December 9, 2016

VALLEY CITY, N.D. – Dakota State (S.D.) shot a blazing 59.3 percent from the field in the first-half, earning an 11-point lead over Valley City State (N.D.) Friday evening in the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) women's basketball contest at W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse.  The Vikings came out of the second-half with a 25-9 outburst and held off the Lady T's by the score of 66-61.

Dakota State dipped their overall record to 1-9 and 0-3 North Star conference record.  Valley City State won their eighth straight game to raise their overall record to 11-3 and remained undefeated in NSAA conference play with 3-0 record.

The Lady T's and Vikings battled back-and-forth in the first ten minutes of the game, featuring nine lead changes and four ties.  Trailing 17-16, DSU scored the final four points of the first quarter after a pair of free-throws by Kelsey Poppen and a 2-point field goal by Shelby Vogel to earn a 20-17 lead.

Dakota State extended their scoring run to 8-0 after starting the second quarter with four straight points by BreeAna Olson, expanding DSU's lead to 24-17 with 8:30 on the clock.

Valley City State answered back with a 7-0 run to cut DSU's lead to 24-22 with 6:12 left in the second period.  The Lady T's then scored seven straight points from Kennedy Wagner to widen their lead to 31-22 with less than five minutes to go in the first-half.

Lindsey Vogl nailed down a free-throw to give Dakota State its' biggest lead of the game at 39-28 by halftime.

Dakota State shot 13-of-22 from the field in the first-half, including 3-of-5 from the 3-point line.  The Lady T's also were 10-of-12 from the free-throw line (83.3 percent).  Valley City State was 44 percent from the field (11-of-25) in the first twenty minutes and was only 1-of-7 from the 3-point arc.  VCSU was 5-of-6 free-throws in the first-half.

The Vikings kicked off the second-half with a 16-2 scoring run to overtake a 44-41 lead with 5:03 on the clock in the third quarter.  The Lady T's rallied back to take a 48-47 lead with 2:16 left, before VCSU went on to close the third period with a 6-0 run for a 53-48 lead.

VCSU opened up the fourth quarter with an eight-point lead at 56-48 with 9:34 remaining.  The Lady T's cut the Vikings lead to 60-57 after completing a three-point play by Olson with 3:35 left.

Jamie Tebben made a free-throw as Dakota State trailed 60-58 with 2:26 remaining.  The Vikings then went on a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 64-58 with 14 seconds to go.

Cassie Jones drained a 3-pointer with less than six seconds remaining, trimming VCSU's lead to 64-61.  Georgia Williams made both free-throw attempts as the Vikings secured the victory.

Both teams scored 13 points in the final period.  A total of 14 lead changes and 8 ties were registered in the game.

Valley City State shot 41.9 percent in the second-half (13-of-31) compared to Dakota State 27.3 percent (6-of-22).

Wagner led all scorers with 24 points – with 19 points coming in the first-half – for the Lady T's.  She was 7-of-11 from the field and made 8-of-9 free-throws.  Olson added 17 points on her 6-of-11 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 free-throws.  Jones scored five points.  Tebben, Vogel and Poppen each added four points.

Britley Plautz pulled down four rebounds for DSU.  Wagner, Vogel and Poppen each earned three boards.

Wagner dished out three assists for Dakota State.  Jordan Hansen had two assists and three steals.

Alli Vandal and Kennedy Henningsgard each scored 14 points for the Vikings.  Williams added 11 points.

Vandal, Henningsgard and Lexi Lennon each grabbed seven rebounds for VCSU.  Nisja Bass, Henningsgard, Lennon and Williams each produced three assists.  Bass and Williams each stole the ball three times.

Dakota State shot 43.2 percent overall from the field (19-of-44) compared to Valley City State 42.9 percent (24-of-56).  The Lady T's were 4-of-13 from the 3-point line while the Vikings hit 3-of-19 3-pointers.

DSU converted 19-of-23 free-throws (82.6 percent).  VCSU made 15 free-throws in 22 tries (68.2 percent).

The Vikings outrebounded the Lady T's 32-24. 

Dakota State concludes their road trip with another North Star Athletic Association conference contest Wednesday evening.  The Lady T's visit Dickinson State (N.D.) with a 6:30 p.m. (Central Time)/5:30 p.m. (Mountain Time) tip-off at Scott Gymnasium in Dickinson, N.D.

Valley City State stays home Saturday evening as they host Bellevue (Neb.) at 6 p.m.

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director