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S.D. (VCSU) – The Viking women’s basketball team put itself back on track Saturday afternoon with a conference victory at Dakota State.
One night after losing at Bellevue University, the No. 19-ranked Vikings overcame a poor shooting performance to down the Trojans, 77-69.
Lexi Lennon, Alli Vandal and Kennedy Henningsgard combined to score 56 of the team’s 77 points Saturday. VCSU led 21-17 after the first quarter and 38-35 at halftime.
The Vikings extended the lead to 57-51 to start the fourth quarter before things got interesting. Dakota State used a 13-4 run to take its first lead of the second half at 66-65 with 2:38 remaining. Vandal followed with an old-fashioned 3-point play to regain the lead for VCSU, and the Vikings closed the game on a 12-3 run to secure the victory. VCSU went 9-for-10 at the free throw line over the final 90 seconds.
Valley City State improves to 13-3 overall and 5-2 in the North Star Athletic Association. Dakota State drops to 6-12 overall and 3-3 in the NSAA.
Lennon finished with a game-high 21 points and added 10 rebounds for a double-double. Vandal was strong inside with 20 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Vandal went 8-for-13 on field goals. Henningsgard came up big as well with 15 points and six rebounds. Three other Vikings had six points in the game.
Valley City State had a 56-39 advantage in rebounds including a 22-10 advantage in offensive rebounds. Five different Vikings had three or more offensive rebounds, including five by Kaitlin Connor and four by Mackenzie Huber. That strong rebounding performance helped VCSU overcome poor shooting. The Vikings shot just 34 percent from the field (26-76), but were able to attempt 14 more shots than the Trojans. VCSU was 4-for-19 on 3’s (21 percent) and 21-for-24 on free throws.
Dakota State finished at 39 percent from the field (24-62), 35 percent on 3’s (7-20) and 64 percent at the line (14-22).
Raven Patton led Dakota State with 12 points, nine rebounds and five blocks.
Up next: Valley City State travels to Viterbo University for a 3/5 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday, Jan. 13.