Women's Basketball Suffers Loss at Mount Mercy

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, (Jan. 25, 2025)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams traveled to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader against Mount Mercy (Iowa), Saturday afternoon.  The women's team fell by a final score of 84-64.  The men's team came back from a halftime deficit to earn an 82-73 win.

The two teams traded points at the start of the women's game, as baskets from Senior Noa Fernandez (Castaneda, Spain) and Senior Rajone Callahan (Wichita, Kan.) along with four points from Senior Ylenia Exposito (Tenerife, Canary Islands) kept Missouri Valley in a 10-9 deficit with just over three minutes played.  Mount Mercy stayed in front over the next stretch, and made it a 16-11 score near the four-minute mark.  Exposito added a pair of free throws, while Callahan and Sophomore Ricarda Schott (Krefeld, Germany) each made jump shots to pull the gap down to 19-17 with less than three minutes remaining in the quarter.  Senior Gia Moore (Independence, Mo.) came through with a three-point play near the final minute to send the Vikings ahead for the first time, 20-19.  Mount Mercy responded on its final possession of the quarter, and regained the lead, 21-20.

Both teams struggled to score points at the start of the second quarter.  Exposito added a basket with nearly two minutes off the clock, which was the only field goal for MVC through nearly five minutes of play.  The Mustangs were held to only four points scored through the same stretch.  Moore came up with a steal and a fast-break layup to tie the contest, then Schott added another layup to give Missouri Valley a 27-25 lead with just over four minutes to play in the half.  Both Callahan and Exposito added layups near the four-minute mark to extend the advantage out to 31-26.  The Mustangs came back with an 8-2 run over the next two minutes to move in front, 34-33.  Junior Sophie Sullivan (Lombard, Ill.) answered with a three-pointer in the final minute of the half, but MMU tacked on a layup just before the buzzer to send the teams into the break tied at 36-36.

The start of the third quarter featured Mount Mercy going on top, and gradually building up its lead.  An Exposito layup with just over two minutes played cut the MVC deficit to 40-39, but the Mustangs eventually held a 48-41 advantage just past the six-minute mark.  Exposito again came back with a basket, this time a three-pointer, however that was the final field goal of the quarter for the Vikings.  Sullivan had two free throws, while Callahan added one free throw, as the team's deficit grew to double-digits by the end of the third quarter, 58-47.  Missouri Valley was unable to work back to a single-digit gap in the fourth quarter, as MMU continued to increase its lead.  The Vikings fell by a final score of 84-64.

Exposito led with 19 points to go with five assists.  Schott had 10 points and five rebounds, while Fernandez came through with ten rebounds to go with six points. 

The loss drops Missouri Valley to 16-4 overall and 12-4 in the Heart.  Mount Mercy improves to 12-7 on the season and 10-6 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking basketball teams host Central Methodist (Mo.) for the annual Winter Social inside the Burns Athletic Complex, Wednesday evening.  Women's game starts 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.