JAMESTOWN, N.D. – The Valley City State University women's basketball team put on a gritty performance Sunday, downing top seed University of Jamestown 63-57 to win the North Star Athletic Association conference tournament championship.

Viking senior Kennedy Henningsgard scored 9 of the last 12 points for VCSU as the Vikings won their first conference tournament since 2011.

The victory was VCSU's 25th of the season, setting a new school record and giving the Vikings the North Star's automatic berth to the NAIA National Tournament, March 7-13 in Sioux City, Iowa.

No. 16-ranked VCSU (25-4, 13-3 NSAA) entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed after suffering losses to Jamestown twice during the regular season. On Sunday, the third time was the charm. Fueled by maybe their best defensive effort of the season, the Vikings won the conference championship for the first time since 2011. 

The game was a classic Viking-Jimmie battle, with each team having to grind out every possession. The Vikings led the final 33:49 of the game after Lexi Lennon's first-quarter 3-pointer put them ahead 10-7. The lead reached as many as 12 points, but was within two possessions most of the second half and never felt safe. Jamestown chipped away and eventually trimmed the lead to 50-49 in the fourth quarter. With the game tightening up, Henningsgard answered the call.

The senior from Buxton, N.D., sank two free throws with 5:38 remaining to push the lead to 53-49. She followed with a driving basket just 17 seconds later, converting the three-point play after being fouled on the basket. The 56-49 cushion proved to be enough for the Vikings over the final five minutes. The Jimmies trimmed the lead to 58-57, but Henningsgard went 4-for-4 on free throws in the final minutes to help ice the game away.

As the No. 7-ranked team in the country, the Jimmies (29-4, 16-0 NSAA) will earn an at-large bid to the NAIA National Tournament as well.

Henningsgard finished with a game-high 17 points – including 12 in the second half – to lead the Viking offense. She added eight rebounds and three assists and went 9-for-10 on free throws. Mackenzie Huber had a big game inside for the Vikings with 14 points and nine rebounds, and Lennon added 13 points despite a tough shooting night.

VCSU shot just 32 percent in the game (19-59) and were just 2-for-16 on 3-pointers – both of which were by Lennon in the first half. The Vikings made a difference at the free throw line though, going 23-for-26.

Jamestown went 19-for-27 on free throws and shot just 29 percent overall (17-59) and 14 percent from 3-point range (4-28). McKayla Orr led the Jimmies with 16 points, including a basket inside that brought Jamestown to within 58-57 late in the fourth quarter.

VCSU held a 51-35 rebounding advantage, including a 12-7 edge on the offensive glass. VCSU had 15 turnovers and eight assists. The Jimmies turned it over 11 times and had eight assists.

Jamestown had won the last three North Star championships – including two over Valley City State University – but on Sunday the Vikings were the better team. Valley City State's defensive tenacity forced the Jimmies into numerous bad shots and played a significant role in Jamestown's 29 percent shooting.

The win was extra special for the majority of VCSU's team that experienced an NSAA title game loss last season to Jamestown. For two Viking seniors – Paige Meyer and Lexi Lennon – it was even sweeter redemption after experiencing championship game losses to Jamestown in 2015 and 2017. The Vikings and Jimmies have now played for the conference championship five times in the past eight seasons with VCSU going 2-3 in those games. Those conference championship battles will come to an end next season as University of Jamestown moves to the Great Plains Athletic Conference.

In both the 2015 and 2017 title games, it was Jamestown that jumped out to early leads and forced the Vikings to chase them the rest of the way. On Sunday, it was the other way around. The Vikings pushed their early lead to 23-14 in the second quarter and held it there throughout the rest of the first half. Valley City State led by as many as 12 points late in the quarter, opening up a 31-19 lead on Lennon's basket with 3:34 to go in the half. The Vikings were held scoreless the rest of the quarter though, allowing Jamestown to trim the lead to 31-23 at the break.

Neither team shot the ball well early. Jamestown made just 23 percent in the first half, going 6-for-26 overall and 1-12 from 3-point range. Credit some of that to Valley City State's defense which made things very difficult for the Jimmies and forced them late in the shot clock several times throughout the half. Valley City State fared a little better, shooting 38 percent overall (11-29).

Lennon knocked down a pair of 3-pointers for VCSU in the first half and scored a team-high 10 points before the break. Hannah Schlecht gave the Vikings a big early boost off the bench with six points in the first half and eight in the game.

Up next: Valley City State moves on to the NAIA Division II National Tournament, which will be played March 7-13 in Sioux City, Iowa. VCSU will wait for the NAIA National Tournament Selection Show, which will be held Wednesday night, to learn their first round matchup. The Vikings are likely to receive a No. 4 or No. 5 seed for the 32-team NAIA National Tournament, which is seeded into four brackets of eight teams.