Women's Basketball Tops Peru State on the Road

Peru, Neb., (Jan. 18, 2025)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams traveled to Peru, Neb., for a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader against Peru State (Neb.), Saturday afternoon. The women's team pulled away for an 84-71 victory, while the men's team fell to the Bobcats, 77-51.

The women's game started with both team trading points in the opening minutes of play in the contest. A layup came from both Senior Rajone Callahan (Wichita, Kan.) and Sophomore Richarda Schott (Krefeld, Germany) keeping Missouri Valley in a 5-4 deficit with just over two minutes played. Senior Gia Moore (Independence, Mo.) came up with a jump shot to give the lead to the Vikings midway through the quarter, and Exposito followed with a field goal to make it a 10-7 score. MVC began to pull away with four minutes remaining in the first quarter as Moore added a three-pointer, and a layup from Callahan extended the lead to 16-7. The Vikings went scoreless for a nearly three minute stretch but Junior Maleigha Landers (Fort Worth, Texas) ended the drought with a three-pointer, and Sophomore Jozelynn Bostick (Centralia, Mo.) made two free throws to keep the team ahead, 21-15, going into the second quarter.

Play in the second quarter opened with a pair of free throws from Moore, followed by field goals from Callahan and Exposito extending the lead to double-digits for the first time, 27-17. The Vikings went without a basket over the next two minutes of play, and the Bobcats were unable to cut their deficit as Senior Noa Fernandez (Castaneda, Spain) assisted Exposito for a 3-pt jump shot to keep the double-digits advantage, 30-19. Schott made a block and put in a layup with three minutes left to play in the quarter making it a 36-23 score. Bostick added the final points of the half with a three-pointer, as Missouri Valley went into halftime ahead, 39-31.

The third quarter started with the Bobcats working down the deficit to single-digits, but Exposito added a basket to help keep MVC on top, 45-34. With just over three minutes played, Moore made it a 50-38 score with a three-pointer. Both teams traded points over the next stretch of play but the Vikings continued to maintain their double-digit lead with field goals from Callahan and Schott. With under four minutes to play in the quarter, Exposito added another 3-pt jump shot, followed by a jumper from Callahan to push the lead to 61-50. Then, Schott came up with a steal and ended the play with a layup to send MVC into the fourth quarter on top, 68-56.

Both teams struggled to create points at the start of the fourth quarter.  Sophomore Gabriela Modeva (Ohrid, Macedonia) had a basket just past the two-minute mark to make it 71-58. Midway through the quarter Fernandez made a pair of free throws and Schott followed with a three-pointer stretching the advantage to 79-68. Exposito added two more points as the Vikings continued to pull away. Missouri Valley closed out a 84-71 win.

Four Vikings finished in double-figures scoring. Exposito led with 26 points to go with five rebounds. Moore had 15 points, five assists and eight rebounds, while Schott also added 15 points and nine rebounds. Callahan came through with 14 points, and Fernandez had six assists and three steals. Missouri Valley forced 14 turnovers and held a 39-32 advantage in rebounds.

The win moves Missouri Valley to 15-3 overall and 11-3 in the Heart. Peru State drops to 6-13 on the season and 4-11 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking basketball teams travel to Oskaloosa, Iowa, for a Heart doubleheader with William Penn (Iowa), Wednesday. 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.