Despite struggling offensively, the No. 2 seeded Vikings pulled off a 45-44 win over No. 7 Viterbo in the quarterfinal round of the Midwest Collegiate Conference tournament tonight in Des Moines.
The first half was a low-scoring affair for both teams. Grand View shot just 25% in the first half and Viterbo 22%. The score was tied six times in the half and the Vikings led 19-16 at the break.
Both teams continued to struggle in the second half. Grand View was able to build a 7 point lead with 8:45 left in the game. Viterbo rallied to cut the score to 39-38 with 5:34 remaining. The V-Hawks took the lead 42-41 at the 2:22 mark. Alicia Onnen sunk two free throws and Jodi Nikkel made a layup to put Grand View up by 3 points with 1:06 left. The V-Hawks answered with a jumper to pull within one point. Viterbo's last chance three-pointer with: 02 left missed the mark and the Vikings escaped with the win.
Grand View was lead by Bailey Schechinger's 16 points. Schechinger scored her 1,000th point midway through the first half. She needed four points coming into tonight's game to reach the milestone and now totals 1,012 in her career. Nikkel added 8 points and 7 rebounds. Micah Reed had 7 points and 4 assists.
The Vikings (23-8) host No. 3 seed Mount Mercy (23-8) in the semifinal round of the MCC Tournament on Saturday at 2 p.m.
MCC Tourney Bracket
