VALLEY CITY, ND  (NewsDakota.com)  The Viking womens basketball team found a withering trapping pressure from Dakota State that took the air out of their sails early in Aberdeen Friday.

Valley City State was held to 36.5% shooting and committed 12 turnovers in a 70-49 loss to the Trojans at Presentation College in the first game of the Dakota Clash Classic.

The Trojan trapping pressure, three-quarters court for most of the game, forced a pair of 10-second calls and consistently limited the Vikings to just seconds to run an offensive set.  That pressure, and Trojan foul shooting were key factors in the loss.

Dakota State shot 19-26 from the foul line, while the Vikings managed just 3-13 as a unit.  Despite giving up the first 10 points, the Vikings used their rebounding advantage on Trojan misses from the three-point line to repeatedly cut into Trojan leads, reducing a 17-point edge to 10 and earning a chance at cutting the lead to single digits in the third.

Ashlyn Diemert led the Vikings with 11 points, with Madison Wilhelmi adding seven.  JayCee Richter, just joining the team last week after the Viking volleyball season ended, led the Vikings with 26 minutes played, and led the Vikings in rebounding with seven despite her 5’6″ frame.  She was selected as the Ivy Real Estate Group Player of the Game.

The Vikings fall to 4-2, and face Presentation College tomorrow afternoon in the finale of the Classic.