MADISON, S.D.  (playnorthstar.com) The Valley City State Women’s Basketball team was selected to finish third in the NSAA preseason coaches’ poll released Monday. The Vikings tallied 50 points in the coaches’ poll behind Mayville State who collected 60 and Bellevue who tallied 58.

The Vikings finished third in the conference last season after finishing 14-14 overall and 10-4 in conference play. Valley City State opens its season on Thursday, Oct. 24, when they host Minot State University.

Mayville State (N.D.) edged Bellevue (Neb.) by two points for the top spot in the 2019-20 North Star Athletic Association women’s basketball coaches’ _conference preseason poll, the conference office announced Monday. The Comets collected 60 points, while the Bruins finished second with 58 points. MSU and BU each picked up four first-place votes in the conference poll.

Mayville State and Bellevue shared the conference regular-season title last season with an 11-3 record. The Bruins defeated the Comets in the postseason conference tournament held in Watertown, S.D. Bellevue qualified for the NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Tournament, falling in the opening round to Taylor (Ind.).

MSU finished their 2018-19 season with an overall record of 19-8, while BU was 23-10 overall record.

Valley City State (N.D.) tallied 50 points in the poll to place third, followed by Dakota State (S.D.) fourth with 35 points. Viterbo (Wis.) was picked to finish fifth after recording 27 points. Waldorf (Iowa) was sixth with 22 points. Presentation (S.D.) edged Dickinson State (N.D.) 19-17 to claim the seventh-place spot in the preseason poll.

Points are awarded on an 8-1 basis and coaches could vote for their own team.

Each NSAA members will be playing a total of 14 conference games this season, with each team playing home and away games during the conference season.

The NSAA conference season gets underway on Dec. 7 with four games on schedule, with traveling partners playing each other. Valley City State travels to Dickinson State; Dakota State hosts Bellevue; Presentation welcomes Mayville State and Viterbo visits Waldorf.

The NSAA Postseason Tournament opening round is scheduled for Feb. 26. The four opening round runners will advance to the ‘Final Four’ tournament to be held at Watertown Civic Arena in Watertown, S.D. on Feb. 29-March 1. The North Star Women’s Basketball Postseason Tournament Champion will receive an automatic bid to the NAIA Division II National Tournament to be held in Sioux City, Iowa. The national tournament takes place on March 11 through March 17. This will be the final year as a member of the NAIA Division II basketball, where all NAIA schools will compete in one division next season.

Here is the complete 2019-20 NSAA Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Preseason Poll: