Women's Basketball Leads Throughout in Win Over Clarke

Marshall, Mo., (Feb. 8, 2025)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams welcomed in Clarke (Iowa) for a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader inside the Burns Athletic Complex Saturday afternoon.  The women's team led throughout in a 94-62 win.  The men's team built up an early lead, and finished with a 79-63 victory.

Missouri Valley jumped out early in the women's game, going on a 10-0 run through the opening two minutes of play.  Senior Ylenia Exposito (Tenerife, Canary Islands) had five points, while Sophomore Ricarda Schott (Krefeld, Germany) added a three-pointer and Senior Noa Fernandez made a jumper to put the team ahead, 10-0.  The next field goal for MVC came near the six-minute mark, from Senior Giavanna Moore (Independence, Mo.), while Schott added another three-point basket to put the lead at 16-7 midway through the quarter.  Clarke cut its deficit down to 18-13 less than two minutes later, but Moore answered with a layup, then came up with a steal that led to a Fernandez fast-break basket to stretch the advantage out to 22-13 with just over two minutes to play in the quarter.  Sophomore Jozelynn Bostick (Centralia, Mo.) put the Vikings up by double-digits, 24-13, while Exposito capped scoring in the quarter with a pair of free throws to set the lead at 26-13 going into the second quarter of play.

Scoring in the second quarter started quickly on a three-pointer from Junior Sophie Sullivan (Lombard, Ill.) along with a Moore jumper to put the advantage at 31-13 in under one minute of play.  The two teams traded points over the next two minutes, as the score sat at 35-23.  The Pride were kept to without a field goal over the next three minutes of play, and baskets from Moore, Exposito and Freshman D'Ajha Horton (Aurora, Colo.) put the lead at 41-24 near the three-minute mark.  Bostick made a three-point shot one-minute later to make it a 46-26 advantage.  Junior Gabriela Modeva (Ohrid, Macedonia) added a layup, and Exposito sank a last-second three-pointer to close out the half and send MVC into halftime in front, 51-33.

The first basket of the third quarter for Missouri Valley came on a three-point shot from Freshman Lexi Fenstermacher (O'Fallon, Mo.) with one minute played to give the team a 54-37 advantage.  Senior Rajone Callahan (Wichita, Kan.) added five points midway through the quarter to keep the team in front, 61-41.  Horton scored another five points, near the four-minute mark, as the game sat at 68-42.  Missouri Valley maintained the gap, helped by jump shots from Modeva and Callahan to make it a 74-48 score as the third quarter came to an end.

Missouri Valley continued to pull away from Clarke in the fourth quarter, which included five points from Exposito to help build an 83-49 lead.  Bostick added four points, while Sullivan capped off a three-point play near the two-minute mark.  Sophomore Sarah Arnett (Mandeville, La.) closed scoring for MVC with a late layup, and Missouri Valley earned a 94-62 win.

Exposito led with 19 points to go with seven assists.  Callahan had 13 points and four rebounds, while Moore added 12 points and eight assists.  Horton came off the bench to score 11 points and grab six rebounds.  Missouri Valley shot over 61-percent from the floor, a season-high and the best shooting percentage in a single-game since finishing at 67-percent, 40 of 60 shooting, in a 98-40 win over Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.), back on Nov. 2, 2017.

The win moves Missouri Valley to 19-5 overall and 15-5 in the Heart.  Clarke drops to 10-13 on the season, and 8-11 in the conference.  The Vikings sweep the season series, having earned a 71-60 win at Clarke back on Dec. 17.

Up next, the Viking men's and women's basketball teams host Benedictine (Kan.) for Courtwarming, Wednesday evening inside the Burns Athletic Complex.  Women's game at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men's game at 7:30 p.m.

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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.