DICKINSON, N.D. – Valley City State out scored Dickinson State 25-8 in the first quarter and held off a second half rally to defeat the Blue Hawks 78-64 in Frontier Conference women's basketball Friday night in Dickinson.
Valley City State is 9-14 overall and 6-13 in the Frontier Conference. The Blue Hawks are 6-17 overall and 4-15 in the conference.

Brae Eneboe made one of two free throws 41 seconds into the game to give Dickinson State a 1-0 lead. That was the only lead the Blue Hawks would have the rest of the night. Valley City State would go on a 23-3 run to take a 19-point lead, including 17 points in a row. JayCee Richter scored inside to give the Vikings a 2-1 lead at the 9:05 mark of the first quarter. After a three-point play by Dickinson State's Anhelica Shanrock made it 6-4 Vikings with 7:31 to go in the quarter, VCSU would rattle of the 17 points in a row to take that 19-point lead. Tiyana Schwinghammer capped the run with a basket in the paint to make it 23-4 Vikings with 2:16 to go in the first.

Valley City State would go on a 9-2 run to take a 24-point lead two minutes into the second quarter. Ellie Powell made two free throws to make it 34-10 VCSU with 7:59 to go in the first half. After a 6-0 Blue Hawk run got the lead down to 18, Valley City State would go on a 9-0 run, finished off by an Ellie Braaten, to make it 43-16 Vikings with 2:26 to go in the half. Valley City State led 46-21 at halftime.

Dickinson State began to chip away at the lead by starting the second half on a 12-1 run. A basket by J'ell Garfield made it 47-33 Vikings with 5:30 to go in the third. The Vikings would come back with a 7-0 run to get the lead back up to 21 points. A basket in the lane by Abby Aslesen would make it 54-33 Vikings. It would be back-and-forth the rest of the quarter with Valley City State holding a 60-43 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth, the lead would stay between 14 and 20 points for the quarter, except when the Blue Hawks got the lead down to 13 with 1:43 to go in the game. Valley City would finish off the game going five for eight at the free throw line in the final 1:07 to seal the win.

Ellie Braaten had a game high 23 points with five assists, three steals, and two blocks. Abby Aslesen had 15 points, Tiyana Schwinghammer had ten points and twelve rebounds. JayCee Richter had ten points, Olivia Backus had nine points and five rebounds. Ellie Powell had six points.

UP NEXT: Valley City State will be in the capitol city Saturday for a big game with Bismarck State. The Vikings trail the Mystics by one game for the last spot in the conference tournament. Tip off ios set for 5pm CT.