January 11, 2019

Photos credit by Brenna Winter - VCSU Athletics

VALLEY CITY, N.D. – Dakota State (S.D.) led 21-17 after the first period over Valley City State (N.D.) in the North Star Athletic Association women's basketball conference action Friday evening at W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse.  The Vikings outscored the Lady T's 49-37 in the final twenty minutes of the game to gain an 88-73 victory.

Dakota State fell to 2-15 overall record and 1-3 record in North Star contests.  Valley City State, who was the preseason coaches' favorite to win the league title, improved to 6-9 overall and 3-1 NSAA record.  VCSU moved in a three-way tie for first place in the conference standings with Mayville State (N.D.) and Bellevue (Neb..).

DSU and VCSU traded leads three times and knotted the game three times in the first quarter.  McKenzie Hermanson drained a 3-pointer for DSU's four-point lead at 21-17, but both teams were unable to score in the final 1:35 of the first period.

The Lady T's shot 53.3 percent from the field in the first ten minutes of the game (8-of-15 field goals and held the Vikings to 7-of-18 field goal shooting (38.9 percent).

Dakota State and Valley City State battled back-and-forth in the second quarter with seven lead changes and two ties.  Trailing 30-28, Hermanson hit a pair of three-points to put the Lady T's up 34-30 with 2:54 left before intermission.

VCSU closed the first-half with a 9-2 scoring run (scoring the final four points of the second period) to gain a 39-36 halftime advantage.  The Vikings shot 42.9 percent from the field (15-of-35) compared to the Lady T's 40 percent (12-of-30).

Hermanson kicked off the second-half with a 3-pointer as Dakota State tied the game for the sixth time at 39-39 with 9:23 on the clock.  The Vikings answered with a 5-0 run, but the Lady T's cut the Vikings within two points on two different occasions (44-42 with 8:19 on the clock and 46-44 with 6:52 left in the third).

Valley City State put together a 12-0 outburst to widen their lead to 58-44 with 2:17 to go in third.  VCSU outscored DSU 21-13 to earn a 60-49 lead by the end of the third quarter.

The Vikings maintained their double-digit lead for the rest of the game.  The Lady T's could get no closer than 10 points at 64-54 after a basket by Alexis Robson with 8:24 to go.

VCSU outscored DSU 28-24 in the final quarter.  The Vikings were 10-of-10 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.

Valley City State was 17-of-34 from the field in the second-half (50 percent).  Dakota State was held to 38.7 percent from the field (12-o-31) in the final twenty minutes.

Five Lady T players scored in double digits, led by Hermanson with 15 points.  She was 5-of-8 from the 3-point line.  Taylor Volesky scored 12 points and dished out four assists off the bench.

Cassie Hand tallied 14 points off the bench on her 5-of-8 field goal shooting, including 3-of-5 from the 3-point arc for DSU.  Robson and Alexis Evans each scored 10 points. 

Volesky grabbed seven rebounds and registered two blocks for Dakota State.  Ashlyn Macdonald added six rebounds and produced four assists.  Hand had five rebounds.  Robson stole the ball two times.

Valley City State used a balanced scoring offense attack with six players in double digits.  Dierra Diegel led the Vikings with 16 points.  Mackenzie Huber posted a double-double of 13 points and collected 13 rebounds.  Hannah Schlecht had 13 points.  Alli Vandal and Alexis Bentz each scored 12 points.  Gabby Martin had 10 points.

Kaitlin Connor recoded seven rebounds and three blocks for VCSU.  Schlecht added six rebounds.  Annie Swenson dished out four assists.  Schlecht and Martin each registered two steals.

The Vikings were 46.4 percent overall from the field (32-of-69) compared to the Lady T's 39.3 percent (24-of-61).  DSU hit 12-of-29 3-pointers (41.4 percent), while VCSU was 7-of-21 3-pointers (33.3 percent).

Valley City State was 17-of-20 from the free-throw line (85 percent).  Dakota State made 13-of-18 free-throws (72.2 percent).

VCSU outrebounded DSU 42-30 in the game.  The Vikings outscored the Lady T's 36-18 inside the paint and 10-7 in second-chance points.

Dakota State stays on the road Saturday afternoon for another North Star contest at Mayville State (N.D.).  Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m. at Lewy Lee Fieldhouse in Mayville, N.D.    

Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director