February 25, 2015
VALLEY CITY, N.D. – Fifth-seeded Dakota State held a 62-61 lead in overtime in the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) Women's Basketball Postseason Quarterfinals Wednesday evening versus No. 2 seed Valley City State (N.D.) at W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse. The Vikings closed the game by scoring seven consecutive points in the final 1:12, surviving an upset bid by the Lady T's 68-62 in an overtime thriller.
VCSU, receiving votes in the latest NAIA Division II Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 national poll, quickly opened up the game with a 6-0 lead by making three consecutive baskets in the first minute.
DSU earned their first lead of the game at 17-16 with 9:40 left before intermission after a 3-pointer by Courtney Hulstein.
The Lady T's held the Vikings scoreless for more than seven minutes and thirty seconds, extending their lead to 23-18 with 3:28 remaining in the first-half.
Dakota State earned a 31-24 halftime lead after holding Valley City State to 27.8 percent shooting in the first-half (10-of-36). DSU was 14-of-34 shooting from the field (41.2 percent).
Madison Walford nailed down a jump shot with 19:45 left, giving the Lady T's the biggest lead of the game at 33-24.
VCSU rallied a comeback with a 15-6 scoring run to tie the game at 39-39 with 11:03 left.
Trailing 57-51, the Lady T's answered back with a 6-0 run to tie the game at 57-57. Sharee Galbraith made both free-throws with 1:25 left to knot the game.
Both teams were unable to convert their scoring opportunities in the final 1:25 of the game, forcing the game to go into overtime. The Lady T's committed a turnover with less than 10 seconds left, while the Vikings missed a 3-poniter shot at the buzzer.
VCSU outscored DSU 33-26 in the second-half.
The Vikings opened the overtime period with a 2-point lead at 59-57 with 3:24 left. The Lady T's would answer back with a 3-pointer by Erin Rabenberg to overtake a 60-59 lead with 3:05 remaining in overtime.
As the Lady T's held a 62-61 lead with 1:43 left in overtime, the Vikings overtook the lead after a jumper by Lexi Lennon for a 63-62 lead with 1:12 remaining. VCSU added a basket and a free-throw by Georgia Williams to extend their lead to 66-62 with 37.1 seconds left.
DSU was unable to complete their offensive possession as VCSU stole the ball and secured the victory. Steph Pedersen added two free-throws to complete the final score (68-62).
VCSU scored 11 points in overtime while DSU scored 5 points.
Walford led the Lady T's with 16 points on her 8-of-15 shooting from the field. Hulstein scored 15 points off the bench (5-of-11 field goals and 3-of-5 from the 3-point line). Rabenberg had 11 points. BreeAna Olson tallied seven points.
Galbraith pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds and recorded two blocked shots for Dakota State. Kennedy Wagner added six rebounds. Walford had five rebounds. Walford and Hulstein each had a block.
Wagner dished out three assists for the Lady T's. Galbraith had two assists. Olson, Wagner and Jordan Hansen each stole the ball twice.
Williams poured in 23 points for the Vikings (8-21 field goals and 6-11 from the 3-point line). Allyson Suhr added 12 points. Lennon scored 11 points off the bench. Pedersen had 10 points.
Sierra Even grabbed 12 rebounds for VCSU. Lennon had eight rebounds. Pedersen added seven rebounds. Suhr recorded four blocked shots.
Williams had four steals and three blocked shots in the game for Valley City State. Suhr and Even each had three steals.
Even produced eight assists for the Vikings. Sadiqah Jihad added three assists.
Dakota State shot 24-of-65 from the field (36.9 percent) compared to Valley City State 34.2 percent (27-of-79). VCSU was 6-of-19 from the 3-point arc (31.6 percent) while DSU was 5-of-19 from the 3-point line (26.3 percent).
Both teams went to the free-throw line 13 times. DSU made 9 free-throws (69.2 percent) while VCSU earned 8 free-throws (61.5 percent).
VCSU outrebounded DSU 51-46.
Dakota State ended their 2014-15 season with an overall record of 11-19 and 2-8 NSAA conference record. It was the final career collegiate game for two Lady T's seniors – Rabenberg and Jayda Swenson.
Valley City State moves on to the semifinal round and hosts No. 3 seed Mayville State (N.D.), who defeated No. 4 seed Dickinson State (N.D.) 73-70 in another quarterfinal match-up Wednesday, on Saturday at 6 p.m. Jamestown (N.D.), NSAA's top-seed in the conference tournament, secured a spot in the championship game on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. after defeating No. 6 seed Presentation (S.D.) 88-66.
Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director
