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CO (NewsDakota.com) The Valley City State Men’s and Women’s teams made their way to Colorado over the weekend for a double header on a neutral court with Northern New Mexico, then followed that up with a game against the host team Johnson and Wales University.
On day one, the Valley City Women’s team would meet up with Northern New Mexico. It would be a good day Vikings who claimed a 73-52 win over the Eagles, lifting them past the 500 mark for the first time this year.
Under the basket, the Vikings let Brittnay Lehner lead the way, and she did just that finishing the game with a team high 19 points and six rebounds. When it wasn’t the Watertown, South Dakota native hitting buckets for the Vikings, it was Sierra Even. The junior guard knocked down nearly 50% of her shots from behind the arc ending the night with 16 points on the way to the Vikings win.
After the Women finished up it was the men’s turn. They too, would face off with Northern New Mexico, but they would take the game all the way to the final buzzer before claiming a one point victory.
Trailing by a score of 74-68, the Vikings would start a comeback when Mac Kroeplin hit a three-point shot that swayed the momentum of the game. With just 53 seconds left on the clock and the Vikings trailing by two, AJ McDonald lifted Valley City into the lead with a three pointer. As the Eagles dribbled down the court they would get one last chance, a deep shot from behind the arc. It would miss its mark and the Vikings would claim victory 76-75.
On Day two, The Women earned their second win of the weekend hitting a season high for points in a 94-78 win over Johnson and Wales.
The Vikings shot an outstanding 41% from the field against the Wild Cats. Lehner would once again lead the team in points finishing with a 33 in the game. Three other Vikings would reach their way into double digits as Ashli Lee knocked down 14 and Both Even and Stephanie Pedersen went for 13 in the game.
The victory filled weekend, advances the Lady Vikings to 8-6 on the season. More impressively they have won their last four games.
The second day of action brought another close match for the men’s team, but this time it would not end in their favor as Johnson and Wales defeated Valley City 79-76.
The Vikings would get strong games from both Russell Robinson and Aaron Duske as the duo finished a double double a piece.
Robinson had a season high 22 rebounds in the game ten of which came on the offensive side of the court. The Chicago native would utilize the offensive boards for 18 points. Duske’s double double was heavier on points with 24 buckets and 10 rebounds.
Despite the strong play for Vikings duo, the 21 points from the Wild Cats Demertis Love was enough to lift Johnson and Wales to victory.
Valley City had their opportunities in the final seconds but three point shots from McDonald and Kroeplin both fell short.
The Vikings weekend, gives them an overall record of 5-10 on the season. Both the Men’s and Women’s teams will return to action on Monday, January 13th when they host Trinity Bible starting at 5:30pm with the Women’s game.