The Valley City State women's basketball team extended its winning streak to six games on Wednesday, hanging on in the closing moments for a 57-55 road victory at Dickinson State University.
Neither team led by more than five points in a back-and-forth contest that featured 10 ties and 18 lead changes. The scoreboard stayed in VCSU's favor though for the final 6:44 after Georgia Williams knocked down a 3 for a slim 51-48 lead. The Blue Hawks were back within one point at 53-52, but Courtney Dixon nailed a jumper with 2:30 to go, and Lexi Lennon made two free throws at the 2-minute mark to give the Vikings a 57-52 edge.
Dickinson's Paitton Herbst hit a 3 to cut the lead to 57-55 with 1:14 remaining. The teams traded missed shots and then Dickinson forced a 5-second violation to get the ball back for the final possession. But the Viking defense held strong as Sierra Even forced a jump ball with 0.3 seconds to go, getting the ball back for the Vikings who were able to inbound and run out the clock for the narrow victory.
VCSU improves to 18-7 overall and 6-1 in the North Star Athletic Association. The Vikings remain tied for first place with University of Jamestown, which defeated Presentation College 89-64 on Wednesday. Dickinson State drops to 8-16 overall and 2-5 in conference play.
Neither team shot the ball especially well in Dickinson, but the Vikings were just a bit better in every category. VCSU finished 39 percent from the field (22-56), 25 percent on 3's (4-16) and 69 percent on free throws (9-13). Dickinson State shot 38 percent from the field (23-61), 21 percent on 3's (3-14) and 43 percent on free throws (6-14).
Steph Pedersen filled up the stat sheet for VCSU, leading a true team effort in the win. The senior guard from Mandan finished with 10 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals. Sadiqah Jihad had 10 points and Georgia Williams chipped in nine. Tracie Boehmlehner gave the Vikings a spark off the bench, scoring eight points in just six minutes of play. The junior was 3-for-3 from the field, including 2-for-2 on 3's.
Lexi Lennon added eight points off the bench, and Courtney Dixon had six points, four rebounds and four assists. Sierra Even had four points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Allyson Suhr chipped in two points to round out the VCSU scoring.
Dickinson was led by 15 points each by Hailee Farstveet and Ashley Bentz.
For the second straight game, VCSU was beat badly on the glass. Dickinson out-rebounded the Vikings 44-30, including a 16-6 edge on the offensive glass. The Blue Hawks committed 20 turnovers and had 10 assists, six blocks and five steals. The Vikings turned the ball over 16 times and had 12 assists, one block and 11 steals.
Up next: The Vikings (18-7, 6-1 NSAA) hit the road again Saturday with a 4 p.m. game at Dakota State University (11-15, 2-5 NSAA).
