Forest City, Iowa (VCSU)– The Valley City State women’s basketball team sank five of six free throws in the final 30 seconds of the game to defeat Waldorf Saturday, 73-70.
Macey Kvilvang posted a big double-double for the Vikings, scoring a career-high 28 points and pulling down 12 rebounds in the win. Maara Nelson added 18 points and five rebounds Saturday.
Valley City State improves to 7-10 overall and 5-6 in the NSAA. Waldorf drops to 1-16 overall and 1-10 in the conference.
“I’m proud of this group for finding a way to get out a win on the road. It was nice to see us make plays when it counted down the stretch and have players step up in big moments.” said head coach Vanessa Johnson. “We definitely need to get better at certain parts of the game, but I’m proud of the grit we showed!”
Both teams came to battle as Waldorf held a 21-20 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Over the next 10 minutes, Valley City State took a 13-2 run to lead by double figures, but a Waldorf three-pointer just before the buzzer closed the gap to a 33-26 Viking lead at halftime.
The Vikings led by as much as 11 points on a jumper from Maara Nelson early in the third quarter but Waldorf finished the quarter on a 16-8 run to lead 50-49 going into the fourth quarter.
Trailing 53-51, Dani Schwanke hit a 3 to regain the advantage and send the Vikings on a 9-2 run to lead by seven. Waldorf’s Sandra Christian hit back-to-back 3’s to close the gap to 62-61 with just under four minutes to play. Valley City State hit six free throws and a big 3 from Emma Nielsen to maintain the lead but Waldorf’s Tina Lair-VanMeter scored a three-pointer to make it 71-70 with 5 seconds to go. Waldorf had to foul to stay alive and Allie Critchley sank a pair of free throws to put it away for VCSU.
Valley City State shot 47 percent on field goals (27-58), 33 percent on 3’s (4-12), and 63 percent from the free throw line (15-24). Waldorf shot 39 percent from the field (24-61), 48 percent on three-pointers (12-25), and 83 percent from the free throw line (10-12).
The Vikings tallied eight steals and 15 assists as a team Saturday.
Waldorf had four players in double figures, led by Tina Lair-VanMeter with 18 points.
UP NEXT: Valley City State returns home on Friday to host Bellevue University. Women will tip at 5:30 p.m. and men will play at 7:30 p.m.
Men..
FOREST CITY, IOWA (VCSU)– The Valley City State men’s basketball team is off to their best start since the 2015-16 season with Saturday’s 78-71 win over Waldorf.
Valley City State is now 16-5 overall and 7-4 in the NSAA with just three conference games remaining. The 2015-16 squad posted a 16-5 record through their first 21 games and eventually won a first-round game at the NAIA National Tournament.
Waldorf falls to 5-14 overall and 4-7 in the conference.
Tate Hebrink had a career game Saturday, posting a career-high 21 points, four steals, and three assists off the Viking bench.
“Splits on the road are what’s needed in a conference race.” said head coach Ryan Montgomery. “Our men battled through a tough road trip and found a way to win today. Tate Hebrink was huge for us. He really carried us through tough patches throughout the game. We are proud of him.”
Kevin Schramm added 16 points and three assists, while Connor Enzi scored 10 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for VCSU.
Waldorf started out with an early 23-14 lead but a Chris Thompson layup and three-pointers from Jalen Addison (2) and Hebrink combined for an 11-0 run to take over the lead at 25-23. Waldorf answered with a three-point play from Quincy Minor Jr. but a basket from Schramm gave the Vikings the lead for good with just under six minutes to go in the first half.
Waldorf got within two points early in the second half when Valley City State took a 14-0 run capped by a jumper from Entzi to lead by 16 points and its largest lead of the game en route to the 78-71 victory.
Valley City State shot 49 percent from the field (27-55), 48 percent on three-pointers (11-23), and 62 percent from the free throw line (13-21). Waldorf shot 53 percent from the field (26-49), 40 percent on three-pointers (8-20), and 79 percent from the free throw line (11-14). VCSU also forced 21 Warrior turnovers.
Waldorf had three players in double figures, led by Quincy Minor Jr. with 23 points.
UP NEXT: Valley City State returns home on Friday to host Bellevue University. Women will tip at 5:30 p.m. and men will play at 7:30 p.m.
