henningsgardKennedy1Valley City (CSi- NCSU) Valley City State University women’s basketball coach Jill DeVries has announced  the signing of NJCAA All-American Kennedy Henningsgard.

A native of Buxton, N.D., Henningsgard played the last two seasons at Lake Region State College in Devils Lake, N.D., where she helped the Royals to a 53-15 record and two national tournament appearances. On Wednesday, Henningsgard signed a letter of intent to continue her education and basketball career at VCSU this fall.

DeVries says, “We are very pleased that Kennedy is joining our VCSU Viking family. She is extremely athletic and her offensive versatility allows her to make an immediate impact in our program. She is an athlete who can guard hard, and is hard to guard.”

A 5-foot-9 guard, Henningsgard scored 1,058 points during her two seasons at LRSC – fourth all-time in school history – and made a record 88 3-pointers this past season. She averaged 16.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game this season and earned numerous honors, including her second All MonDak Conference first team selection, Region XIII MVP and NJCAA Division I All American.

Henningsgard started 65 of her 68 career games at Lake Region and was the team’s leading scorer both seasons, helping the Royals to two appearances at the NJCAA Division I National Tournament. She was also selected to play in the NJCAA WBCA All-Star Game last July, prior to her sophomore season.

DeVries adds, “Kennedy is a tremendous competitor and winner. The way she approaches things both academically and athletically is a great fit at VCSU.”

Henningsgard plans to study health science while at VCSU. She is the daughter of Lori and Ross Henningsgard, and a graduate of Central Valley High School Henningsgard played her high school basketball for Hillsboro-Central Valley,

scoring more than 1,500 career points. She was a two-time North Dakota Class B All State selection and played in the 2014 Lions All-Star Game.

Henningsgard joins Annie Swenson (5-6 guard, Fargo Shanley High School) as signed recruits for the 2016-17 season.

Valley City State University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and is a conference member of the North Star Athletic Association.

The Vikings finished the 2015-16 season with a 18-10 overall record and went 10-3 in conference play, tying for second in the NSAA regular season standings. VCSU has a .675 winning percentage (106-51) during DeVries’ last five seasons as head coach and have qualified for the NAIA National Tournament three times in that stretch.