Women's Basketball Pulls Away From Baker at Home

Marshall, Mo., (Jan. 15, 2025)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams welcomed in Baker (Kan.) for a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader Wednesday evening inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  The women's team pulled away for a 79-58 win, while the men's team fell to the No. 8 Wildcats, 84-68.

The women's game started with the opening field goal coming more than two minutes into play, from Sophomore Richarda Schott (Krefeld, Germany).  Senior Ylenia Exposito (Tenerife, Canary Islands) added a basket and a Schott block led to a bucket from Senior Rajone Callahan (Wichita, Kan.) to keep Missouri Valley in front, 6-2.  Schott and Exposito followed with field goals midway through the quarter, to make it a 10-5 score, and the two teams went scoreless over the next two minutes of play.  After a Baker basket ended the scoring drought, Senior Gia Moore (Independence, Mo.) answered with a three-pointer, then came up with a steal that led to a layup from Freshman Lexi Fenstermacher (O'Fallon, Mo.) to stretch the lead out to 15-7 with just over one minute to play in the quarter.  Exposito added a layup in the closing moments, and MVC went into the second quarter ahead, 17-9. 

The Viking advantage grew to double-digits for the first time, moments into the second quarter, as a layup from Moore made it 19-9.  The Wildcats cut their deficit down to 19-13 two minutes into play, but a layup from Schott and two made free throws from Senior Noa Fernandez (Castaneda, Spain) put the lead back to double-digits, 23-13, at the seven-minute mark.  Missouri Valley went without a basket over the next three minutes of play, as BU trailed, 23-16.  Exposito and Moore added field goals to put the score at 27-18 with less than four minutes to play in the half.  Junior Sophie Sullivan (Lombard, Ill.) added a three-pointer, then came up with a steal that led to a Moore jumper late in the quarter.  Sullivan ended the first half with two free throws, and the Vikings held a 34-20 advantage at halftime.

The third quarter opened with a quick run for Missouri Valley.  Moore started the stretch with a steal and assisted on a Callahan fast-break layup.  Callahan added another basket moments later, and a second Moore steal in the first minute of play after the restart led to a three-pointer to stretch the lead out to 41-20.  Exposito added a three-point shot, while Schott put in a layup and Fernandez made a pair of free throws to cap a 14-2 run to start the third quarter, and make it a 48-22 score with nearly four minutes played.  Moore came up with another steal, and the possession ended in an Exposito three-pointer.  Callahan added two more free throws, and the advantage reached 53-24 midway through the quarter.  Baker responded with an 8-0 to cut the gap down to 53-32 near the three-minute mark.  The final basket of the quarter for MVC came moments later, on a Moore layup, and the Vikings held a 55-32 lead going into the fourth quarter.

The two teams traded points, both finishing with their highest point totals in a quarter through the entire game.  Missouri Valley never had its lead cut any lower than 14 points in the fourth quarter.  Junior Gabriela Modeva (Ohrid, Macedonia) scored six points to help maintain the lead at 64-43 at the six-minute mark.  Missouri Valley finished out the game with four points from Sullivan, and a three-pointer by Freshman D'Ajha Horton (Aurora, Colo.), along with one free throw from Freshman Seilani Relford (Aurora, Colo.).  The Vikings closed out a 79-58 victory.

Leading the team was Exposito who scored 17 points.  Moore had 14 points, five rebounds, five assists and six steals.  Callahan added 13 points and six rebounds, while Schott had 10 points.  Fernandez led with 10 rebounds, and added six assists and four points.  The team forced 17 turnovers in the game and held a 41-33 advantage in rebounds.

The win moves Missouri Valley to 14-3 overall and 10-3 in the Heart.  Baker drops to 2-13 on the season and 1-12 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking basketball teams travel to Peru, Neb., for a Heart doubleheader with Peru State (Neb.), Saturday.  Women's game at 2 p.m., followed by the men's game at 4 p.m.  Missouri Valley won the women's game, at home, back on Nov. 23, 82-63, and the men's team earned a 76-70 victory over the Bobcats.

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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.