VALLEY CITY (vcsuvikings.com) – The Valley City State women’s basketball team defeated Viterbo University Friday night in a defensive battle, 66-59.
Friday night’s game totaled 29 steals, eight blocks, and 34 player fouls in the competitive matchup between the Vikings and V-Hawks. The V-Hawks totaled 19 offensive rebounds and took 24 more shots than the Vikings but Dani Schwanke’s 15-point fourth quarter secured Valley City State’s home victory.
Valley City State improves to 10-11 on the season and 7-3 in the North Star Athletic Association. Viterbo falls to 7-14 overall and 4-6 in the NSAA.
Valley City State shot 38 percent from the field (20-52), 44 percent on 3’s (7-16), and 79 percent from the free throw line (19-24). Viterbo shot 34 percent from the field (26-76), 11 percent on 3’s (2-19), and 42 percent from the free throw line (5-12). Valley City State also held a 44-42 rebounding advantage on Friday.
Valley City State opened the game with a big first quarter scoring 21 points, including a pair of 3’s from Schwanke and six points from Taryn Dieterle off the bench. The Vikings’ defense held the V-Hawks to just nine points in the first quarter to take a double figure lead.
The Vikings held onto the lead until 2:29 left in the third quarter when the V-Hawks tied it up at 38-38 with a basket from Alissa Nilssen. Valley City State and Viterbo held onto a 43-43 tie at the end of the third.
Two big 3-pointers from Dani Schwanke early in the fourth quarter gave the Vikings a four-point lead at 51-47 and forced a Viterbo timeout with 8:08 on the clock. Valley City State held a 55-54 lead for three scoreless minutes until another 3-pointer from Schwanke ended the scoring drought with 2:49 to play. The V-Hawks couldn’t hold on as the Vikings sealed the victory, 66-59.
Dani Schwanke led the Vikings with 21 points, including five 3-pointers Friday night. Mackenzie Huber added 17 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Huber now moves into 12th place for career points in VCSU history with 1216 total points, passing Lori Johnson who finished with 1200. Macey Kvilvang added a team-high four steals and three blocks for the Vikings.
Alyssa Nilssen of Viterbo led all scorers with 30 points Friday night. Madison Lindauer added four steals while Natalia Leguizamon pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
UP NEXT: Valley City State hosts Waldorf University for a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 3 p.m. with the men to tip at 5 p.m. Girls K-12 will receive free admission to Saturday’s games in honor of National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
(Photos Courtesy of VCSU Athletics/Hannah Anderson)