VALLEY CITY – Three Vikings scored in double figures Friday night to help the Valley City State women's basketball team to a 76-64 victory over Viterbo.
Ashlyn Diemert finished with a season-high 17 points while also tallying six rebounds and three steals Friday. JayCee Richter came off the bench to score 16 points and pull down seven rebounds for VCSU.
The Vikings improve to 9-8 on the season and 2-2 in conference play. Viterbo drops to 4-12 overall and 1-3 in the North Star.
Valley City State started strong, shooting 42 percent in the first half. VCSU used a 12-4 run at the end of the first half – including eight from Richter – to build a 35-27 advantage heading in to the locker room.
The Vikings led by as much as 10 points in the third quarter on a basket from Madison Spacher when the V-Hawks found an 11-4 run to close the gap, trailing 46-43 going into the final period.
The V-Hawks opened the fourth quarter with a 8-0 run to take a five-point lead, but the Vikings defended their home court with an 11 point run of their own, capped by a basket from Adriana Torres with 4:09 to go. The Vikings made 12 free throws down the stretch to ice the double figure victory.
VCSU shot 41 percent in the game (27-66), 33 percent on 3's (6-18) and 73 percent on free throws (16-22). Viterbo shot 37 percent from the field (21-57), 42 percent on 3-pointers (8-19) and 50 percent on free throws (14-28).
VCSU held a 47-40 rebounding advantage, including 15 on the offensive glass. VCSU tallied 17 assists and 17 turnovers while Viterbo totaled eight assists and 20 turnovers in the game.
Taryn Dieterle scored 12 points and grabbed a team-best eight rebounds Friday. Madison Spacher added eight points and dished three assists, and Allie Critchley added three assists and two steals for VCSU.
Viterbo's Natalia Leguizamon scored a game-high 23 points and Gina Stefferud added 10. Sophie Leinfelder grabbed eight rebounds and Tyreesha Blaylock totaled four steals for the V-Hawks.
UP NEXT: VCSU hosts Waldorf at 3 p.m. on Saturday with the men's game to follow at 5 p.m. The men's game will feature a halftime performance by the FM Acro II team. Viterbo travels to Dickinson State for a 4 p.m. tipoff.
