MAYVILLE, N.D. – Valley City State used a big second and third quarter to pick up a 74-59 win over Mayville State in the Frontier Conference opener in Mayville.

The Vikings outscored the Comets 49-27 in the middle two quarters to take control of the game.

The Vikings are 4-1 on the season and 1-0 in the Frontier Conference. Mayville State falls to 1-4 overall and 0-1 in the conference.

The first half was a tale of two quarters. The first belonged to Mayville State and the second quarter belonged to Valley City State.

In the first quarter, the Comets got off to a 7-0 start. Hannah Stark's three-pointer started the run eleven seconds into the game. A layup by Lynae Wallker capped the run, making it 7-0 Comets with 8:09 to go in the first quarter. Bella Kanz scored to give Mayville State the seven-point lead back at 12-5 with 3:46 to go in the first. The Vikings ended the quarter on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to two by the end of the quarter. Ellie Braaten made a three-pointer with ten seconds to go in the quarter to make the score 12-10 Mayville State after one quarter.

Mayville State used a 10-2 run to start the second quarter to take a ten-point lead. A three-pointer by Laela Jensen made it 22-12 Comets with 7:32 to go in the second quarter. The teams exchanged three-pointers to keep it a ten-point lead for Mayville State, 25-15, with 6:25 to go in the second. That's when the Vikings went to work. A 14-0 run by VCSU ended the quarter to give the Vikings a four-point lead at the break. A Liz Lukken three-pointer started the run, making it 25-18 Mayville State with 5:13 to go in the second. JayCee Richter hit a three-pointer to give the Vikings their first lead of the game at 26-25. Braaten made a three-pointer with seven seconds to go to make the halftime score 29-25.

The third quarter was more of the same for Valley City State, a lot more. In the first 5:14 of the quarter, Valley City State used a 15-4 run to take a 15-point lead. Lukken made a three-pointer to make it 44-29 Vikings with 4:46 to go in the quarter. The Comets got the lead down to 13 at 46-33. The lead just kept growing and growing as the Vikings continued to hit from behind the three-point line. A three-pointer by Braaten at the end of the third quarter capped a 30-point quarter for the Vikings who led 59-39 heading into the fourth quarter.

Mayville State started the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run to cut the Vikings lead to twelve. Valley City State came right back with a 9-0 run to take a 21-point lead. A three-pointer by Aslesen made it 70-49. Forty seconds later, Aubrey Prunty's layup made it 72-50 Vikings, their biggest lead of the game. The Comets would end the game on a 9-2 run, but it was too little, too late as the Vikings won the conference opener 74-59.

Ellie Braaten equaled a career high with 23 points. Braaten filled the stat sheet with seven rebounds, five assists, and five steals. Abby Aslesen was also in double figures with twelve points. Liz Lukken and JayCee Richter each had nine points. Lukken added three assists and three steals. Aubrey Prunty had eight points and six rebounds. Madison Spacher had five points, Olivia Backus and Tiyana Schwinghammer each had four points.

UP NEXT: The Vikings come home to play Montana Western on Friday, November 21^st and Montana Tech on Saturday, November 22^nd. Each day the games start at 5:00 p.m.