Women's Basketball Suffers Loss at Park

Marshall, Mo., (Dec. 6, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College men's and women's basketball teams traveled to Parkville, Mo., Wednesday evening for a Heart of America Athletic Conference doubleheader against Park (Mo.).  The women's team fell, 73-62.

Missouri Valley went on top early in the women's game, as Freshman Richarda Schott (Krefeld, Germany) put in the first basket, moments into the contest.  Park followed with six-straight points, and kept MVC from building up any momentum through a long stretch in the quarter.  The Vikings eventually trailed by a 14-4 score with just over three minutes left on the clock.  Schott ended the drought with a basket moments later, followed by a three-pointer from Freshman Jozelynn Bostick (Centralia, Mo.) and a pair of free throws from Junior Gia Moore (Independence, Mo.) to cut the gap to 17-10 just past the two-minute mark.  The Pirates added the final basket of the quarter, and held a 19-10 lead.

The first field goal of the second quarter for Missouri Valley came with nearly two minutes played, from Junior Noa Fernandez (Castraneda, Spain), but Park eventually led 26-13 early after the restart.  Sophomore Sophie Sullivan (Lombard, Ill.) and Fernandez each added one field goal, but MVC continued to trail by double-digits, 26-16, near the midway point of the quarter.  Bostick sank a three-point shot, while Freshman Emily Dolberry (Arlington, Texas) added two made free throws near the two-minute mark to make it a 32-22 score.  Sullivan put in a layup just before time expired, but Park led, 36-24 at the break.

Junior Rajone Callahan (Wichita, Kan.) and Schott each had one field goal, with Moore sinking a free throw to bring the team into a single-digit deficit, 38-29, with just over two minutes played in the third quarter.  Fernandez added a layup moments later to put the score at 38-31.  The two teams traded points midway through the quarter, as the gap sat at 43-35 for Missouri Valley.  The Vikings went scoreless over the next two minutes as Park increased its advantage to 48-35.  Missouri Valley was unable to close back to single-digits in the quarter, and went into the final quarter of play trailing, 57-44.

Park maintained its lead throughout the rest of the game, eventually building up a 69-50 advantage midway through the fourth quarter.  The Vikings cut into the deficit late, but were unable to finish off a rally, and fell, 73-62.

Schott led with 18 points and six rebounds, while Fernandez came off the bench to score 10 points and grab nine rebounds.  Sullivan added nine points.  Missouri Valley held Park to 38-percent shooting and forced 11 turnovers.

Missouri Valley drops to 7-2 overall and 5-1 in the Heart.  Park improves to 6-4 on the season and 3-3 in the conference.

Up next, the Viking basketball teams stay on the road, and travel to Peru, Neb., for a Heart doubleheader against Peru State (Neb.), Saturday afternoon.  Women's game 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.