Women's Basketball Opens Season With Win Over Hannibal-LaGrange
Canton, Mo., (Nov. 3, 2023)- The Missouri Valley College women's basketball team opened its season with a non-conference game in Canton, Mo., against Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) in the Atrium Classic. The Vikings pulled away from the Trojans in an 88-60 win.
Hannibal-LaGrange jumped out to an early lead, at a 5-2 score with one minute played. Junior Giavanna Moore (Independence, Mo.) sank a three-pointer to tie the teams moments later, followed by a layup from Sophomore Sophie Sullivan (Lombard, Ill.) to put Missouri Valley on top, 7-5. Sullivan added a pair of free throws with just over three minutes played to extend the advantage out to 10-6. Midway through the quarter both Sophomore Tyler Conkright (Ellington, Mo.) and Moore made three-point shots to make it a 16-10 score. Another three-point basket, this time from Junior Maddie Ferrara (Hendersonville, Tenn.) put the lead at 19-12 near the four-minute mark, but MVC went scoreless over a nearly three minute stretch as the Trojans sank the deficit down to 19-17. Junior Rajone Callahan (Wichita, Kan.) ended the drought with a basket, and the Vikings stayed in front, 21-19 at the end of the first quarter.
Scoring in the second quarter started on a three-pointer from Moore, followed by another three-point field goal from Conkright. Moore added a basket, and Missouri Valley outscored HLGU by an 8-0 margin in the opening two minutes of the quarter. Freshman Emily Dolberry (Arlington, Texas) added a basket near the seven-minute mark, Missouri Valley maintained an advantage over the next stretch of play. The lead reached double-digits for the first time on a three-point basket from Moore to make it a 39-27 game with less than four minutes to play in the half. Hannibal-LaGrange briefly cut the deficit down to single-digits, at 42-31, but Dolberry sank a pair of free throws and Sullivan made one more three-point basket as the half came to an end, with MVC in front, 46-32.
Missouri Valley used an early three-point field goal in the third quarter from Callahan to make it a 49-34 advantage, and stayed up by double-digits through the rest of the contest. The Trojans worked the gap down to 53-42 midway through the quarter, but Sullivan made another three-point shot, followed by a jumper from Moore to make it a 58-44 lead near the two-minute mark. Moore added another three-point shot, while Ferrara put in a pair of free throws to cap scoring in the quarter, and send the contest into the final quarter of play at 63-46.
The Vikings continued to make three-pointers in the fourth quarter, as Moore made a pair and Conkright added another made three-point shot through the five-minute mark to finish off a 17-3 run and put the lead at 80-49. Sophomore Maisie Harry (Barry, Wales) made another three-pointer late in the game, and Dolberry sank one more three-point basket as time came to an end, finishing out an 88-60 win.
Moore led with 29 points, including 7 of 12 shooting on three-pointers. Sullivan added 20 points and six rebounds, while Conkright scored 12 points. Missouri Valley made 17 three-point shots, and was 11 of 12 on free throws. The Vikings had 19 assists as a team, and forced 17 turnovers, limiting Hannibal-LaGrange to 37-percent shooting from the floor.
Missouri Valley improves to 1-0, while Hannibal-LaGrange drops to 0-2.
Up next, the Viking women's basketball team will play another game at the Atrium Classic in Canton, Mo., Saturday at 5 p.m., against Columbia (Mo.).
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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.