VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The Valley City State men’s and women’s basketball teams split wins with Bellevue with a Vikings 76-74 win for the women and a 73-70 win for the Bellevue men.
The Vikings got off to a slow start in the first half in the women’s game, but the Bruins were white-hot. Right out of the gate, they connected on five consecutive threes with four of them coming from Bruins’ junior guard Miranda Hennings. After starting 8-10 from the floor, the Bruins’ shooting cooled off a bit and the Vikings were able to knock down some threes of their own. They got within two points at 25-23, but Bellevue found their rhythm again and ended the half on a 17-5 run to take a 42-28 lead into the half.
The game of runs continued in the second half as VCSU came out of the break with a 22-5 run to take the lead for the first time. From there, the fourth quarter would be back-and-forth with both teams trading baskets. The Vikings had a lead as large as eight, but Bellevue was able to claw their way back. Junior forward Taryn Dieterle was the hero making a four-foot jumper with 2.4 seconds left. The Bruins had one more opportunity, but they missed an open three-pointer.
Junior Adriana Torres led the way with 21 points on 8-13 shooting. Dieterle finished with 14 points and junior center Briana Price finished with 12.
The VCSU women’s basketball team is now 5-8 overall and 2-1 in conference play with their next game on Friday, January 14th at Viterbo.
In the men’s game, VCSU started off slow just like the women did. However, they were able to hang in for most of the first half. However, late in the half, the Bruins were able to bring the Vikings offense to a halt with solid defense and rattle off 12 straight points. After the first half buzzer rang and as the players started to head for the locker room, sixth year Vikings head coach Ryan Montgomery was unpleased with the officiating crew and picked up a technical foul. VCSU trailed at the half 35-24.
For the majority of the second half, the Bruins were able to maintain a ten-point lead, but when it came down to the final five minutes, the Vikings brought pressure in the backcourt and forced turnovers which converted to easy layups, bringing VCSU back within striking distance. However, they weren’t able to make shots when they needed them the most. Bellevue made clutch free throws to hold off the Vikings and steal a win on the road.
Senior forward Kevin Schramm finished with 15 points on 6-13 shooting with six rebounds. Senior guard Jalen Addison scored 14 points going 6-10 from the field. Senior guard Eddie Oyet and junior forward Uhana Ochan both ended up with 12 points. Their next game will also be at Viterbo on Friday, January 14th.