Women's Basketball Defeats Benedictine at Home

Marshall, Mo., (Feb. 13, 2025)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams hosted Benedictine (Kan.) for Courtwarming Thursday evening inside the Burns Athletic Complex in a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader.  The women's team came back from a halftime deficit to pull away for a 62-54 win.  The men's team fell by a final score of 87-82.

Missouri Valley went in front early in the women's game, as Senior Noa Fernandez (Castaneda, Spain) made the first basket of the contest, and was followed by a three-pointer from Senior Rajone Callahan (Wichita, Kan.) to make it a 5-2 score with nearly two minutes played.  Benedictine followed with a 7-0 run over a two-minute stretch, with a field goal from Callahan ending the MVC drought and cutting the team's deficit to 9-7.  Freshman D'Ajha Horton (Aurora, Colo.) added the next two baskets for the Vikings, midway through the quarter, to bring the score to 11-11.  Callahan made another three-point shot moments later, to put Missouri Valley back on top, but the team went nearly four minutes without another made shot.  Callahan added the final basket of the quarter, as MVC trailed, 16-14.

A three-pointer from Senior Ylenia Exposito (Tenerife, Canary Islands) started scoring in the second quarter for the Vikings, and put the team ahead, 19-17 with one minute off the clock.  The two teams traded points over the next stretch, until midway through the quarter when a jumper from Junior Sophie Sullivan (Lombard, Ill.) and a three-pointer from Exposito helped MVC build up a 28-23 lead.  Benedictine followed with a 9-0 run over the next three minutes of play to move the team in front, 32-28, with one minute remaining in the half.  Senior Giavanna Moore (Independence, Mo.) made two late field goals for MVC, but the team trailed at the break, 35-25.

Play in the third quarter started with a basket from the Ravens with just over one minute played after halftime, to make it a 37-32.  Missouri Valley worked back into the game from there, limiting BC to only five more points through the rest of the quarter.  Moore came up with a steal and a fast-break layup, while an Exposito layup cut the deficit down to 39-36 at the six-minute mark.  The two teams went scoreless over the next two minutes, until a layup from Fernandez made it a 39-38 score.  Moore made another jumper, with less than three minutes to play in the quarter, tying the teams at 40-40.  Callahan broke another tie, near the one-minute mark, on a three-pointer to give MVC a 45-42 advantage, then capped scoring in the quarter with a last-second field goal.  The Vikings went into the fourth quarter on top, 47-42.

An early block from Sophomore Jozelynn Bostick (Centralia, Mo.) eventually led to a jumper from Fernandez extending the lead to 49-42 with less than one minute played in the fourth quarter.  Missouri Valley went scoreless over the next two minutes, as Benedictine cut the gap down to 49-46.  Horton came up with a steal, and Fernandez ended the possession with a layup to end the drought and put the advantage at 51-46.  The two teams traded points over the next three minutes of play, until a jumper from Horton made it a 55-50 score near the four-minute mark.  The next basket for either team came two minutes later, as Fernandez added another layup, extending the lead to 57-50.  Missouri Valley closed out the game from there, as Fernandez made four free throw attempts, and Exposito added another free throw.  The Vikings finished out a 62-54 victory.

Fernandez led with 18 points on 6 of 7 shooting from the floor, to go with five rebounds.  Callahan added 17 points and four rebounds, while Exposito had 11 points.  Missouri Valley blocked eight shots in the game, and limited Benedictine to 36-percent shooting in the contest.

Missouri Valley improves to 20-5 overall and 16-5 in the Heart.  Benedictine drops to 20-5 on the season and 17-4 in the conference.  The Vikings women's basketball team posted 20 wins for the first time since the 1999-00 season.

Up next, the Viking basketball teams travel to Des Moines, Iowa, for a Heart doubleheader with Grand View (Iowa), Saturday afternoon.  Women's game starts at 2 p.m., followed by the men's game at 4 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.