BELLEVUE, Neb. -- Alli Vandal scored 21 points to lead Valley City State University to a 66-56 victory over Bellevue University in North Star Athletic Association women's basketball action Friday night at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
The Bruins fell to 14-13 on the season and 7-6 in the NSAA with the loss. VCSU improved to 19-7 overall and 10-3 in league play.
Caletria Curtis led the Bruins with 12 points and seven rebounds. Angeliece Tucker added 11 points, one rebound a steal.
The Bruins shot just 32.7 percent for the game and were 4-of-20 from behind the arc.
Vandal added nine rebounds and a block for the Vikings. Georgia Williams records 12 points, three assists and three steals. Nisja Bass added 11 points, nine rebounds, five steals and four assists.
Leading 10-6 early in the contest, the Bruins went scoreless for four minutes as VCSU went on a 6-0 run to grab a 12-10 lead. Ryleigh McCartney drained a 3-pointer to give BU a 13-12 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
The Vikings scored the first seven points of the second quarter to give VCSU a 19-13 lead. The six-point lead was the largest for either team in the first half as the Vikings took a 29-26 lead into the intermission.
Tucker led BU in the opening half with seven points while Vandal paced the Vikings nine points and five rebounds.
A 7-3 Viking run to close the third quarter gave VCSU a 41-35 lead entering the final stanza.
A 3-pointer by Lexi Lennon extended the Viking lead to 10 points at 50-40 with 6:06 left in the contest. VCSU pushed the lead to 13 points before the Bruins used a 6-0 run to pull to with seven points (55-48) at the 1:49 mark.
The Vikings nailed nine free throws in the final 90 seconds to secure the 66-56 victory.
The Bruins will host 11th-ranked and league-leader Jamestown tomorrow (Feb. 11) beginning at 3 p.m. in the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center.
