JAMESTOWN – The Valley City State women's basketball team dropped its season opener to (RV) University of Jamestown Friday on the road, 77-57.
VCSU outscored the Jimmies 22-16 in the final quarter, but it wasn't enough to come back against Jamestown, who shot 47 percent (14-30) in the second half.
Ashlyn Diemert led three Vikings in double-figure scoring Friday as she finished with 14 points while going a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line.
VCSU opens the season with an 0-1 record while Jamestown, who received votes in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Preseason Poll, starts 1-0.
Valley City State shot 31 percent from the field (18-59), 28 percent on 3's (5-18) and 73 percent on free throws (16-22). Jamestown shot 44 percent on field goals (30-69), 43 percent on 3-pointers (9-21) and 62 percent on free throws (8-13).
Jamestown used a 12-5 run to close out the first quarter and build a 17-11 lead early in the game. Jamestown outscored VCSU in each of the first three quarters and shot 50 percent from the field in the third quarter to build a lead they wouldn't give up down the stretch.
Hailey Roberts scored 12 points Friday while freshman
Ellie Braaten chipped in 11 points in her Viking debut.
Madison Spacher,
Elyse Hebrink and
Adriana Torres each scored six points for VCSU.
Diemert, Hebrink and Spacher recorded two steals apiece while Diemert and
Ellie Powell each grabbed a team-best five rebounds Friday.
Jamestown held a 38-16 advantage in paint points and totaled 35 bench points led by Sarah Lenz who scored 16 points Friday. Jamestown also held a 45-39 rebounding advantage, including 11 on the offensive glass.
Kate Cordes added 14 points and three steals for the Jimmies, and Audrey Rodakowski scored 11 points. Kia Tower pulled down a game-best eight rebounds, and Rodakowski chipped in seven rebounds and two blocked shots in the game.
UP NEXT: VCSU plays its home opener against the University of Minnesota-Morris on Wednesday, Nov. 1. The Viking women tip at 5:30 p.m. followed by the men at 7:30 p.m.
