MADISON, S.D. – The Valley City State women's basketball team couldn't find a way to recover after Dakota State's strong start Friday night in Madison. The Trojans, who are currently receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll, defeated the Vikings by a final score of 86-43.
The Trojans opened the game with a big first quarter, shooting 53 percent from the field and going 4-for-6 on 3-pointers, as they pulled away with an early advantage.
VCSU trailed 43-7 at halftime but the Vikings found a way to the basket in the second half while shooting 40 percent from the field. The Trojans would hold on though, outscoring the Vikings 43-36 in the final 20 minutes en route to the 86-43 victory.
Dakota State improves to 11-5 on the season and 1-1 in the North Star. VCSU drops to 8-7 overall and 1-1 in the conference.
VCSU posted 34 bench points Friday, led by Ashlyn Diemert who tallied seven points, four rebounds, two steals and two assists. Taryn Dieterle added seven points, four rebounds and a blocked shot for the Vikings.
Madison Spacher scored six points and Allie Negen chipped in five off VCSU's bench while Allie Critchley and Adriana Torres each grabbed five rebounds.
The Vikings shot 25 percent from the field Friday (15-59), 22 percent from 3-point range (4-18) and 90 percent on free throws (9-10). Dakota State shot 46 percent from the field (27-59), 39 percent from beyond the arc (10-26) and 71 percent from the charity stripe (22-31).
The Trojans tallied 22 points off turnovers and 54 bench points Friday night. Dakota State also held a 43-35 rebounding edge in the game. Dakota State totaled 19 assists and committed 18 turnovers while VCSU tallied 11 assists and 27 turnovers Friday.
Sidney Fick's 13 points led four Trojans in double figures Friday while Elsie Aslesen recorded a game-high 10 rebounds. Courtney Menning added 10 rebounds, five blocked shots and two steals to help Dakota State.
UP NEXT: VCSU travels to Bellevue University for another conference matchup on Saturday, Jan. 7. The women tip at 3 p.m. and the men follow at 5 p.m. in Bellevue, Neb.
