Survive and advance. That's all you need to do in postseason basketball, and the Valley City State women did just that Wednesday night on their home court.
The No. 2 seeded Vikings held off a feisty Dakota State team, surviving for a 68-62 overtime victory during the quarterfinal round of the North Star Athletic Association postseason tournament.
Georgia Williams poured in 23 points to lead four Vikings in double figures. She knocked down six 3-pointers in the game, but it was her old-fashioned 3-point play with 37 seconds left that put the Vikings up 66-62 in overtime and all but sealed the victory.
Dakota State's Courtney Hulstein sank a basket with 1:43 to go, giving Dakota State its last lead of the game at 62-61. VCSU's Lexi Lennon answered with a reverse layup as the shot clock was winding down. Following two missed shots by Dakota State, Williams scored in transition and was fouled. She sank the free throw for a 66-62 lead. Dakota State turned the ball over on its possession, and the Vikings milked the clock until Steph Pedersen made two free throws with 1.4 seconds left to clinch it.
Valley City State improves to 21-8 overall and will advance to the NSAA semifinals. The Vikings will host No. 3 Mayville State on Saturday at 4 p.m. after the Comets defeated Dickinson State 73-70 in the semifinals. The winner of VCSU-Mayville State will play top seed University of Jamestown in the NSAA Championship. The Jimmies defeated Presentation College, 88-66 in the quarterfinals.
Dakota State sees it season come to an end with an 11-19 record following Wednesday loss to the Vikings.
Allyson Suhr had 12 points, four rebounds and four blocks for the Vikings. Lennon added 11 points and eight rebounds, and Pedersen finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.
Sierra Even led the Vikings on the glass with 12 rebounds, and also dished out a team-high eight assists. VCSU had 51 total rebounds, including 19 offensive boards. Dakota State finished with 46 rebounds, including 12 offensive.
Madison Walford had 16 points and five rebounds to lead Dakota State. Courtney Hulstein scored 15 points and was 3-for-5 on 3's. Erin Rabenberg added 11 points, and Sharee Galbraith had 15 rebounds and four points. Dakota State's depth suffered a blow when starting guard BreeAna Olson went down with an injury 32 seconds into the second half. She did not return, which gave Dakota State just eight active players for the rest of the game.
The Viking started fast, taking a 6-0 lead in the first 70 seconds. But the Lady T's chipped away and eventually took their first lead of the game at 17-16 on Courtney Hulstein's 3 with 9:40 remaining. it was part of an 11-0 run by the Lady T's that put them up 23-16 with 3:48 to go.
Dakota State led 31-24 at halftime and 33-24 early in the second half before the Vikings rallied back. VCSU finally tied the game at 39-39 on Suhr's basket with 11:03 remaining. Williams then gave the Vikings their first lead of the second half, 44-41, on a 3-pointer with 8:56 to go. Another 3 by Williams had the Vikings up 57-51 with 3 minutes remaining, but Dakota State scored the final six points in regulation.
Two free throws by Sharee Galbraith tied it at 57-57 with 1:25 to go. Both teams missed opportunities to win the game in the final minute. The Vikings had the last look, but Courtney Dixon's deep 3 rimmed in-and-out, sending the game to overtime.
The Vikings shot 34 percent from the field (27-79), 32 percent on 3's (6-19), and 62 percent on free throws (8-13). Dakota State finished 37 percent from the field (24-65), 26 percent on 3's (5-19) and 69 percent on free throws (9-13).
Up next: Valley City State hosts Mayville State in the NSAA semifinal game Saturday in Valley City. The winner plays at University of Jamestown in the championship.
