITY – The Valley City State women's basketball team opened the conference season in the win column Saturday after erasing an early deficit to come away with a 66-60 victory over Dickinson State.

The Vikings and Blue Hawks each used big runs to shift the momentum throughout the game, but VCSU held on for the six-point victory at home.

"When you go into conference play, every possession matters. We have to be able to keep ourselves even keeled," head coach Vanessa Johnson said. "When Dickinson goes on a run, I'd like us to keep the foot on the gas, but I liked our composure and our ability to finish the game. To pull out a win and go 1-0 in conference is a good way to start."

VCSU improves to 8-2 overall this season. Dickinson State drops to 4-7 overall and 0-1 in the NSAA.

VCSU trailed by as much as 11 points early in the second quarter but took a 16-4 run, capped by a bucket from JayCee Richter, to hold a 25-24 lead at halftime. Dickinson State kept things close coming out of the locker room but a basket from Taryn Dieterle sparked a 13-2 Viking run to build a 45-35 advantage to close the third quarter.

Trailing 59-41 with 3:30 to go, Dickinson State made a strong comeback attempt – including 11 points from Kayden Steele – to trail 64-60, but fell just short as Richter helped ice the game with a pair of free throws.

VCSU scored 36 bench points Saturday, led by Richter who scored a team-high 16 points while going 5-for-7 from the field and 4-for-5 on free throws.  

"Richter doesn't feel pressure. She's completely composed and wants the ball in her hands. Nearing the end of this game, we were able to give the ball to JayCee and she got it done for us tonight," said Johnson.

Adriana Torres added 12 points and a team-best four assists, while Taryn Dieterle scored 11 points for VCSU. Madison Wilhelmi led the rebounding effort with 10 boards on the night.

VCSU shot an impressive 57 percent in the second half of Saturday's game and shot 44 percent over the full 40 minutes (26-59). The Vikings shot 19 percent on 3's (5-26) and 60 percent on free throws (9-15). The Vikings also scored 17 second chance points and 25 points off turnovers.

Dickinson shot 38 percent Saturday (22-58), 32 percent on 3-pointers (7-22) and 69 percent on free throws (9-13). The Blue Hawks edged the Vikings on the glass, totaling 39 rebounds to VCSU's 38.

Four Blue Hawks scored in double figures Saturday led by Kayden Steele who scored 16 points off the bench. Samantha Oase added a double double with 13 points and 10 rebounds for Dickinson.

UP NEXT: VCSU travels to the University of Jamestown on Wednesday, Dec. 7 for a non-conference matchup. The women's game is slated for 6 p.m. and the men will tip at 8 p.m. Dickinson State hosts Montana State-Northern for a non-conference game on Tuesday, Dec. 6.