Women's Basketball Pulls Away from UHSP on the Road

St. Louis, Mo., (Nov. 9, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College women's basketball team traveled to St. Louis, Mo., Saturday, for a non-conference game against Health Sciences & Pharmacy (Mo.).  The Vikings pulled away in the second half for a 76-56 victory, helping Head Coach Ben Lister to a career milestone.

Missouri Valley went in front early, as a three-pointer from Senior Ylenia Exposito (Tenerife, Canary Islands) was the first basket of the game, just over 30-seconds into play.  Health Sciences & Pharmacy responded with a 7-0 run over the next three minutes, to make it a 7-3 score.  Junior Sara Ortiz (La Roda, Spain) and Senior Giavanna Moore (Independence, Mo.) answered with one field goal each to pull the team into a 9-7 deficit just past the six-minute mark.  The Vikings went scoreless over the next three minutes, and UHSP built up a 15-7 lead during the stretch of play.  Moore sank a three-pointer to end the MVC drought, while Junior Gabriela Modeva (Ohrid, Macedonia) made a pair of layups to cut the gap down to 15-14 in the final minute of play in the quarter.  Junior Sophie Sullivan (Lombard, Ill.) came through with a three-point play, and Ortiz added a layup just before the buzzer, but Missouri Valley trailed at the end of the quarter, 20-19.

The first points of the second quarter went to Health Sciences & Pharmacy, while a three-pointer from Sullivan tied the teams at 22-22 with just over one minute played.  Health Sciences & Pharmacy went back in front, 26-22, over the next minute, and eventually held a 29-25 advantage just past the six-minute mark.  Freshman D'aJha Horton (Aurora, Colo.) followed with five-straight points, including a three-pointer midway through the quarter to put the Vikings in front, 30-29.  Senior Noa Fernandez (Castaneda, Spain) came through with a steal and a layup, while Horton added another basket to stretch the advantage out to 34-29 with four minutes to play before halftime.  Exposito added two-straight three-point field goals to help the team open a 41-33 lead late in the quarter.  Missouri Valley forced a pair of stops on defense as the quarter came to an end, and the team held the eight-point advantage at the break.

One basket each from Exposito and Fernandez started play in the third quarter, and allowed Missouri Valley to build up a double-digit lead, 45-33, with just over two minutes off the clock.  Moore maintained the advantage with a basket less than one minute later, and an offensive rebound from Fernandez led to a three-point basket from Senior Rajone Callahan (Wichita, Kan.) to make it a 50-38 score moments later.  Modeva chipped in with a layup, then a steal from Moore led to a layup from Fernandez midway through the quarter as the lead grew to 54-38.  Health Sciences & Pharmacy ended a nearly three-minute drought to cut the team's deficit to 54-41, but the Vikings continued to increase their lead late in the quarter.  Horton added a jumper, while Moore sank a three-point shot, and Freshman Lexi Fentstermacher (O'Fallon, Mo.) came through with a basket near the one-minute mark, as the advantage sat at 61-44.  The final points of the quarter came from UHSP, but the score was 61-46 going into the fourth.

The teams struggled to score early in the fourth quarter, as a pair of free throws for Health Sciences & Pharmacy and a jump shot from Moore were the only points scored through the opening three minutes of play.  Ortiz scored the next pair of baskets for Missouri Valley, to put the lead at 67-52 at the six-minute mark.  The next field goal for MVC came more than two minutes later, from Callahan to make it a 69-54 score.  Sullivan made a three-pointer, and Moore tacked on a layup with less than two-minutes to play as the lead increased to 74-56.  Health Sciences & Pharmacy was held to only two points over the final three minutes of play, and a basket from Freshman Makenzie Mills (Kansas City, Mo.) capped scoring for Missouri Valley in a 76-56 win.

Moore led with 14 points and added eight rebounds and four assists.  Exposito added 11 points, with six rebounds and five assists.  Exposito also eclipsed the 1,000-point total in her career in last week's win over Viterbo (Wisc.).  Ortiz had nine points and nine rebounds, while both Sullivan and Horton came off the bench to score nine points.  Missouri Valley held a 43-27 advantage in rebounds, and forced 15 turnovers in the game.  This was also the 250^th win in Head Coach Ben Lister's career.

Missouri Valley improves to 3-0 on the season, while Health Sciences & Pharmacy drops to 0-3.

Up next, the Viking women's basketball team opens play in the Heart of America Athletic Conference with a road game in Baldwin City, Kan., against Baker (Kan.), Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

Box Score-Click Here

About Missouri Valley College

Known for its dynamic, richly diverse, and friendly educational environment, Missouri Valley College offers many opportunities to grow in mind, body, and spirit. Grounded in the liberal arts, undergraduate studies empower students to master interdisciplinary skills needed to succeed in a knowledge-based global society. MVC offers over 30 academic programs, study abroad program, extracurricular activities, and a wide variety of sports. The most popular majors include education and business, criminal justice and exercise science. Above all, Valley is committed to student success. For more information, call (660) 831-4000 or visit www.moval.edu.