BELLEVUE, NEB. – The Valley City State women's basketball team erased an 8-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat Bellevue on the road Saturday, 64-62. The go-ahead layup from Adriana Torres was part of a 9-0 run the Vikings used to take back the lead and held on with free throws down the stretch.
 
VCSU improves to 13-13 overall and 7-5 in the conference. With Saturday's win, the Viking women have secured the No. 3 seed for the NSAA Postseason and will host No. 6 Dickinson State in the first round on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
 
Bellevue drops to 11-16 overall and 4-8 in the conference. No. 5 Bellevue will travel to No. 4 Viterbo for the first round of the NSAA playoffs.
 
VCSU led 35-31 at halftime and led by as much as eight points on a Torres 3-pointer with 7:29 on the clock in the third quarter. Bellevue found a 16-3 run to take over the lead and held a 50-47 advantage at the end of the third frame.
 
Bellevue expanded its lead to 57-49 in the first half of the fourth quarter, but the Vikings then took nine straight points capped by a Torres layup from Hailey Roberts.
 
The Vikings led 61-57 after a pair of Roberts free throws, but Bellevue's Ashtyn Arnold sank a 3-pointer with 8 seconds to go. The teams continued to foul as to not give their opponent a chance, and the Vikings held on for a 64-62 victory.
 
VCSU shot 36 percent from the field (19-53), 26 percent from 3-point range (6-23) and 80 percent on free throws (20-25) Saturday. Bellevue shot 33 percent on field goals (18-55), 35 percent on 3's (7-20) and 76 percent from the free throw line (19-25).
 
Bellevue totaled 39 rebounds to VCSU's 37 and scored 12 second chance points. The Bruins also totaled 14 assists and 13 turnovers while VCSU finished with 14 assists and 14 turnovers in the game.
 
Roberts finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two assists in the game. Diemert scored 14 points and pulled down six rebounds while JayCee Richter added 12 points and seven rebounds for the Vikings. Ellie Braaten dished a game-high six assists Saturday.
 
Bellevue's Kaylee Denker scored 27 points to lead three Bruins in double figure scoring. Ashtyn Arnold tallied seven rebounds and four steals, and Aminah Hall added five assists for Bellevue.
 
UP NEXT: VCSU hosts Dickinson State on Wednesday, Feb. 21 for the first round of the NSAA Women's Basketball Tournament. Tip is at 7 p.m. at the Bubble.