Viking women defeat MinnesotaMorris Wednesday 61-58
VALLEY CITY – Taryn Dieterle found Adriana Torres for the go-ahead basket with just 23 seconds to go in Valley City State's 61-58 victory over the University of Minnesota-Morris on Wednesday.
Four Vikings scored in double figures Wednesday, led by Dieterle and Torres with 13 points each. Ashlyn Diemert chipped in 11 points and Meredith Dumas scored 10, helping the Vikings to a 3-0 record to open the season.
Despite Morris collecting seven blocked shots in the first quarter, VCSU opened with a 16-9 lead after the first ten minutes of play. Dumas then opened the second quarter with five straight points to lead 21-9.
The Cougars used a 10-4 run over the last 3:30 of the second quarter to close the gap to 37-31 heading into the locker room. Minnesota-Morris later put together a seven-point run early in the fourth quarter to take a 53-50 lead.
Then, four straight points from Ashlyn Diemert tied the game at 55 with 2:38 on the clock. From there, Dieterle found Torres to put the Vikings ahead 59-58 and a pair of Allie Critchley free throws sealed the Viking win.
VCSU shot 30 percent from the field (22-73), 21 percent on 3-pointers (6-29) and 79 percent from the free throw line (11-14). MinnesotaMorris shot 37 percent from the field (20-54), 17 percent on 3's (2-12) and 62 percent on free throws (16-26).
The Vikings held a 52-38 rebounding advantage including 23 on the offensive glass. Dumas and Dieterle each grabbed a teambest nine rebounds Wednesday and Torres added seven boards for VCSU.
Minnesota-Morris' Jay Kwateh led the way for the Cougars with 15 points, six rebounds and two blocks while Jadyn Sondrol added 13 points and Malory Anderson scored 10. Ella Van Kempen totaled five blocks and pulled down six rebounds for the Cougars.
UP NEXT: VCSU competes at the Sanford Pentagon Challenge this Saturday and Sunday in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Vikings play No. 12 Dakota Wesleyan on Saturday at 6 p.m. and then face Mount Marty on Sunday at 12 p.m.