VALLEY CITY – The Valley City State women's basketball worked together to bring down the nationally ranked Dakota State 75-61 Saturday at home. This is the Vikings third time defeating a nationally recognized team.
 
VCSU picks up its fourth win in conference play, improving to 12-10 overall and 4-6 in the North Star. Dakota State drops to 17-4 on the season and the Vikings hand the Trojans its first loss in conference play who are now 9-1 in the NSAA.
 
The Vikings started the first quarter with the momentum on their side as they found open shots across the court. The Viking's defense also stepped up their game as they forced nine turnovers, with three of them being steals. This helped the Vikings advance to a 22-9 lead going into the second quarter with a last second jump shot from Diemert, bringing her total to seven points.
 
Several Vikings continued to find the basket in the second quarter. Backus found two quick shots and a corner three to help the Vikings gain a 20-point lead, 31-11. Just before halftime, the Trojans battled back and chipped away at the deficit, but the Vikings were able to hold them off with a 44-30 lead at halftime.
 
Going into the second half, the Vikings found a steady rhythm in scoring as they went 6-for-9 in the 3-point range. Among the 3-point scorers were Diemert, who brought her total scoring to 20 points, and Braaten with back-to-back 3-pointers to help them advance back to a large lead of 62-49 at the end of the third quarter.
 
The Vikings held that advantage going into the fourth quarter. Arguably their toughest quarter of the game, the Trojans began to creep back into the game with only an eight-point deficit 69-61. The Vikings were able to hold them off and keep knocking down crucial buckets to secure the 75-61 victory over Dakota State.
 
VCSU shot 59 percent from the field (29-49), their best in conference play so far, 58 percent from 3-point range (7-12), and 58 percent on free throws (10-17). Dakota State shot 35 percent on field goals (23-65), 24 percent on 3's (10-41), and 50 percent on free throws (5-10).
 
VCSU recorded 35 total rebounds on the game to Dakota State's 32. VCSU also recorded 17 assists to their 12. Dakota State posted 11 steals, and VCSU recorded 8.
 
Ashlyn Diemert finished with a game-high 28 points and four assists while Abby Aslesen totaled 14 points and JayCee Richter added 11. Ellie Braaten totaled two steals and seven rebounds, and Hebrink added 6 rebounds for the Vikings.
 
Dakota State was led by Angela Slattery who scored 13 points, and Teel Tabor and Bria Wasmund who totaled 12 points each. Tabor added eight rebounds and Lilli Mackley posted nine.
UP NEXT: VCSU is back home next weekend to take on the University of Jamestown on Friday, Feb. 7.