Viking women fall to No. 13 Dakota State in NSAA opener
VALLEY CITY – Valley City State's Ashlyn Diemert and Adriana Torres each scored new season-highs in the NSAA opener, but it wasn't enough to keep up with a fast-paced Dakota State team who defeated the Vikings 104-67 Friday night.
Diemert totaled 20 points, three rebounds, three steals, two assists and one blocked shot to lead VCSU's women. Torres added 19 points and four rebounds to help the Viking effort Friday night at home.
The Trojans, who are ranked No. 13 in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll, improve to 14-4 on the season and 2-0 in the conference. Valley City State drops to 6-9 overall and open the NSAA season with a 0-1 record.
Dakota State opened the game shooting 63 percent in the first quarter to build a double-figure lead the Trojans would hold onto throughout the game. DSU finished the game shooting 56 percent from the field (40-72), 46 percent on 3-pointers (13-28) and 69 percent from the free throw line (11-16). VCSU shot 38 percent from the field (26-69), 29 percent from 3-point range (4-14) and 69 percent on free throws (11-16).
Dakota State edged the rebounding advantage 42-41 and totaled 18 steals in the game to VCSU's seven. The Trojans tallied 17 assists and 15 turnovers while VCSU finished with 15 assists and 22 turnovers.
The Trojans also posted 65 points in the paint and 29 points off turnovers. Savannah Walsdorf paced five players in double figure scoring Friday with 24 points. She also grabbed five rebounds and four steals in the game. Tabor Teel added a team-best 11 rebounds and three blocked shots for Dakota State while Bria Wasmund dished a game-high five assists.
VCSU's JayCee Richter totaled nine points and six rebounds off the bench Friday. Ellie Braaten, Madison Wilhelmi and Katie Johnson dished three assists apiece, and Braaten and Elyse Hebrink each pulled down five rebounds for VCSU.
UP NEXT: VCSU hosts a conference doubleheader against Bellevue on Saturday at The Bubble. The women tip at 3 p.m. followed by the men at 5 p.m.