VALLEY CITY, ND (NewsDakota.com) The Viking women used the second half to pull away, while the second half slammed the lid on the Viking men, in matchups with Dickinson State Saturday.
Valley City State rolled to a 79-52 win over the Bluehawks in women’s play, while the men were held to just one scorer for over 16 minutes of the second half in their matchup, dropping a 72-51 decision to the Bluehawks, Saturday night at the W. E. Osmon Fieldhouse in Valley City.
WOMEN: VCSU 79, Dickinson State 52
The Vikings ended the first quarter on a 17-3 run to reverse an early 11-3 deficit, then outscored the Bluehawks 47-25 in the second half in what had all of the feeling of a rout after halftime.
Dickinson State committed more turnovers in the third quarter than the team scored points, giving the ball away 12 times while being outscored 22-10 in the period. In all, the Bluehawks were forced into 32 turnovers in the game, and allowed 15 offensive rebounds to the Vikings.
Ashlyn Diemert returned after missing Friday’s game against the University of Jamestown, scoring 17 points to lead the Vikings in scoring. JayCee Richter scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds, four offensive boards. Abby Aslesen finished strong, scoring 12, all after halftime.
Valley City State earned their first NSAA win, now 1-3 in league play. They improved to 9-7 overall.
MEN: Dickinson State 72, VCSU 51
While a back-and-forth effort in the first half signaled another tight matchup for the Vikings in league play, the second half saw a result that was jarring.
Valley City State led by seven midway through the opening half, and trailed by three at the break, but went over five minutes without scoring to start the second half, and had only one player, Lamar Grayson, score in the second half until the 3:16 remaining mark, a span of 16:44 in the second half. The Vikings were held to just seven points in that span.
Grayson finished with 20 points. Jerome Washington scored nine, including the 1000th point of his college career.
The Vikings fell to 1-3 in NSAA play, 10-6 overall.
The Vikings will host Mayville State Friday, January 10th.