Women's Basketball Suffers Home Loss to Mount Mercy

Marshall, Mo., (Dec. 7, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams welcomed in Mount Mercy (Iowa) into the Burns Athletic Complex for a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader Saturday afternoon.  The women's team fell, 75-66, while the men's team led through much of its game, finishing with a 96-75 win.

The women's game started with the two teams trading points early, as Senior Ylenia Exposito (Tenerife, Canary Islands) had four points and Senior Noa Fernandez (Castaneda, Spain) added another made jumper to keep the score tied at 6-6 through four minutes of play.  Mount Mercy responded with five-straight points, while a layup from Senior Rajone Callahan (Wichita, Kan.) cut the deficit to 11-8 midway through the quarter.  Fernandez added another basket one minute later, and a three-pointer from Sophomore Jozelynn Bostick (Centralia, Mo.) kept MVC within a 14-13 score with just under two minutes remaining in the first quarter.  The Vikings were unable to go in front as the first quarter came to an end with MMU on top, 17-15.

Scoring in the second quarter for Missouri Valley started with a pair of made free throws by Junior Sophie Sullivan (Lombard, Ill.) and jump shot from Freshman Lexi Fenstermacher (O'Fallon, Mo.) to keep the gap at 22-19 through two minutes of play.  Mount Mercy followed with a quick 6-0 run to make it a 28-19 score just over one minute later.  Freshman Seilani Relford (Aurora, Colo.) ended the MMU run with a three-point play, and a jumper from Bostick midway through the quarter put the team in a 31-24 deficit.  Mount Mercy eventually stretched its lead out to double-digits for the first time, at 35-25, with just over three minutes to play before the break.  The Mustangs continued to increase their advantage through the end of play in the quarter, and sat in front, 41-27, at halftime.

Play in the third quarter began with a three-pointer from Sophomore Ricarda Schott (Krefeld, Germany) followed by a steal from Schott that led to a Fernandez fast-break layup, as MVC trailed, 41-32, with less than one minute off the clock.  The Mustangs bounced back to score the next seven points to hold a 48-32 lead two minutes later.  Callahan followed with two-straight baskets, and a pair of free throws made from Schott put the score at 50-39 at the midway point of the quarter.  The two teams traded points over the next stretch of play, and four points scored by Schott cut the MVC deficit back to single-digits, 59-50 going into the fourth quarter.

Made baskets from both Exposito and Callahan brought the Vikings to within a 60-54 score with less than two minutes played in the fourth quarter.  Mount Mercy worked its lead back with an 8-2 run through the next four minutes of play stay to ahead, 68-56.  A three-pointer from Schott, followed by two made free throws shrunk the gap down to 70-62.  Fernandez and Schott each added baskets with less than two minutes to play to put the score at 73-66, but that's as close as the Vikings could get.  Missouri Valley fell, 75-66.

Schott led with a season-high 22 points to with five rebounds.  Exposito added 14 points, while Callahan totaled eight points and a season-high 11 rebounds.  The Vikings held a 50-35 advantage in rebounds.

The loss drops Missouri Valley to 8-2 overall and 5-2 in the Heart.  Mount Mercy improves to 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking basketball teams travel to Atchison, Kan., for a Heart doubleheader against Benedictine (Kan.), Wednesday evening.  Women's game starts at 5:30 p.m. against the No. 23 Ravens, followed by the men's game at 7:30 p.m.

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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.