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N.D (NewsDakota.com) The Valley City State women’s basketball team was handed their first loss since late December on Wednesday night in a 83-61 final to the NCAA’s North Dakota State University.

While the loss won’t be taken lightly by the Vikings, it will not effect their regular season record as the game was an exhibition for VCSU.

The Vikings stayed close though the first half of the game, taking the lead twice in the opening period, and then tying the game at 17 when Brittany Lehner grabbed a missed lay up by Sadiqah Jihad and put it back in off the glass.

While the Bison would pull away to go into the half with a ten point advantage, that would be their largest lead of the opening period of play. 

At the start of the second half, the Bison would start to pull away, opening play on a 11-0 run. The Vikings would not be able to fight back as the game ended in favor of the home team. 

Despite the loss, it was a strong showing for the Vikings against a NCAA DI opponent. With Lehner drawing a majority of the attention from the Bison defense, Jihad and Megan Trautman led Valley City on the score sheet with 10 points apiece. 12 of the 13 Vikings players who made their way on the court would finish with points in the game. 

Next up, Valley City will travel to Mayville State for the first game of North Star Athletic Association play. The will open play on Saturday, January 26th with a 4:30pm start with the men’s team to follow at 6:30pm. Hear both games on Dakota Country 1490 KOVC.