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CITY, IA (VCSUVikings.com)- A trip to Waldorf University resulted in a split for The Vikings. The women got back to their winning ways with a commanding 74-48 win against The Warriors. In the men’s contest The Vikings were on the losing end of late push by Waldorf falling 77-74. Monday night VCSU host in state rival Dickinson State University. Tip off is at 5:30, coverage on Q101 and NewsDakota.com begins at 5:15.
WBB: VCSU 74 Waldorf University 48
The Viking women’s basketball team led from start to finish Friday night as they rolled to their sixth conference win of the season, 74-48 at Waldorf University.
VCSU scored the first 11 points of the game and led 18-2 after eight minutes of play. The Vikings built a 41-20 halftime lead and a 59-33 edge after three quarters of play.
Valley City State improves to 15-5 overall and 6-1 in the North Star Athletic Association. The Vikings remain tied with Dickinson State (13-5, 6-1 NSAA) for second in the conference standings. VCSU and Dickinson will play twice next week: Monday in Valley City and Friday in Dickinson.
Waldorf University drops to 2-17 overall and is now 0-7 in conference play.
Valley City State forced 29 Waldorf turnover and dished out 21 assists in the road victory Friday. Five Vikings score nine or more points as part of a balanced attack. Lexi Lennon led the way with 14 points, four steals and three assists. Kaitlin Connor went 6-for-6 from the field as she posted 12 points and six rebounds, and Kennedy Henningsgard had 11 points and six rebounds. All Vandal scored 10 points off the bench, and starting point guard Nisja Bass finished with nine points, seven steals and four assists.
Nine Vikings scored in the game, including new roster addition Rebecca Eberle who had two points in her Viking debut. Hannah Schlecht filled up the stat sheet with six points, six rebounds, four steals and four assists.
VCSU shot 43 percent from the field (31-72), just 14 percent on 3’s (3-21) and 75 percent at the line (9-12). Valley City State held a 44-27 edge in rebounds, including a 21-7 advantage on the offensive glass.
Waldorf shot 36 percent overall (16-45), 25 percent on 3’s (4-16) and 80 percent at the line (12-15). Samantha Birkes was the lone Warrior to reach double figures, finishing with 14 points.
MBB: Waldorf 77 VCSU 74
The Valley City State men’s basketball team saw a second-half lead slip away Friday night in a 77-74 loss at Waldorf University.
VCSU led 64-53 midway through the second half and 71-63 with six minutes remaining, but could not hold off the Warriors down the stretch. Waldorf closed the game on a 14-3 run over the final 5:13, rallying for the North Star Athletic Association conference victory.
The Vikings drop to 12-9 overall and 4-3 in conference play. Waldorf improves to 8-12 overall and 4-3 in conference play. The Vikings and Warriors now sit in a three-way tie for fourth place in the conference standings.
The teams went back-and-forth for much of the first half Friday before the Vikings created some separation late. Rashad Satahoo hit back-to-back 3’s in the final 75 seconds, helping the Vikings to a 45-36 lead at the break.
Denzel Kennedy’s layup with 11:22 remaining in the game gave VCSU its biggest lead at 64-53. The Warriors chipped it down to 68-63 before Chase Carpenter nailed a Viking 3 for a 71-63 lead with 5:56 left.
The Warriors would not go away though. Eight straight points by Brady Kuchinka, including back-to-back 3’s, tied the game at 71-71 with 4:02 left. Rashad Satahoo’s layup with 1:43 left put VCSU up 74-72, but it was a short-lived lead as Waldorf’s Myles Simmons hit a 3 just 12 seconds later for a 75-74 Warrior advantage.
Jayden Ferguson missed a shot for VCSU on the other end, and Michael Morgan scored for Waldorf to make it 77-74 with 47 seconds left. The Vikings had four 3-point attempts to tie the game in the final 37 seconds, but could not get one to fall before time expired.
Jayden Ferguson led the Vikings with a game-high 25 points, along with seven rebounds and five assists. Jason Ralph, who started and played all 40 minutes at point guard, knocked down five 3-pointers as he finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Rashad Satahoo added 13 points.
VCSU shot 43 percent overall (27-63) and 44 percent from 3-point range (12-27). The Vikings were 8-for-14 at the free throw line.
June Prowell scored 25 points to lead Waldorf’s offense. The Warriors shot 49 percent overall (33-67), 35 percent on 3’s (7-20) and went 4-for-6 at the line.
VCSU committed just seven turnovers while Waldorf had only five turnovers.