VALLEY CITY, N.D. (VCSUVikings.com)- Lexi Lennon scored her 1,000th career point and the Valley City State women’s basketball team won its season opener Saturday afternoon, defeating College of Saint Mary 87-73 in Valley City.

Lennon finished the game with 24 points, including back-to-back dagger 3’s that gave the Vikings a 15-point lead with 1:13 remaining.

Valley City State improves to 1-0 on the season. College of Saint Mary drops to 0-2.

Lennon’s 24 points led four Vikings in double figures. Kennedy Henningsgard hit three 3’s and finished with 16 points. Mackenzie Huber went 6-for-7 shooting and posted 13 points and seven rebounds. Alli Vandal had a near triple-double, finishing with 11 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and two blocks.

Junior transfer point guard Kate Williams scored nine points and dished out three assists in her Viking debut.

College of Saint Mary led by as many as seven points in the first quarter, 18-11, before the Vikings closed the quarter with a 7-0 run to tie it at 18-18. VCSU built a 38-31 halftime lead and led 57-49 after three quarters.

The Flames battled back to within four points – 67-63 –  with 5:27 left in the game. Kate Williams then knocked down a 3 to put the lead back to seven points. It was 74-68 when the Vikings used a 9-0 run to put the game away for good. Alli Vandal converted a 3-point play with 2:18 remaining, and then Lennon followed with back-to-back 3’s to put the game out of reach.

VCSU shot 51 percent in the second half and 47 percent for the game (34-73). The Vikings were 10-for-28 on 3’s (36 percent) and 9-for-15 at the free throw line.

College of Saint Mary shot 33 percent overall (21-63), 33 percent on 3’s (7-21) and 89 percent at the free throw line (24-27).

The Vikings held a 42-34 advantage on the glass. VCSU had 17 assists, seven blocks, two steals and 13 turnovers.

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next: Valley City State travels to Florida for two games at the Warner Classic on Nov. 3-4.