Women's Basketball Holds Off Grand View in Home Win

Marshall, Mo., (Jan. 2, 2025)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams opened the new year with a home Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader against Grand View (Iowa).  The women's team held off Grand View for a 74-66 win, while the men's team built up a lead and pulled away for an 88-75 victory.

The women's game started with Grand View building up a lead early in the contest, out to a 14-6 score with nearly four minutes played.  Senior Noa Fernandez followed with a layup, and MVC kept Grand View scoreless through a nearly five minute stretch to pull back.  Senior Ylenia Exposito (Tenerife, Canary Islands) sank a three-point, with Sophomore Ricarda Schott (Krefeld, Germany) adding a layup.  The run continued with another basket from Exposito, and Senior Rajone Callahan (Wichita, Kan.) capped the 12-0 stretch with a three-pointer to move Missouri Valley ahead, 18-14, just past the three-minute mark.  The teams traded field goals to close out the first quarter, as Sophomore Jozelynn Bostick (Centralia, Mo.) added a jumper and Exposito made the final basket of the quarter to keep MVC ahead, 22-18.

Senior Giavanna Moore (Independence, Mo.) put in the first field goal of the quarter for Missouri Valley, just over one minute into play, to hold a 24-20 lead, but MVC went scoreless through a more than two minute span.  Grand View was unable to take advantage of the dry spell, as a Callahan layup near the six-minute mark put the lead at 26-23.  Moore added the next two field goals to stretch the advantage out to 30-23 midway through the quarter.  Grand View responded with an 8-0 run over the next three minutes to move back in front, 31-30.  The teams traded a pair of free throws, but a three-pointer from Exposito with just over one minute to play in the half sent MVC back on top, 35-33.  The final points of the half went to GVU, from the free throw line, and the teams went into halftime tied, 35-35.

The third quarter started with Missouri Valley holding Grand View scoreless through more than two minutes of play.  Schott added a pair of layups, the second after a steal from Fernandez, and MVC held a 39-35 lead.  Grand View worked back to tie the teams again, at 41-41, then Callahan broke the tie on a three-pointer, to make it a 44-41 score with just over three minutes gone in the quarter.  Moore added a layup moments later, and GVU was held to without a point for more than three minutes to help Missouri Valley maintain a 46-41 advantage.  Freshman Lexi Fenstermacher (O'Fallon, Mo.) added the next six points for MVC, coming in the last two minutes of play in the third, as the lead sat at 52-47 entering the final quarter of play.

An early field goal from Moore started off the fourth quarter, but Grand View followed with an 11-2 run over the next three minutes to go back in front, 58-56.  Missouri Valley trailed, 60-58, with just over three minutes played.  Callahan sent MVC on top once again with a three-pointer, and Exposito followed with another three-point shot to make it a 64-60 score near the midway mark of the fourth quarter.  Grand View came back and tied the score once again, at 64-64, with three minutes remaining in the contest.  Callahan responded with another three-point shot, then Fernandez made a pair of free throws to put the lead at 69-64 near the two-minute mark.  Missouri Valley held Grand View from chipping away at its deficit late in the game, and a pair of free throws from both Junior Sophie Sullivan (Lombard, Ill.) and Callahan closed out the game, and secured a 74-66 win.

Callahan led with a season-high 20 points to go with 11 rebounds, for her first double-double of the season.  Exposito totaled 16 points and four assists, while Moore played for the first time since Nov. 13 and finished with 12 points and nine rebounds.  Schott added 10 points.  Missouri Valley held a 48-32 advantage in rebounds, and limited Grand View to 32-percent shooting.

Missouri Valley improves to 11-3 overall and 7-3 in the Heart.  Grand View drops to 9-4 on the season and 7-2 in the conference.

Due to expected inclement weather, Saturday's scheduled road doubleheader at Culver-Stockton (Mo.) has been postponed to Feb. 3.  The teams will next play on Jan. 8, hosting Park (Mo.), in a Heart doubleheader.  Women's game at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men's game at 7:30 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.