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BEACH, FLA.(VCSUVikings.com) – Five Vikings scored in double figures Friday night as the Valley City State women’s basketball team wrapped its Florida trip with a dominating 88-43 victory over Anna Maria College.
VCSU jumped out to an early 16-5 lead and never trailed Friday during their second game at the Keiser University Classic. The Vikings led 26-14 after the first quarter, 42-20 at halftime and 65-26 after the third quarter.
Three Vikings posted double-doubles in the victory. Lexi Lennon scored a career-high 24 points – including a 5-for-7 game on 3-point attempts – and added 11 rebounds and four assists. Georgia Williams scored 11 points and dished out a career-high 11 assists. Hannah Schlecht finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
VCSU sophomore center Kaitlin Connor also posted a career-high Friday with 16 points in the victory. Connor shot 6-for-8 from the field and was 2-for-3 on 3’s. Kennedy Henningsgard added 12 points and eight rebounds.
All eight Vikings who played in the game scored at least three points. Nisja Bass had six points, seven rebounds and three assists, and Paige Meyer had three points and four steals. Morgan Titus – who started the season as a student assistant but due to injuries has joined the active roster – scored five points.
VCSU had 29 assists and just 11 turnovers Friday.
“We did a good job of sharing the ball tonight and making the extra pass,” said VCSU head coach Jill DeVries. “We are getting more and more from kids and roles are changing as we adjust to our depleted roster. It’s fun to see the players stepping up and challenging themselves and their teammates to get better.”
The Vikings shot 47 percent overall (34-73) on Friday, 34 percent on 3’s (11-32) and 53 percent at the line (9-17). The Vikings held a 53-31 advantage on the glass, including a 19-7 edge in offensive rebounds. Anna Maria, an NCAA Division III school, shot just 29 percent from the field (15-51) and had 21 turnovers.
The Vikings improve to 14-4 overall with the victory in their final non-conference game. VCSU now enters a stretch of 11 straight conference games to end the season. VCSU is currently 5-0 in conference play and will battle University of Jamestown (10-4, 5-0 NSAA) for first place on Jan. 6 in Jamestown.
Up next: VCSU faces the University of Jamestown on Jan. 6 in Jamestown.