Waldorf drops road loss to Vikings

By Matt Oliver

VALLEY CITY, N.D. – Valley City State University put together a solid shooting performance to hand the Waldorf College women’s basketball team a 95-42 loss during Friday’s North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) matchup.

The Vikings (6-5, 3-0) shot 52 percent, going 39-of-75 from the field and 6-of-16 (37.5 percent) from 3-point range. They were dominant in the paint, outscoring the Warriors (1-7, 0-3) by a 22-4 margin.

It was a tough shooting night for Waldorf, which went 13-of-47 (27.7 percent) from the floor and 3-of-15 (20 percent) behind the arc. The Warriors also committed 27 turnovers and Valley City State capitalized, collecting 16 steals and generating an 18-3 advantage in points off turnovers.

Taylor Fricke led Waldorf with eight points and a team-high seven rebounds. The 5-foot-10 freshman forward from Gilman shot 50 percent, knocking down 3-of-6 attempts from the field and 2-of-4 shots from downtown.

Waldorf received six points apiece from senior Mackenzie Gott, juniors Miriah Carruth and Jamerka Martin. Gott pulled down five boards and Carruth handed out four assists.

Freshmen Samantha Birkes and Ameh Ogbemudia finished with four points each for the Warriors while freshmen Meriel Leavy and Taylor Kurtz scored three points apiece. Sophomore Jessica Denholm contributed two points.

Nisja Bass powered the Vikings with a game-high 17 points, shooting 7-of-9 (77.8 percent) from the floor and 2-of-3 (66.7 percent) from the perimeter.

Valley City State’s Georgia Williams added 12 points while Lexi Lennon and Nya Chakin provided 10 points each. Lennon grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Vikings to a 36-34 edge on the boards.

It was a wire-to-wire win for Valley City State, which raced to a 28-13 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Vikings owned a 45-24 advantage at halftime and never let up, outscoring Waldorf 50-18 in the second half.

The Warriors converted on 13-of-19 (68.4 percent) free-throw attempts and Valley City State went 11-of-18 (61.1 percent) at the charity stripe.

Taking care of the ball most of the night, the Vikings finished the game with just nine turnovers. They controlled the offensive glass by a 12-7 margin and came away with an 8-4 advantage in second-chance points.

Waldorf continues its conference road trip on Saturday, taking on Mayville State University (5-4, 1-0) in a 4 p.m. tipoff at Mayville, North Dakota.