HAVRE, MONT. – The Valley City State women's basketball team dropped a road game to No. 17 University of Providence Saturday at the MSU-Northern Classic, 64-48.
 
The Vikings kept it close in the first quarter with the help of nine points by Adriana Torres. VCSU trailed 16-12 after the first quarter, but Providence pulled away to lead 37-14 at halftime. The Vikings couldn't recover down the stretch, despite eight points from Ellie Braaten in the fourth quarter.
 
VCSU drops to 5-6 overall while Providence improves to 8-2 on the season.
 
VCSU shot 30 percent on field goals (16-54) Saturday, 22 percent on 3-pointers (5-23) and 92 percent from the free throw line (11-12). Providence shot 42 percent overall (29-69) and 19 percent on 3's (6-31). The Argos did not shoot any free throws in Saturday's game.
 
VCSU held a 29-24 rebounding advantage but only managed four second chance points. Providence totaled 12 assists and 14 turnovers while VCSU recorded 5 assists and 20 turnovers Saturday.
 
Torres led VCSU in scoring Saturday and posted all 11 points in the first half. She recorded a team-best 11 rebounds to finish with a double-double and added two blocked shots and a steal for the Vikings. Ashlyn Diemert, Ellie Braaten and Olivia Backus each chipped in eight points for VCSU.
 
Providence's Ashlee Maldonado paced the Argos with 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals and one blocked shot Saturday. Maddy Dixon chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds for the Argos.
 
UP NEXT: VCSU plays another game in Montana on Sunday, facing MSU-Northern at 4 p.m. CT.