VALLEY CITY, ND  (NewsDakota.com)  Valley City State turned around a tough first half in women’s play, then fought off adversity in men’s play, to sweep a doubleheader Friday night at Presentation College.

The Viking women rallied from a 27-20 deficit with a 53-point second half to top the Saints 75-57, while the men built a 16 point lead and held on when it was cut to four for an 84-72 victory in the nightcap at Aberdeen, SD.

Both Saints teams were winless in conference play entering the night, but both made the Vikings work for a road victory.

Ashlyn Diemert sparked a 17-3 run that lapped both sides of halftime for the Viking women, scoring 15 of her game-high 22 in the third quarter.  Taryn Dieterle then put on the finishing touches with 12 of her 19 in the fourth to power the Vikings to a win.

The Viking men rolled early, opening up a 21-9 edge, with Duoth Gach scoring 16 first-half points and Joe Owens scoring seven in just a handful of minutes off the bench early in the first half.  The Vikings led 44-30 at the break, and would eventually own a 66-50 advantage.

Turnovers were a key first-half factor, as the Vikings forced 16 Saint giveaways, scoring 27 points from those errors.

Presentation stormed back to within four, as the Vikings found second-half foul trouble.  Valley City State entered the penalty just 4:03 into the second half, and had four players finish on the brink of fouling out.

But the Saints failed to take full advantage.  The lead was eventually cut to 66-62, but Presentation finished the game 10-24 from the foul line.

Cayden Rickard’s second half stabilized the Vikings, as he poured in 13 of his 15 after the break, knocking down three key triples in rapid succession.  Devonte Munson knocked in 10 of his 14 after the break.  Edmon Oyet and Cleveland Bedgood would also score in double figures.

The Viking women are 4-2 in league play, the men 3-3, and both will face first-place Mayville State in North Star Athletic Association play Saturday