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N.D. – The Valley City State women’s basketball team made history Friday night, setting a new school record with their seventh straight win to start the season.
The Vikings improved to 7-0 with a victory Friday night at Dickinson State, overcoming 11 3-pointers by the Blue Hawks to pick up the 84-78 victory in their conference opener. VCSU’s 7-0 start surpasses the 1970-71 team for the best undefeated start in program history.

Five different Vikings scored in double figures as part of a balanced offensive attack Friday night. Lexi Lennon had team highs of 19 points and six assists, including an 11-for-12 night at the free throw line. Kennedy Henningsgard went 8-for-9 on free throws as she finished with 17 points.

As a team, the Vikings shot 84 percent on free throws (32-38), which helped them overcome Dickinson’s hot outside shooting. The Blue Hawks went 11-for-18 on 3-pointers, including 7-for-8 in the second half. Despite that, VCSU never trailed in the second half after taking a 36-33 lead into halftime.

VCSU (7-0, 1-0 NSAA) led by as many as 11 points in the second half at 69-58. The Blue Hawks (4-9, 0-1 NSAA) closed the gap to three points in the fourth quarter, but VCSU made free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

The Vikings shot 43 percent from the field (24-56) and just 24 percent on 3’s (4-17). Hannah Schlecht scored 15 points off the bench, shooting 6-for-12 from the field. Alli Vandal had 13 points and seven rebounds, and Kate Williams posted 10 points and three steals.

Dickinson State shot 49 percent from the field (28-57) and 61 percent on 3’s (11-18). The Blue Hawks were 11-for-15 on free throws. Riley Helmick scored a game-high 29 points for Dickinson after going 7-for-9 on 3’s.

Up next: Valley City State (7-0) hosts Minnesota-Morris (0-6) on Saturday in Valley City. The women are set to tip at 4 p.m. with the men to follow at 6 p.m.