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CITY (NewsDakota.com) – It was a successful Senior Day for the Valley City State basketball programs.
The Vikings sent their eight seniors out with a sweep of Dakota State Saturday during the final home games and final regular season games of the year.
The Viking women pulled away in the second half for an 86-64 victory, getting 24 points from Brittany Lehner and 15 from senior Alyssa Hummel. Point guard Sadiqah Jihad filled up the stat sheet with eight points, nine rebounds, six assists and six steals in the win.
In the men’s game, Valley City State won 71-66. The Vikings had four players in double figures led by 17 from senior Gus Kueber. Senior Sekani Milligen scored 13, senior Pat Rogers tied a career high with 12 points, and Aaron Duske added 11.
VCSU led by as many as 11 in the second half, but Dakota State came all the way back to tie the game at 58-58. Duske responded with a 3 from the right corner and then nailed a 15-foot jumper from the left wing to give the Vikings a five-point cushion they would not give back.
The No. 20-ranked Viking men improve to 21-7. Dakota State drops to 19-9.
VCSU’s women improve to 22-6. Dakota State is now 6-20. The Viking women are playing the rest of the season without senior guard Katie Ralston, who suffered a season-ending knee injury on Wednesday against Mayville State.
Both the Viking men and women will play in the A.I.I. postseason tournament running Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Jamestown Civic Center. Six women’s and six men’s teams are in the tournament, with the top two from each division advancing to the National Tournament.
Games in the tournament will be carried across the Dakota Country Radio Network. A tournament schedule will be finalized early this week.