VALLEY CITY – The Valley City State women's basketball team fell to a fast-paced Dakota State team Saturday at home, 82-52.
Eleven Vikings scored at least a point in Saturday's game but it wasn't enough to take down the conference leader. Dakota State, who is receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll, tallied 15 steals in the game and converted 20 VCSU turnovers to 18 points Saturday.
Dakota State improves to 22-5 on the season and 12-1 in the North Star. VCSU drops to 14-12 overall and 7-6 in the conference. VCSU sits just one game ahead of Dickinson State in the conference standings and will travel to Dickinson on Thursday to conclude the regular season. Thursday's matchup will decide which team will host a first-round playoff game.
Meredith Dumas looks to make a move in the paint.
VCSU recognized its five seniors in a short ceremony Saturday night. The seniors –
Allie Critchley,
Taryn Dieterle,
Meredith Dumas,
Bayli Heap and
Emma Nielsen – were VCSU's starters in Saturday's game.
The Vikings couldn't stop a strong shooting Dakota State team who shot 46 percent (31-67) and scored 53 points in the paint Saturday. The Trojans made eight 3's and totaled 16 assists as a team. Dakota State also shot 33 percent from 3-point range (8-24) and 80 percent from the free throw line (12-15).
VCSU shot 32 percent from the field (21-65), 20 percent on 3's (3-15) and 50 percent on free throws (7-14).
Adriana Torres led eleven Vikings in scoring with 10 points, and
JayCee Richter and Taryn Deiterle each chipped in nine.
Meredith Dumas paced the rebounding effort with seven, and
Emma Nielsen grabbed a team-best three steals.
Savannah Walsdorf finished with a double-double for the Trojans, posting 22 points and 11 rebounds in the game. Sidney Fick chipped in 11 points and Morgan Huber dished a team-best five assists.
UP NEXT: VCSU travels to Dickinson State for the regular season finale on Thursday, Feb. 16. The women tip at 6:30 p.m. CT and the men will follow at 8:30 p.m. CT.
