Women's Basketball Reaches Century Mark in Win Over Central Christian College of the Bible

Marshall, Mo., (Dec. 19, 2024)- The Missouri Valley College women's basketball teams hosted Central Christian College of the Bible (Mo.) inside the Burns Athletic Complex for a non-conference game Thursday afternoon.  The Vikings built up a large lead in the first half, and finished a 100-29 victory.

Missouri Valley started the contest with a 12-2 run through nearly five minutes of play.  Sophomore Richarda Schott (Krefeld, Germany), Senior Ylenia Exposito (Tenerife, Canary Islands), Senior Rajone Callahan (Wichita, Kan.) and Junior Gabriela Modeva (Ohrid, Macedonia) each put in the first four field goals for the Vikings.  Callahan and Modeva added one more basket apiece to close out the early stretch of play.  The two teams traded points over the next several minutes, as Schott added four points, and Exposito sank a three-pointer.  After a Central Christian three-pointer made it a 21-8 score, MVC closed the quarter with another run.  Junior Sophie Sullivan (Lombard, Ill.) recorded the next seven points for Missouri Valley, and a last-second three-pointer by Junior Maleigha Landers (Fort Worth, Texas) capped the quarter at 31-8.

The second quarter began with the Vikings going on a quick 7-0 run, as Freshman Mackenzie Mills (Kansas City, Mo.) and Freshman D'ajha Horton (Aurora, Colo.) sank field goals, and Sophomore Jozelynn Bostick (Centralia, Mo.) added a three-point to put the lead at 38-8 with just over two minutes off the clock.  The teams traded points over the next stretch of play.  Schott made three free throws midway through the quarter, and back-to-back three-pointers from Exposito and Sullivan made it a 50-14 advantage with less than three minutes to play in the half.  Horton and Callahan added the final baskets in the quarter, and MVC went into halftime in front, 54-16.

Play after the break opened with four points each from Schott and Exposito to stretch the lead out to 62-16 with two minutes off the clock.  Freshman Lexi Fenstermacher (O'Fallon, Mo.) added a layup midway through the quarter, and Horton sank a jumper to make it a 70-18 score.  Horton added another basket, and Sullivan capped scoring for Missouri Valley in the quarter with a field goal, as the game went into the fourth quarter with a 74-22 score.  The Vikings continued to increase the advantage and Freshman Seilani Relford (Aurora, Colo.) scored five points at the midway point of the fourth to hold an 86-28 lead.  A late three-pointer from Junior Carla Moros (Sabadell, Spain) was followed by a three-point play by Sophomore Sarah Arnett (Mandeville, La.) to put MVC over the century mark in the game, and close out a 100-28 victory.

Schott led with 17 points and six rebounds, while Exposito added 14 points.  Sullivan came off the bench to add 14 points and five assists.  Relford had 13 points and Horton totaled 10 points and seven rebounds, both also coming off the bench.  The team finished at 56-percent shooting from the floor, blocked 12 shots, held a 56-29 advantage in rebounds and forced 22 turnovers.

The team also reached 100-points scored in a single game for the third time in program-history.  The others came against Baptist Bible (Mo.) back on Nov. 11, 2021 (104 points) and against Manhattan Christian (Kan.) back on Nov. 19, 2022 (101 points).  The 29 points given up is the second-lowest in program-history, trailing the Nov. 19, 2022 game against Manhattan Christian (28 points).  Also, the team tied a program-record with 41 made field goal attempts in a single game.  The record has happened twice.  Against Kansas Christian on Dec. 15, 2016, and Peru State (Neb.) on Nov. 29, 2017. 

The win moves Missouri Valley to 10-3 overall, while Central Christian of the Bible falls to 2-8.

Up next, the Viking basketball teams host Grand View (Iowa) in a Heart doubleheader, Jan. 2.  Women's game starts at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men's game at 7:30 p.m.  The doubleheader will be free admission for all spectators.

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.