Viking Women hold off Waldorf Saturday

VALLEY CITY – The Valley City State women's basketball team made it a 2-0 conference weekend at home as the Vikings took a 65-59 victory over Waldorf on Saturday, adding to its win over Viterbo on Friday.

The Vikings were led by a pair of its seniors coming off the bench, including 16 points from Taryn Dieterle and 14 points from Adriana Torres. A driving layup from Torres kicked off a 10-point fourth quarter run by VCSU, and Dieterle scored the go-ahead basket to put the Vikings ahead for good in Saturday's game.

VCSU improves to 10-8 on the season and 3-2 in the conference. Waldorf drops to 4-11 overall and 2-3 in the NSAA.

"I'm so proud of our ability to bounce back from last weekend's performance and give the effort we did this weekend," said head coach Vanessa Johnson. "Both of these wins were full team wins as we had different people step up in big moments both nights. We are are playing the game for each other and it's so fun to watch."

Saturday's game saw only five lead changes and four ties, but it was anybody's game heading into the fourth quarter. After VCSU controlled much of the first half, Waldorf used a 12-2 run to sustain a lead in the third quarter. A 3-pointer from Waldorf's Sandra Christian opened the fourth quarter and had the Vikings trailing by six, but a layup by Torres sparked a 10-point Viking rally to put VCSU ahead the rest of the way.

Valley City State shot 37 percent from the field (22-60), just 7 percent from beyond the arc (1-13) and 71 percent on free throws (20-28). Waldorf University shot 37 percent on field goals (22-59), 39 percent on 3's (9-23) and 60 percent from the free throw line (6-10).

VCSU held a 46-33 rebounding advantage including 17 offensive boards. The Vikings tallied 12 steals and just 13 turnovers while Waldorf finished with four steals and 18 turnovers Saturday.

In addition to 16 points, Taryn Dieterle added three steals and five rebounds Saturday. Adriana Torres added six rebounds, three steals and two assists while Ashlyn Diemert scored nine points and grabbed six boards for VCSU.

Waldorf's Sandra Christian and Lizzie Garza each scored 12 points while Tweedy added nine points and nine rebounds on the night. Alyah Abrahamson dished a game-high six assists for the Warriors.

UP NEXT: VCSU goes on the road for conference games next weekend, Jan. 20-21. The Vikings play at Presentation College on Friday and Mayville State on Saturday.