VCSU women make comeback victory over Presentation
VALLEY CITY – The Valley City State women's basketball team edged Presentation College after Ashlyn Diemert scored on a driving layup with 38 seconds remaining, breaking a 52-52 tie and giving the Vikings the lead for good en route to a 56-53 victory at home.
Trailing 52-49, the Vikings tied the game on a clutch 3-pointer by Taryn Dieterle with 1:16 remaining. JayCee Richter then made a critical steal that set up Diemert's go-ahead layup in the final minute, and a pair of free throws by Richter and Dieterle iced the home victory. Diemert's 12 secondhalf points helped the Vikings to the comeback after VCSU trailed the Saints 26-20 at halftime.
Despite trailing early, VCSU found a 19-5 run in the third quarter – including seven straight points by Diemert – to take a 39-33 lead. Presentation wouldn't give up though, making a 10-5 run in the fourth quarter before Dieterle's game-changing 3-pointer.
VCSU improves to 12-10 on the season and 5-4 in the conference. Presentation drops to 1-19 overall and 0-9 in the NSAA.
Diemert finished the night with 14 points and two steals while Adriana Torres chipped in 12 points and a pair of steals. Dieterle and Richter each scored nine points and Allie Critchley dished a game-best five assists.
VCSU took 20 more shots than Presentation in the game but shot just 32 percent from the field (2062). The Vikings also shot 29 percent on 3's (8-28) and 44 percent from the free throw line (8-18). Presentation shot 48 percent from the field (20-42), 25 percent on 3's (1-4) and 71 percent on free throws (12-17).
The Vikings tallied 21 points off 30 Presentation turnovers while holding the Saints to just seven points off 12 VCSU turnovers. VCSU tallied 13 assists and 12 steals while Presentation finished with seven assists and four steals.
The Saints held a 44-24 rebounding advantage, but the Vikings held a 7-4 edge on the offensive glass.
Presentation's Emma Ogitchida and Nek Newell each posted 13 points Saturday, and Newell and Grace Lupumba tallied a game-best six rebounds.
UP NEXT: VCSU continues conference play at Waldorf and Viterbo next Friday and Saturday. Presentation travels to Dakota State and Bellevue.